| What Cynthia said about high nitrogen fertilizing during the fall/winter months
for Dens. is right on and from experience I can attest to this as far as keiki
formation. My first 2 orchids were Phal type Dens. and being totally ignorant
to there care, I fertilized and watered weekly throughout the year using a
fertilizer high in nitrogen. Come spring I got nothing but keikis and no blooms.
Now I thought that producing offspring was pretty cool, but I wasn't getting
any spikes. My ignorance continued through the next year and the same thing
happened again. More keikis!! Finally after reading up on this and joining our
local orchid society, I cut back on my fertilizing to every 4-5 weeks (unless
they are actively growing or spiking) during this time. I now have blooms
twice a year and many keikis which are maturing. |