give your catts a lot more light and see what happens
Olya

Orchid pseudobulbs which fail to bloom won't ever, but they contribute to the general vigor of the plant.

Catts need a lot of light, only a little short of direct sun. I grow mine above 3000 ft candles, mid-day above 4000. Good air movement and a chance to dry between watering.

Thanks for the answers/suggestions. Here I was hoping that despite my mismanaging them, by doing things right I would end up with twice as many blooms next year in place of none this year! Oh well. Yes, I'm sure the pseudobulbs still are contributing - just wish I could have made them flower!

I am growing them in southwest Florida along the gulf coast, in Zone 10, in my pool cage. I had placed them where they would receive afternoon shade, but have moved them out more to the sun. They still do receive some significant shading, I guess, via the pol cage. Some that I had moved way out looked as though they were burning - maybe I moved them too much too fast? The foliage was getting deep purple markings on it - is this OK?

Maggie, getting the sun right is the hardest thing about growing orchids for me. Making the decision about how much sun to try is pretty stressful when you're newish. You really don't like to take the risk of more sun.

It's a trial and error thing that takes a bit of sun-watching, knowing where the sun is every minute, and how hot it is at various times. Because the consequences are so severe if you overshoot, it also makes me anxious if I'm trying to do more than last year. Call it decision making under uncertainty, with high risk.

No one can tell you how much for your situation. But I agree with Olya and richard. If you're not getting blooms, you probably need to give more sun. From what you say, probably a lot more.

This time of year, I would be (am) giving catts full sun. (Acclimating first, of course). They are okay as long as the leaves can stay cool, which they can at 70-75. I only start shading them when it starts to get hot in mid-June, and then only at midday.

This is my fourth summer (I think), and each of the first three years, I increased the sun as much as I dared. The next year, increased it more. Last summer they got full sun til nearly the end of June. After that, for the hottest time thru July and August, they got shade for the hottest 3-4 hours of the day, but full sun in the AM til app 11:30 and full sun again in the PM from app 3:30. That's probably at least 6 hours of pretty-hot sun.

You are just going to have to fool around trying out more sun until you think you have it right for the sun and shade setup in *your* yard. It might take more than one year.

I always burn some by giving them too much sun too fast. But this happens even at low light if you move them too fast. This can happen even with high-light lovers that can take a lot of sun later on. It takes at least a week to 10 days of giving more sun to acclimate them.

From indoors, I start with full shade for two days, then 15' of morning sun for one day. Double the duration of sun each day. So the second day, they get 30' of sun, etc. Til they are getting 4 hours, then you can give them as much as they can take without the leaves getting hot.

And BTW, this is my 4th winter, increasing the light each summer for three years, and the first year I have gotten significant blooms and spikes over the winter, but I finally did it. I've had spikes or blooms on more than a dozen so far this spring. I do have a lot of spring bloomers.

Myself, I think "significant shade" is too much for April. But you are the boss, and you have to decide for yourself how much "risk" you can stand to take right now.

Thanks for all of the info. I will very slowly begin giving them more sun - especially in the fall and winter when it is only in the 70-s to low 80-s here, but be more careful now that it's high 80-s and 90s. I do think the pool cage gives more shade than I realize!

Now that I think through this, maybe they will also do better mounted than in pots - or in a medium even less water retentive than the generic orchid mix I have them in. While out in the fuller sun in the summer, they will also receive daily rain in the afternoon, and never be allowed to dry!

Glad also to hear that I'm not the only one taking a year or two to get to know these guys and their needs -

And BTW, when the foliage does start to get purple spots or streaks in it, (which seems to sometimes happen now as I move them out) will it turn to burning if I don't get it back into a more shaded area? Or is it OK? (I think I know what burning looks like already...)

Maggie, my experience with orchids may be limited, but my experience with burning is extensive, since it doesn't take long if the sun if really hot, and I'm a risk-taker by nature.

Burning shows up as black places, or white, usually on the flat part of the leaves. Sometimes if you feel the leaves and they are hot a spray from the hose will cool them off enough to stave off the burn.

Purple-- yes, I believe they can purple from a too-sudden move into light. Just go slow and easy and they'll be okay.

About rain every afternoon-- don't know what the effect of that would be. In summer outdoors, I actually water every day, maybe skipping a couple that look wet. But if they've got roots, they usually look pretty dry by the end of a day outdoors. But daily rain is a little different.

You may want to find out what other local growers do about the rain.

I am in Tampa, and get the rainy season with daily rains in the afternoon....one of the reasons I stopped using bark...
The only solution to growing orchids here is fast draining medium....Lava rock, mixes made out of coarse material, mounted or bareroots.
I starting growing a few catts bareroot along with the vandas - water them every morning, and they seem to be loving it.

Olya