There's nothing I know of to insure bud-set. Lack of buds can be cultural -
too cold, too warm, too dry, roots too wet. It can be genetic - some catts
are programmed to bloom at different times of the year depending on their
heritage. Some catts will produce a sheath and mature a growth but not bloom
from that growth until 3-6 months later even after the sheath has dried. It
can be a combination of the 2 - the plant requires a dry winter rest and
didn't get it; the plant requires short days or low temps and didn't get it.
This is especially true of species, but all hybrids come from those species
and carry with them some of the cultural requirements. Try looking up your
plants to see when they are expected to bloom. Google the name, check the
place you bought it from, or try some of the large online sellers like
Hausermann, Carter & Holmes, Oakhill, Stewart, Carmela, etc. Write this list
with specific names to see if anyone here has experience with that species,
clone or grex.
Catts are beautiful and fairly easy to grow (at least most of them) but then
can be downright frustrating to bloom if you don't know their specific
requirements. Good luck and I'll be glad to help further if I can.
Gary

"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"?