Here's my take on that subject: Ample food , water, and warmth when in
active growth, continued through blooming. After that, cooler conditions -
especially at night - to slow respiration. Don't remove back bulbs until
they are spent.

Basically, seedlings, being small, have less surface area for food
production and less volume for storage. Once a plant matures, it is robust
enough to grow at "gang buster" rates.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

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"Doris Salzmann" wrote in message
...
Is there a trick to growing larger pbs on Cattleyas? I have one plant that
took years (10 to be exact) before it grew a large enough pb to flower.
It
has flowered since. I gave it cooler night temperatures in the winter, but
the bulb was already larger. Thanks for any input.