What percentage of collection is in flower

[Shadeflower]

Hey Kim, I crunched the numbers slightly differently.
If one assumes 3 weeks to be an average then to have an orchid flowering at any time of the year one would need 52/3 = 17 orchids minimum.

But not all will be flowering at the right time to get them to cover the whole year so one needs probably twice that or 3 times. We're at 51 then.
But some might not flower reliably every single year, some might skip a flowering - depends how reliably a bloomer one has. Lets just double it to be sure so we're at 100.

So that's making sure we have 1 orchid in bloom but it would be nicer to have 3 in bloom at any time so best to have 300 for that :P

Or alternatively go for the multiphals that once mature are pretty much in bloom all the time. My white noid supermarket phal has produced 3 flower spikes this year and each one last more than half a year every time. The flowers actually start collecting dust, it's quite incredible really compared to the standard 3 weeks for most species.

[camille1585]

I have about 80 plants, and usually have at least 4-5 in bloom at any one time, except for oct-dec, where I usually have not much going on...

Jan-April is my main Phal season (for those that spike in the fall) and I also have quite a few misc genera plants that bloom in that period as well. That's my peak period, where I can have over 10 plants blooming at once. After that the summer Phals take over, and July is Neofinetia season. Then the number of blooming plants decreases until I'm left with nothing, other than my Psychopsis, in the fall/early winter. I would like to find some plants that bloom in that period, but not sure what.

[Shadeflower]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Then the number of blooming plants decreases until I'm left with nothing, other than my Psychopsis, in the fall/early winter. I would like to find some plants that bloom in that period, but not sure what.

I had a look to see what blooms for me in that time and these are my limited number so far:

- Oncidiums sharry baby + Oncidium twinkle (December)
- Phalaenopsis mannii (January)
- Adaglossum Summit 'French Town' (November till February)
vanda coerulescens (apparently - haven't gotten one to flower yet)

cattleya trianae is supposed to be winter blooming but not too sure, I got myself one just in case that is its flowering time

Or are you looking for more fall bloomers cause I need more of those. I think the gongora galeata and cattleya maxima bloom in fall..

[Roberta]

It will be a lot easier once shows start up again, if you can attend one. Buy plants in bloom... they are likely to be consistent in bloom time in the future. Go to shows at different times of year if you possibly can. Is it dangerous to your bank account? Probably... but live the adventure! (Cheaper than shoes,designer purses, or antique cars...)

[Fairorchids]

Agree with suggestion to buy at shows - up to a point.

If it is a locally grown/flowered plant, you can rely on it to rebloom at that time of the year. However, many vendors bring plants purchased in bud from Hawaii; such plants do not rebloom reliably at the same time.

[rbarata]

What percentage of collection is in flower

0.03333333....%

[jcec1]

At the moment, 2 catasetum, 4 vandas, 2 dendrobiums, 6 phalaenopsis out of 90ish plants.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I want to revisit this to clarify what it moves to be in bloom.

Like open flowers or with some part of the spike / sheath etc in formation ?

Big difference in the answer

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I want to revisit this to clarify what it moves to be in bloom.

Like open flowers or with some part of the spike / sheath etc in formation ?

Big difference in the answer

I’d be counting the period from the first flower opening to the bulk of flowers falling.

[JungleJo]

Nice thread!

I have got about 300 plants, with big majority being species. Majority is from the cattleya family including lots of old school laelias, but I've got a little bit of everything with focus on warm growing plants.

There's always something blooming. Think there are about 15-20 blooming now and quite a lot about to bloom later this month.
Now I've got vanda, phals, ionopsis, oncidium, catts, laelia, bulbophyllum, leptotes, maxillaria and some other micros blooming.

Part of my collection is still juvenile so it will still be some years before they flower - if they survive until that point!