No Spikes

[rfkhky]

Hi, Not sure if this is the right location for the post since I am a newbie.

I was given three plants which were nearly dead due to neglect about 1 year ago. About that same time I purchased a very small cattleya with no spikes or flowers and a Phal with a flowering spike, which didn't look too good. I nursed the nearly dead ones and theothers back to a vigorous state but have no clue as to their variety except to say that the leaves are all different than the catt or phal. I have them in my office and water and fertilize about once weekly. They have put on significant growth with new roots and leaves but no spikes. The temperature in the office stays between 70- 75 all year long and they are in a filtered western exposure. All are thriving but no color. Any suggestions on how to coax them into producing spikes?

[joan gero]

Hi rfkhky! Welcome to this nice friendly forum!
Looks like you have one dendrobium and apart from the catt, the rest all look like phalenopsis to me (others will give you more definitive id's). They all like to have temperature fluctuations over the course of a day... the catts want more sun, and while the phals probably have enough, they definitely want a coolness in the evenings to spike. Check out the cultivation and care threads on this forum! And welcome!

[pikevi]

Welcome to the forum, rfkhky.

All of your plants look very healthy. I am sure they all will spike soon.

Good luck.

[articuno75]

Phals need a temperature drop in order to produce spikes. Have you found the threads on the care and cultivation on Phals? Overall the plants look great. Welcome to the forum

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by rfkhky

Any suggestions on how to coax them into producing spikes?

Only one: let them grow up. They all look to be what I'd call "advanced seedling" or perhaps "near blooming" size which means they have another 1-2 years to grow before being mature enough to bloom.

They look well cared for and healthy so you must be getting the culture right. Keep up the good work and you'll probably have some flowers in 1-2 years.

[Hummer344]

The constant temperature in the office might deterr the phals from flowering. Over the last two years I have left my phals outside as long as I dare before bringing them in for the winter. This treatment has resulted in much more flowering than in past years. Right now, of the 6 phals I have, 5 have spikes. Must be doing something right.

[rfkhky]

Thank you all for you comments, I guess I'll have to be patient!

[PhalPal]

Welcome to the forum rfkhky!

Another reason for no spikes could just be this: if your orchids were mistreated prior to your care and you repottied and nursed them back to health this year, they will probably skip a year of blooming. The phals definately need a 20 degree drop in temp at night during the fall to initiate spikes and the catts probably are not getting enough light.

[rfkhky]

Thanks again. I will have to figure out a way to keep them cooler in the evening. How many days of coolness are recommended?

[Tobi]

About a week or 2 at around 58-60 F should do.

[kmarch]

I think the plants are all too young to bloom. Since they're not mature, no amount of cool nights is going to get them to bloom at this point. Besides it's not just a few cool nights that get Phals to bloom it is a seasonal diurnal (difference between day and night) temp difference of 10-15F.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The first one looks like it is a nobile type Dendrobium. These usually need cooling off and a dry rest when they finish growing. However, the plant looks too small to bloom, so cooling it off is probably not useful. But for sure you should stop fertilizing it when the latest growth matures its top most leaves and you see no more primordial ones in the center of the top, and let dry out really well between waterings at that time.