do phals have to spike in the fall?

[bjks140]

Hello all,

Yes, I am one of the shy lurkers, but here goes. My daughter gave me my first two phals for Mother's Day last year. Big Mistake!! I now have a dozen phals, two dendrobium plants, a paph, a Potinara and two vuyl orchids. My question is this: do phals have to spike in the fall? I now have one in bud and one in spike, but all the others are still growing leaves and roots. They are all on the same shelf and have all previously bloomed.

thanks,
Barbara

[katrina]

Hi Barbara -- welcome!!

I've moved your posting to it's own thread so that it doesn't get lost at the bottom of an old thread.

Sometimes the phals we buy in big box stores are forced to bloom out of their normal season and they can then skip a bloom cycle during the adjustment to being grown in the home. Don't worry...if they are making leaves and roots they will be blooming before too long.

[Ron]

Hi Barbara, welcome to the Geeks forum, an interesting place and friendly helpful members.
Most Phalls if well grown and given the right conditions can and will produce flower spikes in Autumn, Spring and Summer.
Mine often also do in winter but take many months to grow and produce flowers.
I have lots of Phalls and as a result I have them in flower 12 months of the year.
A very beautiful orchid that comes in a huge range of flowers

[vanda_obsession]

all 3 of my phallies are growing spikes... one is very soon to opening...

[1joyceh]

Welcome to the forum Barbara!

[Ray]

While the complexity of breeding is making these rule far less "hard-and-fast", generally, phals whose flowers are in the white/pink/mauve colors are primarily winter bloomers, while those species with red and yellow flowers can do so pretty much any time.

[FLBob]

Commercial growers have figured out how to bloom Phals "out of season". here's a link to an AOS article that discusses using temps. to maintain a vegetative state or induce spiking. Growing the Best Phals Part 3

[Carkin]

Great question and great answers! Welcome to the forum, so nice that you came out of hiding...I too lurked a while before posting anything but it is such a wonderful group of people here that make you feel so welcome! They are so willing to help and the growing tips that they share are invaluable!

[skipper]

Welcome Barb, and good luck with the plants. I too grow Phals. Light levels and temp. will play a part in the plant reblooming. The only spot I have is a very large north window, so this year I have added two LED lights over the plants. We will see if this makes a difference. That is part of the fun of this hobby. Some things you do make a big difference, and others do not. One thing is for sure, it's fun. Welcome again.

Dale

[orchids4me]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
Glad you decided to come out of lurking you have mentioned a few plants that take a bit higher light than phals do in your collection. If you're growing in a window those mentioned will do better in an east facing or morning sun window for starters . Good luck with your collection.

[bjks140]

Wow! A big thank you to all for your welcome and help! I have been learning by trial and error as well as some info on the web. The two phals in spike are on opposite sides of the same shelf so I am hopeful that the ones in between will bloom in time. About my cattleya ....... it is a seedling that has been in a bright window for months without any movement. I moved it to the same shelf as my phals so that I could keep a better eye on it and now it is growing. Go figure. Apparently my light meter is off. Thanks again for your help. I need all I can get!

Barbara