Is the second one catt too? Do get in touch with vendor to see if he/she will send a replacement or refund. Transplanting them onto bark should be ok. Is this an ebay vendor?

Sounds like typical for from Orchids.com. I used get plants from him all the time but then the quality became spotty. The last straw was when I ordered an "in spike" catt. and received a plant with blooms that had already run their course and had obviously started dying before shipment.

What is the second plant? I have many species and hybrid Cattleyas which normally put out new growths which are totally mottled with red. That's the way many of them are supposed to be. This is mostly found in bifoliate Catts.

Post a picture? As CJ mentioned, it's pretty normal for cattleyas to have reddish marks especially if grown in high light.
~Jem

Are you calling pbulbs stems? Mature pbulbs eventually lose their leaves and die.

Not all catt foliage is the same shape or the same color of green.

If the torn leaf bothers you, use masking tape to keep it attached to itself.

Pictures would definitely help.

Brooke

here is a pic: it actually looks a little better than the actual plant...

what I don't like are that 3 leaves have been cut off or have died (the bare stems are in the foreground) and that the stems don't have the plumpness and juice I feel they should have plus they're yellow-green...one leaf is much more yellowy, and 2 have sections of paler yellow-green hues...

I see a healthy looking catt in your picture. The pbulbs on this are normal - not all pbulbs are fat and juicy like the catt on the right.

Your catt is a bifoliate so skinny pbulbs are normal.

I do not see excessive shriveling on the pbulbs.

Loss of leaves on the pbulb are probably from age.

The purple coloration and the lighter yellow color on the one leaf is from high light, a good thing in a cattleya for maximum blooms.

It has also previously bloomed so it is not a wee seedling needing years to bloom.

Tape the one split leaf to make sure you keep it attached to the plant. It will continue to function for years even though it is half split. Tape it on the underside of the leaf if the sight offends you.

IMO the two plants look V-E-R-Y healthy with very few blemishs on them except for the boo boo on the one leaf.

Brooke

I agree, Brooke. They look like perfectly normal healthy plants to me also. I would be delighted to have received either of them.

well, tht is a relief, thanks all and a swatt on my butt for being such a "perfectionist" I just was shocked that the 3 front pbulbs had no leaves on them... I helped my dad take care of one orchid for 2 whole years and none ever lost any leaves on their pbulbs and it was a very! ancient plant, over 28 years' old... So what happens with these pbulbs...the 3 without the leaves... I doubt they will grow new ones? what will happen to them... will they just shrivel away? Sorry about the newbie questions....

And yes I was thrilled with fat cattelya, you really can't see as well from the photo, but the pbulbs are just as you say huge and fat...

Hello serenasyh,
I think there is some confusion; what you are calling "front" pseudobulbs are actually old or "back" pbs. These may loose their leaves, but serve an important role in storing energy for the plant, even without leaves attached. Normally one keeps them when repotting, unless they are totally brown and "lifeless". Since they are not the forward growing portion of the plant, they can be potted right up against the side of the pot (when the time comes to repot), so the leading growth(s) have room to move across the pot.

It seems a miracle that you had a 28 year old catt which never lost any leaves! That's good growing! But for the rest of us, it's normal for older leaves to fall off.
Ann

well, it was an absolutely magnificent Catt...

And hehe, yes, I was very shocked to see Pbulbs without any leaves on them, hehe!

so alas! no more leaves for those pbulbs?...RATS! makes me feel old, lol (the effects of aging and its reminders)!

I will bring them to my nursery tomorrow/Monday to be repotted...

May I make a suggestion for the future? When the time comes to divide. You may find those leafless pseudobulbs still have some dormant but healthy eyes that when bagged with sphagnum moss will sprout and give you more divisions of your plant. They may actually sprout those eyes after their next potting up. Catts are great that way!