I run into this often. I have a Catt in bloom now which still has 3 other spikes full of buds which haven't finished growing. It's annoying because I need to keep the plant in the sun. I have a Zgo doing the same thing. One spike open, the other still budding.

Bottom line is, you need to keep the sun on the plant to finish the growth. You could display for a few days, but the plant needs sun to complete growth.

Jane

You could also bring it inside during the late evening and put it out before/at noon. You could also possibly set up a small temporary viewing area for bloomers. I grow in a closet, so I feel your pain. :)

By the time this plant is in final bloom stage, it has enough energy to complete the bloom, provided enough energy was consistently given in months previous. Put it in a place free of sudden temperature changes and enjoy the fruit of your work.
CV

I agree with CV. The energy for blooming is gathered throughout the past year, not the 2 to 4 weeks before opening. My cymbidiums cook throughout the summer. In the Fall I take them to a dark cool office hallway a mile away from home. From Dec thru April they bloom gloriously for other people. In my GH at home, the blooms blasted. Your Catts will still bloom, but they may be slightly smaller. If you decide to move them back and forth anyway, be sure and keep the plant facing the light in the same way to keep future blooms from twisting. Been there, done that.
MsFlintlock

Thanks everyone. My catt. has two new growths that are not mature yet -- no buds for a while. At this point, does the plant still have enough stored energy to bloom? What I understood from the last two comments is that if the other growths alredy have buds formed, they will bloon out of the light source. But, immature growths, -- will they bud and bloom if taken from the light source? Until I'm clear on this, I'll just display the plant at night and return it to the light during the day.

Taking it out of light will slow the growth, but it should start back up once it is back in the right conditions.

The more important thing is that if you decrease light you also need to decrease water and temp (if possible).

Taking it out of light will slow its metabolism down and will not use water as fast. So be aware so you do not rot the roots.

Enjoy your blooms while they're open. It will have plenty of time to make up for a few weeks in dim fog and mature those new growths.

I put mine where I see them 15 times a day. Extract every bit of joy out of them. (No longer than a month tho :)

Cut back on the water and fert while they are in the dimmer place.

I stand by my above post. If the growths are still growing, removing the plant from light will stall the growths. It has been my experience that those growths will not resume growth later. You will have smaller growths which reduce the chance of flowers.

Displaying the plant for a few days should be okay, but those new growths need to finish growing. I've taken plants to work, display them for 2 days, back home in the light to finish.

You need to keep the growth momentum going. If you interrupt it, the growths will finish smaller.

Jane

Hi, Jane. I'm curious about how many catts you grow, and how regularly you have found new growths permanently stunted by a few weeks of dimmer light? Any particular ones that act like this, or is it all of them?

Hi Mehitabel, thanks for your interest. I love Cattleyas and the majority of my orchids are catt hybrids plus maybe 10-15 species. I have approx. 100+ plants growing mostly in my living room. I am fortunate to belong to a great OS which have many growers with large greenhouses in the NY, CT. area. Some dabble in breeding and I am given gifts of plants to try in my conditions. I try various methods, within means and return any plants which obviously struggle or would require too much attention from me. I love to play with various hybrids to see what I can get to flower indoors. Those stay with me. Anything too fussy gets returned or auctioned. But many stay because I 'just want to try another year.'

The OP's question is one I have run into and happens mostly in fall. My Catts make great growths over summer outdoors, but depending on when those growths start and mature, many have to continue under lights indoors. I have some large Blcs which will make multiple growths throughout the summer. They all don't mature and flower at the same time.

The OP is talking about a flowering growth and other growths still maturing. They obviously started later. Take them away from light for two weeks and they will be finished. Two weeks is too long. A few days is okay, I've done it. Two weeks and growth will stop.

I have a large (12") Lc in bloom now. Has 6 spikes, one started flowering 4 weeks ago, the others have followed about a week apart. I still have two spikes with buds which will probably take another week-10 days. That plant is still in full sun to finish those spikes. If I had pulled that plant from sun 4 weeks ago, those spikes would have never finished developing. I'll post a photo of this plant in the Gallery on the weekend. It will show what I'm describing. I think anyone growing Cattleya hybrids knows this. Even some species. I have some in sheath and they are starting new growths off those bulbs. I wouldn't pull those.

The original poster is not growing Phals. You can display them in bloom for long periods. Catts need high light to finish growing and to initiate flowering.

Jane

As you well know, Jane, I grew catts for four years before deciding to switch to phals. So the remark that "these are not phals" isn't really warranted. Why introduce phals into a discussion of cattleyas?

I'm impressed with the number of catts you are growing.

When I was growing catts, *including summer of 07*, I had over 100 of different sizes and types, tho mostly cluster bloomers.

I believe I'm a good observer, and watch new growths closely. I never saw permanent stunting from a couple of weeks in lower light. Of course, I don't display in an interior, no light/no window room.

As you say, catts aren't phals, and don't bloom for nearly as long. You're not keeping them out of the light for five months at a time. In fact, I bloomed this particular catt (from Carmela's) last summer and the bloom lasted about two weeks.

We can agree to disagree on this one. Perhaps we can also agree that we both have grown catts and oncids, and that there's no need to continue trying to diminish my opinion with the "only phals" remarks?

Mehitabel wrote:

......."What I've mostly decided is that my love affair with catts and oncids has to end. This was my third year with them. Enough's enough, even for me.

I was terribly disappointed to find that the encyclias and many to most epcs have not bloomed this year, even tho they are mature. I love them, but they are just too much effort for minimal to no flowers compared to phals. If they won't bloom, what good are they to me? I think summer sun isn't enough to bloom them, they need high light in winter, which I just can't give.
I never thought I would entertain the thought, but it's true-- in my conditions they are just too much work for no return"......

I was commenting what you have said many times - you gave up growing everything except Phals.

No argument.

LOL, Jane. I'm touched that you took the trouble to look up my very words about why phals are preferable in my eyes to catts for the effort expended. I still believe it was wisdom gained.

However, in your rush to discredit anyone who disagrees with you, you aren't drawing precisely the right conclusion from those words. Just because I wasn't *satisfied* with the number of blooms, length or frequency of blooms from catts given the effort involved, doesn't mean I never bloomed any.

If it pleases you to think that, tho, so you can claim superior knowledge, I don't mind a bit. I understand some people need that in their lives. But I will keep on encouraging newer people to enjoy their hardwon successes anyway.

I don't see how wanting a higher return than catts offer means I have nothing of value to say about catts. It doesn't logically follow at all, you know.

Actually the last four catts I had were shipped off less than a month ago. I could hardly forget everything in less than a month.

Enjoyed hearing about your success, as well as Liz's.