They bloom in their own time. I don't know your plant or its habits, but sometimes the sheath and buds are formed in fall and then develop in late winter for a spring blooming. Some are late fall or winter bloomers-- Nov-Dec, and the buds develop quickly right before bloom.

Sometimes if the plant was sickly, especially with poor roots that couldn't support the plant, I have had them resorb buds that were in the sheath.

If your plant is healthy and in good light, don't worry, and see what happens.

Palito, roughly speaking there are two kinds of catts. Some catts can do perfectly well both things at the same time: bloom and grow. I have some of these. They don't require practically any changes in culture during the year (easy for beginner, eh?). But there is also another kind. After the new pseudobulb matures they need a change in culture in order to bloom. Reduced watering , no fertilizer, reduced temperature, increased light. If you make a mistake in culture (give them water and fertilizer, for example) , they abort "blooming program" and activate "growing program".
If the sheath is dry it's safe to cut it open. Take a look at the buds. Most likely they are dead. Then continue with water and fert. and make changes in culture as I said when the bulbs mature. Negative experience is also an experience. If the buds are still alive, stop fert. and reduce water now. Plant may change it's mind yet, though chance of it is tiny.

thank you both. :) This plant probably fits the second category mentioned by Early Bird.

The buds were dead unfortunately. However, the new pseudobulbs coming up, (theyre like 60% grown at this point) have sheaths. so maybe, as days are shorter and colder they'll bloom. I'll just keep it drier after they're fully grown.

Wow! Really interesting. I have steered away from Catt types. Have a handful. Don't really know what I am doing. How do you trigger the growth program? High N and water would be the watering regime? When they get to blooming stage cut back? I got a small cutting of a BLC to flower and an epicat hybrid. No idea what I did. The mother BLC plant is really struggling to grow. It had severe root rot when I got it and was super underlight. It's been outdoor all summer and is putting out blush coloured new growth but very slowly

Thanks!
Clara

"How do you trigger the growth program?"
You don't need to trigger it. Plant schedule is programmed genetically. Just follow it. The thing is not to interfere crudely, like keeping catt dry and hungry when it's trying to grow or keeping it soaked when it's trying to bloom. Just look at your plant and try to understand what it wants. There are, of course, growth and rooting hormones in every garden department, instractions attached.
I know guys who like to experiment on their orchids: "What are they going to do if I do that?" I never liked that really. Though you can move plant schedule a bit of course. Commercial growers do it all the time. I am only making first steps in that direction. When I wanted to postpone one my catt's bloom I moved it inside the house into cool, dry, A/C-ed air and reduced watering. New growths stalled. After a month I took it back outside into our hot and humid FL summer, it started to grow again and I bought a month delay. Another time I cut off blooms on second catt and started high N fert. It started to grow immediately , bulbs matured earler and I got blooms earler. Maybe someone with more experience can tell you more about that.

Clara, I have a lot of Catts which are almost always growing. They are either maturing growths, making new ones, spiking or both. The flowering always follows the seasons. Growths from early spring or summer should flower. Many flower twice a year. Some send up blank sheaths in fall and never flower in Winter or Spring. Because I summer them outdoors, my best chance of flowers is early winter. The growths started in Spring, rarely flower. There has not been enough light to get flowers. I'll get blank sheaths which have rarely developed buds.(At lease, that is what I think).

That is why I get crazy over summer. Those plants must get as much outdoor living as possible to flower for me in November. I just can't replicate this indoors. I don't care how many CFL's I shine on them. I rarely get Spring flowers.

Jane

ok. this is just an update.

so the plant of my original post, is once again, growing buds inside the sheaths. However the sheaths are still greenish/purple. Should i cut the top of the sheath? or should i wait? I fear the buds will rot like before.

Without knowing more details of where you live, where and how the Catt is growing and etc. I can't answer your questions with any authority. You should already have seen, however, Jane's post as to how difficult it is to get Catts to do anything much after the heat and sun of summer is passed in the North East. It holds for quite a bit of the U.S. and Canada as well. I also liked early bird's comments re: a Catts behavior is largely programmed into its DNA but it is a dependent system. Dependent on environmental things taking place when and as expected. The indoor environment is so different from nature and North America so different from equatorial America that much of the behavior of modern Catts seems mysterious and capricious. Given a serious attempt to modify their environment towards something approaching natural conditions captive Catts can be rewarding and easy.

H

hi Howard. I'm in zone 8b.

This is the bio of the plant
the plant lives outdoors from early March until temps drop below 50F around mid november. During its first year with me, I had it hanging under a tree and it grew ok, but no flowers.

This year I moved it to almost full sun and increased watering. The growth was just explosive.

Now it definitely wants to bloom. Its first attempt the sheath rotted. now 2 weeks later the new sheaths have developed buds, but I fear they may rot again, since light isnt as bright and the temperatures are colder at night.

Don't cut the sheath. Water can collect in the cut sheath and start rot.

If it is cooler and less light, cut back some on the water and fertilizer.

Keep the sheath dry when you water.

Since it wants so much to bloom, I'm sure it will. Just relax.

Mehitabel, I can almost hear you say, "breathe..." .
sue

lol i guess I'll have to go on with life...

this is an update almost 2 months later.
Unfortunately the plant aborted all flower buds AGAIN.

The plant was kept drier as suggested and receiving plenty of light as usual. All 4 sheaths had buds inside but they stopped growing halfway and then rotted. I have no idea why this is happening repeatedly (so far 5 times)

My Blc's do the same thing... :(