How long before bloom?

[Mothman]

My new Phal has alot of buds along its spikes. I'm wondering how long it would take for them to bloom under ideal conditions. I've been watching it for a week now and I dont notice any change in the size of these buds. They just sit there.

I've had previous Phals where the buds never bloomed and just fell off after a while. How can I avoid this?

thanks!

[captripppp]

You may not be able to avoid having the buds drop. If your plant is in bloom/bud now, it was probably grown in a controlled greenhouse. Meaning that they grow those plants to be in bloom at all times of the year, when this is actually the time of the year for new growth in phals. Aaron

[jerrymeola]

Most Phals bloom readily and although the possibility of bud drop is real there is not anything you can do about it.

I do not recommend anyone buy Phals in the summer or fall in bud. This is not the normal blooming season and the plants have been heated in the winter and chilled about 3 months ago to set the buds. It is much hotter now than the plants would normally have in blooming season.

It is growing season now and the plants should not be putting their energy into flowers a the expense of growth. A summer flowering Phal will seldom bloom the following winter and skip a year so having buds in the summer does not gain much.

This is the season for oncidium alliance, cattleyas and Dendrobiums.

Still the buds should open - enjoy them.

[atcrosby]

Jerry -

I just bought a beautiful phal but it's July in Texas so we still have about 3 more warm months plus plenty of light. Is there anything I can do help the plant this fall so that it will go into the normal cycle next year?

It's appearing the bedroom is a good location in my house in that all my phals have new leaves growing and one still has blooms on it. It got a late start this year.

In Novemb3r, I read you need to get them 3-4 weeks at 60 degree temperature. Is that the case so they are will bloom in the spring?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Shorter days are also a requirement, so don't keep the plant in a room with the lights on till the same time each night. 55F might be good too. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[atcrosby]

Thanks Cynthia -

Since I saw the light comment in an earlier post, I am very careful about the lights in the bedroom being on for no reason. Their normal lighting cycle follows the sun so the days will start getting shorter now that Summer Solstace has passed.

The 55 degree temperature is just for nights or also days? I usually very stingy with the heat in the winter so it'll naturally get to 60-65 at nights. Do these have to go into the garage or just leave a window open? How long do they have to have 55 degree temps? 2? 4? 8 hours at a stretch?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You are getting too detailed for me, tho I am sure Jerry would be more specific. I suspect 60 at night would be good, but the deal is, that if you don't see a new spike by mid winter, then move the plant to a cooler spot. And probably cool for several weeks. Jerry is the Phal expert. Cynthia

[jerrymeola]

You want a 20 degree drop in day to night temperatures as ideal. 70 day 50 night is what I aim for.

Since yours bloomed late I would look to chill it in the early spring rather than November. The day length will be about the same and the temperatures will be about the same as November. This will give it more time to strengthen.

In Hawaii they do not control the temperatures for their Phals and blooming is late spring to early summer because of their temperatures.