| Just a couple of thoughts on this:
1) Of course our orchids grow and bloom best under ideal conditions. In some cases "ideal conditions" means a seasonal drop in temperatures and/or very wet or dry seasons. Excellent growing conditions, even though they may seem harsh or stressful to us (the necessary wet/cold of some pleurothallids or the 8 months of bone dryness for Cymb. cannaliculatum for example) are not at all harsh to the plants. Rather quite the opposite, the orchids have evolved/adapted to such a degree that they expect/desire these conditions in order to thrive and bloom. Some people, when they refer to these seasonal extremes, talk about stressing the plants in org=der to get them to bloom but those ideal, seasonal conditions are only stressful to us, not to the plants who are expecting them.
It is true that conditions in cultivation often do do not exactly mimic nature. In cultivation plants usually do not have to compete for light or water or nutrients. This enables some orchid species to produce much better in cultivation than in the wild. Yet even though they exist in a non-competitive environment, they still need the sultural conditions they expect.
2) It does seem in my experience and in the experience of many of my orchid mates that from time to time we have an orchid that blooms profusely then immediately dies. I have heard a great deal of and even participated in discussion considering the possibility that an orchid blooms as a last ditch attempt to reproduce itself before it expires. I've never read a paper or seen any research on this though. It certainly seems possible and logical but I don't know if it has been specifically addressed in any research. So, using Mythbusters terminology (confirmed, plausible, busted), I'd have to say it's plausible.
I should like to hear from some of the more biologically inclined folks on this topic, especially if there has been any research.
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