Hello Everyone ,

I have been reading & picking up tips from this group , but I
have a question now .
I have been bitten by the orchid bug for about a year now , and
having fun , I even had my Cattleya Mossiae bloom this year ,just one
flower and it blew me away , I have been watching my L. Purpurata form a
sheath , and watching the buds inside develop , today the buds (there
are two) seem to be taking up the whole sheath , and there seems to be
no sign of it opening , what will I do ? let Mother Nature do her thing
? or how would I lend a hand ? .

Thanks in advance for any advice .

David

"Mom" might succeed at opening the sheath, but if you are VERY careful, you
can slit the top and give her a hand.

--

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


"David K" wrote in message
...
Hello Everyone ,

I have been reading & picking up tips from this group , but I
have a question now .
I have been bitten by the orchid bug for about a year now , and
having fun , I even had my Cattleya Mossiae bloom this year ,just one
flower and it blew me away , I have been watching my L. Purpurata form a
sheath , and watching the buds inside develop , today the buds (there
are two) seem to be taking up the whole sheath , and there seems to be
no sign of it opening , what will I do ? let Mother Nature do her thing
? or how would I lend a hand ? .

Thanks in advance for any advice .

David

David K wrote:
Hello Everyone ,

I have been reading & picking up tips from this group , but I
have a question now .
I have been bitten by the orchid bug for about a year now , and
having fun , I even had my Cattleya Mossiae bloom this year ,just one
flower and it blew me away , I have been watching my L. Purpurata form a
sheath , and watching the buds inside develop , today the buds (there
are two) seem to be taking up the whole sheath , and there seems to be
no sign of it opening , what will I do ? let Mother Nature do her thing
? or how would I lend a hand ? .

Thanks in advance for any advice .

David

If the buds only filled the sheath today or very recently, I would leave
it alone a little while longer. The tip of the sheath will probably
start to open any minute now.
If you hold it up to the light, see if you can see the flower stems
(from the buds to the base of the sheath). If they are making an S bend
and look like they might kink, then open up the sheath. I don't know if
Laelia purpurata is prone to this problem or not.

Steve

Generally, it's best not to mess with them. But if you see that s-bend
mentioned in a prior post ... press GENTLY against the sides of the sheath,
chances are it will pop open for you. If you have overhead watering [your
own or provided by Mother Nature], you may also want to peel it down once
it's open -- leaving just the top open creates a risk of a big "puddle"
which could rot the buds. Go slow and make sure to keep the pressure even
on both sides. Good luck, Kenni

"David K" wrote in message
...
Hello Everyone ,

I have been reading & picking up tips from this group , but I
have a question now .
I have been bitten by the orchid bug for about a year now , and
having fun , I even had my Cattleya Mossiae bloom this year ,just one
flower and it blew me away , I have been watching my L. Purpurata form a
sheath , and watching the buds inside develop , today the buds (there
are two) seem to be taking up the whole sheath , and there seems to be
no sign of it opening , what will I do ? let Mother Nature do her thing
? or how would I lend a hand ? .

Thanks in advance for any advice .

David

Hello Again ,

Good News ,as I was typing my original question things must have
been going on in the plant world , because about an hour after writing I
checked again and the sheath has split along the top , so all should be
well .
Here's Hoping for two nice flowers , this is the first time this
plant has bloomed for me .
I also have a Psychopsis (Oncidium) in bud for the first time ,
I have watched the spike on this one grow to 20 inches before the bud
formed , so 'I'll be sitting with my camera ready .

Thanks for your replies

Happy Growing

David

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 03:48:38 -0400, (David K)
wrote:
I also have a Psychopsis (Oncidium) in bud for the first time ,
I have watched the spike on this one grow to 20 inches before the bud
formed , so 'I'll be sitting with my camera ready .
Happy Growing
David

David -
Just checking that you know the Psychopsis is a continuous
bloomer from the same spike. It may look dead or dry. DO NOT
make the mistake of cutting it off. It will eventually grow an
additional spike or two. But the first one will bloom off and on
for years.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Hi Susan ,

I did know about the Psychopsis blooming from the same
spike , Thank You . I have only ever seen pictures of this orchid in
flower , so you can imagine how exciting it's getting here .

And since writing my original question to the group about
my Laelia , it's doing very well , I think Mother Nature must have been
looking over my shoulder while I was writing and thinking Oh No not
David with a knife , I was kind of dreading it as well (ha ha ha) .

Thanks for your help & advice .

Happy Growing

David

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 10:20:26 -0400, (David K)
wrote:

Hi Susan ,

I did know about the Psychopsis blooming from the same
spike , Thank You . I have only ever seen pictures of this orchid in
flower , so you can imagine how exciting it's getting here .

And since writing my original question to the group about
my Laelia , it's doing very well , I think Mother Nature must have been
looking over my shoulder while I was writing and thinking Oh No not
David with a knife , I was kind of dreading it as well (ha ha ha) .

Thanks for your help & advice .

Happy Growing

David

Your welcome. Glad all is well. Congratulations on the
buds/blooms.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php