I have one and it blooms once a year, late summer if I recall correctly. Mine forms a sheath and blooms later from it.

They're hard to kill. I was pretty clueless about growing catts under HID light when I bought mine three or four years ago. I managed to set it back several times before getting it strong and heading towards blooming size again. I'd hoped the growth that just finished would be BS, but I think it is just short of that. I really want to divide and repot it but I'm going to leave it undisturbed and see how it does for the next round of growth. I also seem to remember hearing they are tricky to bloom, but no details were given as to why.

Given the popularity of this orchid, I am surprised this posting did not receive more responses.

J

Have one for two years, no blooms. It got black rot on new growths two summers in a row. This year, it stays in the house. Don't know if it's more difficult than others, but I doubt it.

Jane

Mine are both out with the rest of the catts and bloom regularly with no special concessions.

I suspect lack of seasons. There are some that i cannot grow, but many do fine under what many in the frozen north would think to be horrible conditions.

When Alberta says hers flower without trouble it reinforces my diagnosis.

Think that for under light growers the types that make a pseudobulb and flower straight away would be rated as easy while the types that make a pseudobulb and then do nothing for a while would be more difficult.

Haven't got this particular orchid so i cannot say what its growth and flowering pattern is.

Interesting point, Arthur. That woudl be good news for me, maybe not so much for gesjenn.

J

would someone with Wildcatt or similar be so kind as to run this hybrid and post the species composition? It'd give a better idea of what it might like to bloom. I too am in the same boat of not being able to bloom mine, though i DO give mine seasons when i grow it outside for spring/summer/fall and it sits next to other catts/dens that bloom nicely.

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the posts so far.
I don't know if this cattleya is going to be difficult under lights yet. Mine has a big sheath but no bud in it. It is large and seems real healthy.
If it is supposed to bloom in late summer, after a couple months, I might put it on the outside deck for a few nights to see if a temperature drop has something to do with it. ???
gesjenn

It doesn't require a temp drop now. Put it outside (when it warms up) for some sun and fresh air. Keep your fingers crossed.

Terpguy, Blc George King is Blc. Buttercup x C. Bob Betts. The below link will take you to a page (translated Japanese) that contains a link to the entire geneology of George King. Scroll down to the Blcs and start looking. I tried to post the link directly to the geneology, but it just took me to the list. But it's there.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Geneologies

Gesjenn, I'm in Portland OR. My George King grows in an east-facing kitchen bay window along with a bunch of other catts, no special care. Whatever temp drop it gets happens naturally in the house. It's a once a year bloomer for me, usually late summer/fall.

Rita h,
Thanks for letting me know that.
My plant was under the Florida sun until recently,and it is very healthy looking.
The good news is that now I can see a tiny bud in the sheath. It seems to have appeared almost overnight! So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see.... I'm kind of excited!

Thanks John, very helpful. By my very primative calculations, the make up should be:

digbyana: 15%
mossiae and trianiae each: 12%
gaskelliana: 8%
dowiana: 23%

These percentages ignore singular contributions far back in its anscestry by such plants as c. eldorado/warscewiczii/bicolor, and laelia flava/xanthina. So, anyone know how to successfully grow these showier catts listed above? mossiae is the most recent species in the mix, being a grandparent.

Mossiae and gaskelliana are spring bloomers - and both considered easy, but differ in that mossiae grows in previous year and blooms in following spring, whereas gaskelliana starts growing late winter and blooms before growth is complete in May. Trianae blooms in winter and can be growing again by early spring.

The prima donna of the bunch is C. dowiana, who apparently likes higher light, but not a lot of heat. Also sensitive about moisture hanging around the roots, especially while resting. (Thanks to Arthur Chadwick's articles for this info)

Don't really know the story on digbyana, except it's tough thick leaves would suggest lots of sun and warmth. Lots of water, but rapid drying. I got a mature one from Hawaii in sphagnum.

All in all I don't myself find any of this helpful, except possibly the tendency for a higher light requirement -- which might explain why hobbyists have reported difficulty blooming them (as opposed to growing them which is not especially difficult), particularly in temperate regions.

J

I think your last statement just contradicted you, john, and explained exactly why this exercise is helpful, especially when one of those species is as recent as a grandparent. Mossiae is the most recent parent, so it'd be a little less picky about culture since you say its an easy grower, but dowiana makes up almost full quarter of its genetic makeup. Seems pretty significant to me, culture wise. If I could, I'd probably grow this in slightly cooler temps than I'm doing right now, knowing what I know from this exercise. Unfortunately, i'm stuck with the conditions I have now and will simply try to up the light because of the digbyana in the background.

I just meant that I'm not personally knowledgeable enough to know what traits are dominant and likely to affect the hybrid, but yeah, it's something. Nice investigating.

Dowiana also likes excellent light, by the way - according to Chadwick. Tricky with that for dowiana though, since dowiana doesn't like to be hot and can yield distorted growths (my last one did that). He stresses the necessity of good air movement. Perhaps significantly, my George King also gave me a weird growth recently (a two-leaved growth with one leaf kind've twisted) but then straightened out fine for the following one.

J

I've found that George King is one of the easier "yellows" or peach colored catts to grow. It's a standard sized catt. I grow in a greenhouse so I'm not sure how the plant reacts under artificial light.