Growing flower buds on Cattlianthe Jewel Box 'Scheherazade'

Flower buds on Ctt Jewel Box 'Scheherazade' 4 months after initial swelling of the flower sheaths

     Four months ago, I wrote a post asking if my Cattlianthe Jewel Box 'Scheherazade' was preparing to flower, when I notice some swelling in the sheaths.  In the last four months, mostly without my notice, the sheaths dried up, and the buds within them grew.  The pseudobulb pictured above looks like it will have two flowers which will bloom successively.  Meanwhile the other pseudobulb (and the one that was the first to show signs of bud growth) is lagging far behind.  There is something growing in there, but it is still small and hard to see.  It's possible that bulb will flower later, or it may just as possibly dry up.

Three month old cattlianthe pseudobulb

    The new pseudobulb has made some impressive growth in the past month.  When I wrote about the growth just a month ago, it was barely half an inch long.  The little droplets on the growth aren't water, but actually sap (called honeydew).  It's a sign of healthy, rapid growth, and possibly a response to the bright light.

Pseudobulb growth at 1 and 2 months

     Here's an image I posted a month ago, to show just how much the pseudobulb has grown since then.  It's interesting how conventional wisdom seems to be that cattleyas do not like being repotted (hence the recommendation to wait 2 years between repotting, or even to avoid it altogether by growing the plants on mounts or in baskets).  I guess that most of the advice refers to species cattleyas, which can be more finicky.  Regardless, whether due to hybrid vigor or because I happened to catch the proper timing, my cattlianthe has thrived since I've last repotted it, producing vigorous leaf, bud and pseudobulb growth over the past few months.