Bad Idea? My experiment-

[missann]

I have a division of a cattleya, and I know that unifolates can be very sensitive to light and need uninterrupted darkeness at night to flower. In order for them to have it, I have to bring them in every night, so I am going to try to putting one in total darkness for a week or two and see what happens. I know they bloom later in the year near the fall, so I am going to try to trick it into thinkig it is time to bloom.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

[kmarch]

Don't do this. It sounds like one of those silly things you hear like, "put your Christmas cactus in a bag with an apple and put it under your kitchen sink for a month."

Your orchid is a plant. Plants need light in order to manufacture energy for them selves through photosynthisis. A week or 2 of total darkness will do nothing more than starve your orchid for a week or 2 and will weaken it. A weakened orchid will probably not bloom.

Also I've never heard that unifoliate cattleyas need uninterrupted darkness to flower. Mine never had that (parking lot light right outside the window) and I never had any trouble flowering them.

Forget the tricks and just give your new cattleya the good culture it needs. Then it will perform for you.

[jerrymeola]

Cattleya bloom throughout the year not just the fall. In Florida it is heavy blooming time now.

I never heard anyone suggest they will not flower without total darkness at night. Our Florida sky is clear enough to read a newspaper most nights.

Also changing lighting for a couple of weeks would not effect a plant by much. Even poinsettia which do flower based on day length require a full year of light adjustment to get them to bloom at Christmas.

I often wonder why hobbyist want to change the blooming season of an Orchid. You will not get more flowering from the plant at most you will move it flowering season. In fact forcing it out of season would logically stress the plant and result in fewer flowers. Unless you maintain the new flowering season forever somewhere you will lose a years flowering.

With all the negatives, I do not understand the desire to do this. I understand the poinsettia growers wanting a Christmas market and Phalaenopsis growers chilling plants to flower for Mother's Day, but without a commercial reason - why do it?

[Brooke]

The only cattleya I am aware of that requires shorter daylight period to bloom is a labiata. If it doesn't get the "normal" shortening days/longer nights, it won't bloom. If you grow under artificial lights, you need to mimic the short days for bloom but a closet, ditto to Kevin and Jerry posts.

Brooke

[missann]

Hmm, well, none of my orchids have bloomed in 5 years, and I am a little impatient. This is the first year that they have had enough light to flower, and my neostylis has a spike, but nothing else is doing anything. I remember buying my cattleya in Hawaii, and it didn't bloom until I started taking it inside at night to be in the dark. I have also heard/read that sticking an orchid in darkness for a week or two will make it grow roots-either that or it will start making keikis. I can't remember which. I don't know if that is true, but I still kind of want to see what happens. It's all in the name of my own scientific curiosity and impatience.

[Orchidementia]

Maybe you remembering this, from when you were looking for keiki paste?

Chula Orchids Newsletter/Catalog

Two things can happen when you use this paste on the phal node.

A new growth will begin, but always hard to tell if it will be a new bloom spike, or, the new plant you are looking for. It's natural for the plant to start new branching bloom spikes from these nodes and most will. The suggestion from the manufacturer of the keiki paste said if you want to make sure it starts quick and becomes a new plant, he suggests keep in in a dark place for about 10 to 14 days. Not shady, DARK!! Like a closet or cupboard.

[psyc1210]

How long have your orchids actually be growing with the right amount of light? As you've said they haven't bloomed for 5 years...why haven't they had enough light in that 5 years?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by missann

Hmm, well, none of my orchids have bloomed in 5 years,

1) Are they all flowering size plants? Once an orchid comes out of flask, it can take anywhere from as little as 3 years all the way up to more than 10 years to flower.

2) Are they all getting the culture they need? For example Cymbidiums need to get really cool in the autumn o they will not flower. If you have Cymbids that you're keeping warm year-round, then they're not getting the culture they need in order to flower.

Originally Posted by missann

...and I am a little impatient.

Well this may sound harsh but it's the truth, somehow, you'll need to learn some patience if you're going to be a successful orchid grower. As I've mentioned in other threads, many orchids flower once a year on a seasonal cycle (some flower more than that) so orchid growers have no choice but to be patient and let their orchids flower when they're supposed to. For example, my Cymbids are in bud now and they'll flower later this month and next month - which is when they usually flower from July through about the end of September or so. If I want Cymbidium flowers in February or March....to bad for me. I have to wait 5 or 6 more months.

Originally Posted by missann

I remember buying my cattleya in Hawaii, and it didn't bloom until I started taking it inside at night to be in the dark.

This is probably a coincidence. There are several factors that make an orchid bloom, temperature, light intensity, time of the season, how much (or little) water they're getting, health and maturity of the plant, etc., etc. Simply taking a plant in at night isn't enough to make it bloom.

Originally Posted by missann

I have also heard/read that sticking an orchid in darkness for a week or two will make it grow roots-either that or it will start making keikis. I can't remember which. I don't know if that is true...

Neither of those things is true. Only certain orchids make keikis to begin with. Two weeks of complete darkness will not make an orchid keiki, especially one that doesn't keiki naturally to begin with.

As far as growing roots is concerned, most orchids (both epiphytic and terrestrial) grow their roots at a particular point in their growing/flowering cycle. If your cattleya isn't at the root growing stage in this cycle, starving your orchid with 2 weeks of complete darkness will not make it grow roots.

Originally Posted by missann

...but I still kind of want to see what happens. It's all in the name of my own scientific curiosity and impatience.

Wouldn't your scientific curiosity be better served by delving into orchid "nutrition" (I see you've asked questions about medium pH in another thread) or the finer points of excellent orchid culture, plant anatomy, plant chemistry, orchid habitat, or any number of other topics that would assist you in becoming an excellent grower rather than weakening orchids by subjecting them to debunked urban myths?

[fred]

moving your orchids in and out like that is also not recommended
thats about all I will say as you have got some good advice here