Phal won't take a rest

[Sharyn]

I have a Phal that has been on its second bloom since mid January and still has more buds to open. A new leaf is growing and four new growths coming out from the sides of the bottom 2 leaves. At least two of these growths look like roots and the other looks like another spike forming.

I'm grateful the plant is doing so well, but I fear that it's going to exhaust its energies trying to grow in all directions. I don't know if I should just wait until the flowers are done and cut off the two spikes at that time, or if it would be better to cut them off now and let all the energy be directed at the new roots and leaf. Suggestions?

[jerrymeola]

Keep up with balanced fertilizer and enjoy the flowers.

I have had a Phal flower for 18 months and keeping it fed prevented any problems with the plant deteriorating.

[tom499]

As long as the res of the plant is healthy, having loads of flowers must be a good thing, as the plant feels it can make so many in good times

if you just cut back the stems once there finished it should be fine.

[Sharyn]

Jerry & Tom: Thanks. I would never want to sacrifice flowers and I'm surprised that the phals. can continuously bloom like this. This is my only phal. that just keeps growing, growing, & growing. I'll continue to enjoy the flowers and cut the spikes when done flowering. Thanks for the advice.

[janet_a]

yeah, i have a golden peoker daughter that just has to be in bloom. *all* the time. the one time i cut a spike off to try and force a rest, it just grew another one. this thing will regularly have at least one spike blooming for 12-18 months at a time. it's got four big leaves and lots of nice roots so i guess i shouldn't worry about it, but like you, i have a little nagging fear that it will fall over dead one day. but til then i just keep it fed and watered and enjoy it.

[Sharyn]

Janet: I guess we're the lucky ones. I never imagined that the Phal. could keep blooming for so long. I'm happy to keep the flowers for now. Wish all the orchids would be in bloom forever!

[chefatplay]

Janet and Sharyn, what kind of fertilizer do you use? I recently went to an orchid shop and bought their own mix of 30-10-10. I told them I had read that the 30-10-10 was not the best to encourage flowering, however, they said that is all they use and have great success at all times. They fertilize every other week. I would greatly appreciate your mix and timing as I have phals and would love to see a flourishing plant like that.

[Sharyn]

chefatplay: I think it may be genetics in my continuous bloomer. For some reason, this one just keeps blooming and it's not from any special type of fertilizer. Eventually, it'll stop for a rest. Any balanced fertilizer should be fine for your phal. The 30-10-10 has more nitrogen which is good for orchids growing in bark. I had many questions regarding fertilizers - see link below. You can also run a search in the newbie or orchid culture section for "fertilizer." There are quite a number of very informative posts regarding this subject.

BTW: I noticed on another of your posts that you said you're using softened water for your orchids. Don't use water that is softened with salt. I believe Cynthia, one of our moderators, said you should replace that salt block with a specific type. I'll see if I can find her post. Also, you might check to see if your outside water bypasses the softener. Perhaps these links will help you. Good luck.

Confusion over fertizilers
Using soft water for orchids

[janet_a]

i vary the fertilizer; i stopped using the 30-10-10 after jerry (i think) mentioned that it's mostly for foliage growth; also i have very few plants in straight bark anymore. i just used 20-20-20 last weekend; i also use the schultz orchid stuff, and the MSU at 200 pmm. i fertilize every other watering.

again though, some of this has to do with the genetics of the plant. i have other phals that bloom once a season, for 30-90 days, period, and then they're done. that's just their thing.

[mayres]

Sharyn - I'm going along with everyone else that it is to some extent genetic. With that said, does this particular plant have a name or is it a noid? Many of us on this forum like to know which plants seem to bloom "forever". I have a dendrobium that has been blooming nonstop for 13 months now, but no phals which are long bloomers yet like you have noted.

[Sharyn]

Mike: Bought it from Home Depot and it's probably one of the few that has done very well. It's almost done flowering now with just a few flowers on each spike left. The last bloom had 6-7 flowers on each spike. The phal is called Phal. Sensation 331012. I found that our Home Depot gets their plants from a grower in Hampshire, IL. Once I bought a phal with a tag that only had numbers on it. I e-mailed the nursery to find out what the number meant on the tag - he replied and gave me the crosses for the plant. I never bothered to check on this particular one. It's been blooming since last June, cut the spikes at the top node and it repeated blooming in January. Looks like it's almost done. Maybe I just got lucky with this one.

Tried to take a pic but it's too dark and gloomy - we just got 3 inches of rain!

[chefatplay]

Thank you for the reminder about the softened water. And you are also right, my hose water bypasses the softner. I will use that water, when I don't have rain water, in the future. I envy you for having such a long lasting plant. They bring me such happiness.