Often, a Catt just nearing flowering-size will set sheaths and then find
itself not quite able to follow through. We call these "puberty sheaths,"
around here. This is not a cultural problem, you just need to keep growing
the plants until they are ready.

If you have more mature Catts doing this [i.e., they've bloomed before, but
are now setting blind sheaths], then you may have a cultural problem. The
most common is insufficient light [some Catts will get by on less than
others], but there can be other reasons [fluctations in the temps or
humidity, your watering schedule, etc., or even possibly thrips, if tiny
buds try to develop and then brown out] -- and then there is the "sometimes
it just happens" factor :(

I seriously doubt that a bloom-booster fert. will make any major difference,
but as long as you keep using a balanced formula most of the time, an
occasional dose shouldn't hurt.
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
oups.com...
Some of my cattleyas that had set sheaths never developed buds. They're
all in the same growing area, and they're pretty much sitting side by
side, so I'm not sure why some developed flower buds and some didn't.
Now, a few of my newer catts have new sheaths. Is there anything I can
do to make sure that they set buds, other than dosing them with
Dyna-Gro "Bloom"?