After blooming

[tom499]

I hear the occasional talk of giving plants a break in watering after flowering.

i wondered if someone clear up which orchids this is for, and how long the break should be.

[kmarch]

Tom,

In the wild some orchids get a dry period (sometimes it's in winter, sometines in summer) during which plants will "rest" or not grow much or bloom. For example I have a pot of Australian terrestrial Pterostylus growing like gangbusters now. It's Autumn here and it's cooler and wetter and this is when Pterostylus grow. This winter they will bloom and after that they will die off in the spring and remain completely dormant all summer. In summer they get watered only what little they get rained on (i.e. very little).

So Pterostylkus dry rest is in summer contrasted wiht nobile-type Dens which get a drier or dry (and cool) rest in winter.

Cycnoces/Mormodes/Catasetum go through a distinctly dormant phase too where they loose all their leaves and look like a dead stick for a few months and during which you don't water.

There are a copule of Aussie native Cymbidiums for which this is true (canaliculatum for ex.).

A drier or dry rest period is recommend for some types of Dendrobium....as I've said in other threads, be wary of vague Dendrobium culture advice.

I would advise ignoring vague general comments about letting your orchids get a drier rest. i would study the culture of the plants you have (get your info from reliable reputable sources - "someone said" is not a reliable source) and give your plants the specific culture they like.

What types of orchids do you grow?

[tom499]

I have quite an odd array at the moment. These are what i have and how i think watering changes may vary

Phalaenopsis - I have heard they like a short break after blooming.
Paphiopedilum - watering all year round.
Masdevallia - watering all year round.
Bambo orchid - its putting out a bud stem and 2 keikei, case still open
Vanda - short break after blooming.
Odontoglossum - watering all year round.
miltonopsis - watering all year round.

[kmarch]

Tom,

I've seen colonies of Bamboo Orchids (Arundina graminifolia) growing wild in the higher hills on the island of Oahu in Hawai'i (my mother-in-law lives in Honolulu). It is a little drier (but not dry) there in the winter (which is when we're usually there over Christmas) than it is in the summer but in the hills there are frequent (as in almost daily) light showers in the morning or evening. This would lead me to think they'd do well with even year-round watering like a Paph. Some clumps were blooming while others were growing new growths, and still others were starting to bud. This makes me suspect they don't grow-flower-rest according to a seasonal cycle the way an orchid from a non-tropical region might.

I found a couple of sites with cultural info on them:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56646/
http://www.orchidspng.com/discus/mes...tml?1169008645

[tom499]

The culture seems right
Mine does have many new growths, and i have had to repot it due to this, but it from what they say mine must be ok, and the keikei's are not too big a deal.

the flowers mine produce do look alot like this:

http://easyorchids.co.uk/shop/produc...cat=266&page=1