Is there a reason why this bud is taking so long to develop?

[DYP]

I have this Lady Isabel for slightly more than a year now. This bud was first spotted about 3 mths + ago. Till now, it just grow to this length without any spike. I am not sure if this is a new leaf or bud after all...would be glad to get some advise here.
Thank you.

 

[big923cattleya]

I am sorry but I do not see a bud. In fact, I feel like the overall size of the growth seems on the small side to me, meaning it might have to mature some more before it flowers.
Some clones of Lady Isobel can flower smaller but I feel that there are more who flower on a growth much larger then yours. All you can do is be patient, provide as good of culture as you can and flowers will come eventually. You do seem to have 2 new growths coming which is a good sign but as I always teach my orchid students, "the number 1 reason an orchid does not flower is insufficient light"!
How much fertilizer to you use? Sometimes too much, with too much nitrogen, can give you lots of green growth, but no flowers.

 

[NEslipper]

I see a sheath (the pointed, pigmented “leaf” in the center of the plant). Stonei is famous for sending up sheaths up to a year before sending up buds. My roths also send up sheaths 6-8 months before sending up a spike (sheaths develop around July-August with spikes emerging the following February-March). So I wouldn’t be at all surprised for a Lady Isobel to send up a sheath 6-12 months before buds and a spike develop. Just keep doing what you’re doing and the plant may still send up buds, or it may not. Some plants, especially first time bloomers may send up a “false sheath” where buds never form, my dollgoldi love doing this! However, this plant is sending up new leads, which also a good sign since it indicates the main growth is maturing. The plant has clearly been “thinking” about blooming. I’m not sure where you’re located, but if it’s the northern hemisphere you may not see a spike until the days begin to get longer in the spring. Out of curiosity, how often do you water? The media looks very chunky, similar to what I pot my cattleyas in because it dries out very quickly. My roths and stonei love water!

 

[DYP]

I am sorry but I do not see a bud. In fact, I feel like the overall size of the growth seems on the small side to me, meaning it might have to mature some more before it flowers.
Some clones of Lady Isobel can flower smaller but I feel that there are more who flower on a growth much larger then yours. All you can do is be patient, provide as good of culture as you can and flowers will come eventually. You do seem to have 2 new growths coming which is a good sign but as I always teach my orchid students, "the number 1 reason an orchid does not flower is insufficient light"!
How much fertilizer to you use? Sometimes too much, with too much nitrogen, can give you lots of green growth, but no flowers.

Thank you @big923cattleya. I am not too aure mysekf as this growth doesnt have a split line hende i recken its a bud. It is indeed a small plant hence i was pleasantly surprised to see this springing up few months ago.
I fertilised my paphs irregularly. Either fornightly of monthly where I mix a 1ml of humus fertiliser to 1 litre of water.
I had just move this plant to recieve more morning light one week ago. Before that it received indirect light for most part of the day.

 

[DYP]

I see a sheath (the pointed, pigmented “leaf” in the center of the plant). Stonei is famous for sending up sheaths up to a year before sending up buds. My roths also send up sheaths 6-8 months before sending up a spike (sheaths develop around July-August with spikes emerging the following February-March). So I wouldn’t be at all surprised for a Lady Isobel to send up a sheath 6-12 months before buds and a spike develop. Just keep doing what you’re doing and the plant may still send up buds, or it may not. Some plants, especially first time bloomers may send up a “false sheath” where buds never form, my dollgoldi love doing this! However, this plant is sending up new leads, which also a good sign since it indicates the main growth is maturing. The plant has clearly been “thinking” about blooming. I’m not sure where you’re located, but if it’s the northern hemisphere you may not see a spike until the days begin to get longer in the spring. Out of curiosity, how often do you water? The media looks very chunky, similar to what I pot my cattleyas in because it dries out very quickly. My roths and stonei love water!

I am in Singapore. The climate here is warm throughout at between 32-34C and night time around 27-28C. The pot (before i shifted to this new location for more morning light) used to sit on a tray filled with leca balls. I water once every 4 days for tge last 1 month where before i do it once every 3 days. As the water drip onto the trah, this water provides the additional humidity for the plant over the next few days.

Can you share more about your roth and ypur watering? I have the same watering frequency for my roth as well and i believe the media is not completely dry even after 4 days hence I figure this is still alright.

 

[NEslipper]

I am in Singapore. The climate here is warm throughout at between 32-34C and night time around 27-28C. The pot (before i shifted to this new location for more morning light) used to sit on a tray filled with leca balls. I water once every 4 days for tge last 1 month where before i do it once every 3 days. As the water drip onto the trah, this water provides the additional humidity for the plant over the next few days.

Can you share more about your roth and ypur watering? I have the same watering frequency for my roth as well and i believe the media is not completely dry even after 4 days hence I figure this is still alright.

This is a case where what works for me, will absolutely not work for you, since we're growing in very different environments. A chunky, open media sounds great for a warm, humid environment like Singapore (I'm assuming your plants are grown outside). I grow indoors in the north eastern United States, and when my heat kicks on in the winter, the relative humidity can drop to 20%. Even running multiple humidifiers, I struggle to maintain 40-45% rh. I don't think my media/watering regime is going to be very informative for you. It seems like an open media is perfectly suited to your conditions, and your plant seems to be growing well. Hopefully, we'll see you posting some flower photos of it soon!

 

[tnyr5]

It's your heat. The buds are sitting in the sheath until they either can't wait any longer, or get a snap of cool weather. It may even make a second sheath before the buds push. This is a good thing, it means the flowers will be as big and numerous as the plant can possibly muster with the root system it has. Just be patient. (Or put it in an air-conditioned room and it will spike in 6-8 weeks.)

 

[DYP]

@NEslipper
I am glad to report that the spike broke out from its shealth 1 month ago! 2 buds for the first spike. The first flower bloomed yesterday and I can see that the petals have spread out further today. Howbeit the dorsal seems capped. Nevertheless, its a exciting moment to see this bloom before the end of the 2023.

 

[NEslipper]

@NEslipper
I am glad to report that the spike broke out from its shealth 1 month ago! 2 buds for the first spike. The first flower bloomed yesterday and I can see that the petals have spread out further today. Howbeit the dorsal seems capped. Nevertheless, its an exciting moment to see this bloom before the end of the 2023.

Congratulations on the blooming! The hooded dorsal is very common for stonei. Related to this, are you sure that this is a Lady Isobel? I don’t see any roth in this flower, to me it looks like a pure stonei, or at least multiple backcrosses to stonei (it can really dominate it’s hybrids).

 

[DYP]

Congratulations on the blooming! The hooded dorsal is very common for stonei. Related to this, are you sure that this is a Lady Isobel? I don’t see any roth in this flower, to me it looks like a pure stonei, or at least multiple backcrosses to stonei (it can really dominate it’s hybrids).

I am not sure either. I bought this last July as a Lady isabel as my first attempt with multi floras and I do not have another reference to determine how big this hybrid should be. That said, from internet reference, the stonei would have a curled or bended petal?

 

[spujr]

The petal length looks a little too long to be a pure stonei but I confess that I'm no expert.