what to do once blooms are past

[laughhon]

My son and I bought orchids from an orchid show once the show had ended. I have 6 varieties. are they cared for the same? Once the blooms are gone, can they be encouraged back more quickly by doing certain things, like fertilizing? One of them even smells beautifully like vanilla....

Last year I'd bought an orchid from Loews, of all places, and have recently gotten one measily bloom back (though I see I'll probably get three more soon).

Thanks

[jerrymeola]

The best thing for reblooming is good general care. How often a plant blooms is genetic and can not be varietied much. Some people try to force blooming by high Posphate fertilizer, but this weakens the growth of the plant. If you force it now it will delay it even further next time.

Good drainage potting mix is most important. Since you bought them at an orchid show I can safely assume the vendor gave you plants in fresh medium. The bark or sphagnum used needs to be changed every two years at least. But that is a future issue for you.

Water as often as necessary for your growing conditions. In SW Florida in the summer I water every day outside and twice a day in August. In the North indoors every 7-10 days is probably better. It varies some on the type of orchid so if you want more info ask again and give the types.

Fertilize 'weakly weekly' that is a teaspoon per gallon of balanced 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 fertilizer once a week. You can dilute the amount and fertilize more often. If you water three times a week, 1/3 of the teaspoon per gallon every watering if you find this more convenient. High nitrogen fertilizers are often recommended for orchids potted in BARK ONLY. (decaying bark uses up the excess nitrogen) They will grow the plant size faster, but not do anything extra for flowering.

Light levels are most critical for flowering. Cattleyas and dendrobiums need 3500 foot candles, Oncidiums and their soft leaf relatives about 2500, Phalaenopsis 1500. Lady slippers 900 and Vandas 6-8000.

Full instructions for measuring light with a camera are at Measuring light levels with an SLR camera

[retrodiva]

Hello,

I read the post on what to do once the blooms have past but I am worried that I have done something that will prevent my plants from ever blooming again.

I have three Phalaenopsis. I have had all three about a year. One of them I can't seem to stop from blooming. For the other two they continue to grow new leaves and new roots but no bloom stems. I think I may have stunted them by cutting their bloom stalks down to the base. I read somewhere that you should cut them down only about half way to two thirds of the way down, but I saw that there were previous stems that had been cut on the plants before and so I followed suit.

I can say that I have not noticed a difference between when I fertilize and when I don't fertilize. They keep growing at the same rate regardless.

So have I doomed myself to having no more blooms on those two plants?

Your advice and insight is greatly appreciated.

[mayres]

Nope - you're fine. Whether to cut the blooms off at the base or just above the last node on the spike is a personal choice. Phals typically only bloom once per year for about three months give or take - which in the northern states is starting spikes in late fall early winter and flowers about three months thereafter (many just starting to bloom now). Commercial growers can force them to bloom at other times of the year by controlling their environments in greenhouses. If you get them spiking out of season for your area they may take a part of a season (thus skipping your normal blooming season) to get back on track for your area. Cutting the spike back to the base encourages the plant to build up its energy (leaves and roots) for the next bloom cycle while cutting the spike at the node "may" lead to a subspike with fewer and potentially slightly smaller blooms than the initial spike. Whether you purchased your phal during the normal bloom cycle for your area might have some influence as well as to whether you encourage it to set a subspike versus put its energy into another large spike or two during the normal bloom period. Note - this is just when MOST of the phals in my area do. There are genetics in some that cause them to bloom later (summer instead of late winter/early spring) and bloom longer.

[jerrymeola]

I think you are fine. Too much nitrogen fertilizer can delay flowers, but probably it is just 'first year blues'. In that I mean it sometimes takes an orchid a while to settle into your home. Since it is growing well you should do fine.

Remember Phals like a drop in temperature during late winter to set buds. Since one flowered you may have temperatures they like but you might try moving them to a spot where they will get 50 degree nights.

These is blooming season right now, and many are still not spiking even here in Florida where are season is early. You still have time this year.

[retrodiva]

Hi,

So all three are in the same location and it is the coolest room in the house at night. They are in a window facing east and have a large victorian slighly difusing the early morning light. I keep a heater on in this room while I work during the day so it does get warm day and cool night temps.

All three started getting new leaves and new roots at the beginning of winter but only the yellow one has been blooming. This is its second round of blooms since I brought it home, not counting what was on it when I bought it.

But neigher of the other plants show any signs or promise of starting a new bloom stalk. So if they were planning to bloom this winter one would think they would have started at least the stalk by now.

It's been so long I forgot what they looked like.

[mayres]

Don't give up! I have had phals in my office start spikes as late as March - and they are in (slightly north) East facing window sills. When did they bloom last (the ones not yet blooming)? If you have the plants right up very close to the window they can pick up a little added coolness from the night/windows - unless you have superbly insulated windows - works for me........

[Maddy]

I'm waiting on some of mine, too - one I wasn't sure of, but I thought I'd have spikes on a couple of the others by now.

One I really wish would - it's an oddball I bought out of bloom (it was potted up with a leafless spike to make it look like one plant, not two) and I have no idea what color it is.

[Chef Liz]

This has nothing to do with fertilizer, but you seem very knowledgeable. I don't even know what a spike is, but I'm anxious to learn all I can. Can you refer me to a site like orchids 101? I'm in Colorado and hoping to raise a couple of phals. Appreciate any help!

[mayres]

Chef Liz - I recommend you visit a place nearby that sells plants - just about any place will do - such as Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Nurseries, etc. (of course places like Borders, Barnes & Noble too!) and obtain a copy of Ortho's Book on Orchids - There are two of them that are both excellent and you should be able to obtain them for around $20. The information is of course available in many places on the internet, but one or two primary books with good basic information will lay a foundation for you to spring from to ask many good questions. Note: spikes are the stems the orchids send up that will ultimately carry flowers/blooms - called "spikes" because they start out as elongated pointed growths. mike

[Chef Liz]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I'll do that today!!

I would suggest you check out the Ortho book on how to grow orchids. You can find it almost anywhere. It's not expensive and has a lot of good information in it.

Some phals bloom during the warm months, so don't give up on your plants. If they don't set spike and bloom during the spring or summer, give them a bit more light (just a bit) and let them cool down by 15 degrees every day for a couple of weeks in the fall.

You say you have a sheer on your window. What part of the country do you live in? Anywhere north of the Mason Dixon line does not need a sheer curtain during the dull winter months. That only applies to the southern or western part of the country. Plants in the north need all the light they can get.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Cool temps are a big help to stimulate blooms for the average (not the very warm growing types) Phal. But, there are several other items that can encourage or discourage blooming. The first is the length of the day. Winter and very short days is important. If you have been keeping a light on in the room where they grow to the same time every night, you could be preventing the Phals from blooming. During winter, the plants are expecting to get more light than they do in summer, don't know if it is because they grow on deciduous trees or that the cloud cover is less in winter. One last thing to try, if all else fails, is to restrict their watering so that they dry out a little more than they normally should. Getting any stress helps them to bloom, but don't carry the drying out to the point of shrivelling the leaves. Good luck.

[Carol A]

Did you ever get your phals to rebloom...if so...tell me how!