Orchids putting out new growth, then stopping - please help

[GereonOrchid]

Hello, I’m new to the forum and this is my first post. But I need help!
I have a modest collection of orchids incl. Cattleya, Epicyclia, Dendrobiums, Bulbos, and several others. All have put out new growth with roots, however they stop when they are about 50% to size. Especially my Hibiki, Dendrobium Phal, Epicyclia and one of my Paph’s. I fertilize regularly and I installed LED’s, which helped them through the winter. None have flowered.
Have a stunted them somehow? Is it transplant shock? I’ve had some planted over a year with steady new growth, they just stop, like they run out of steam.
Zone 6a, west facing window, 50-65% humidity, 18-21 Celsius (landlords control heat)

[Lacie]

I am not sure I can help much, but a west facing window sounds like it may not be enough light for at least the Catts, Dens, and Epicyclia. I do not grow under lights, but it might be worth giving details about your LED set up since many people on the forum could tell you whether the supplemental light is sufficient.

Other than that, as long as the new growths aren't shriveling/dying, I would just say patience is key. Orchids can be very slooooow growers and sometimes they'll sit for a year and do nothing and the next year they put out two new growths. I've had growths or spikes that stalled for ages and then all of a sudden started growing again

Good luck!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by GereonOrchid

Is it transplant shock? I’ve had some planted over a year with steady new growth, they just stop, like they run out of steam.
Zone 6a, west facing window, 50-65% humidity, 18-21 Celsius (landlords control heat)

Welcome to this forum! Temperature sounds quite ok. Assuming lighting level is satisfactory. Humidity should be ok.

And you had also been adding some fertiliser, and the plants sound like they're not degrading or deteriorating which is good.

The next thing is to determine what lighting levels are, and the rough duration of lighting the plants get each day.

And media used, and watering method - schedule and how much water applied etc.

And how long roughly have these plants been growing in that particular growing area?

With lighting ----- ideally, the amount of light to provide an orchid (intensity wise) should be around the maximum it can handle without burning up or running into scorching problems. We can't always provide that, or should not (in practice) because there's often uncertainty about just how intense a particular day could get - such as in summer. But as much light as an orchid can handle (then back that off that amount a little bit - for safety) is good.

Usually, we should start off with medium light level (no direct sun) for orchids with quite green or dark green leaves. Then slowly build up the light intensity (ie. transition gradually to more and more light over as much duration of time as we think it needs for transitioning).

[Ray]

How often do you water?

What is your water quality like , especially hardness?

What is the fertilizer formula, at what concentration do you mix it, and how often is it applied?

[GereonOrchid]

Thanks for the responses!
I thought maybe it was low light but then my Vandas which are in the same spot are showing purple on their leaves. I was reading this is a sign of ample sun. They haven’t flowered in a year though so that could be wrong.
I used to use tap water but switched to using my aquarium water. (not sure of hardness). I usually water once the medium (bark and sphagnum moss, varying mixes) has dried up or almost dried. I also have a layer of moss on top so new roots can grow into something more moist. I’ve noticed new roots dry out sometimes.
Fertilizer is the Better Grow brand bloom and growth booster. I mostly use growth booster until I think the growth can produce a flower (never gets big enough). I fertilize every other watering at about 50% dose.
The lights I added are two Sansai 24W LED’s. They are spots however they have a wide beam. The lights are on from 7am to 2pm once the sun reaches the window. They get afternoon sun until about 7pm. Should I try more artificial light or is there other things I should try first?
Sorry for the long response.

[Ray]

Fertilizer:

What are the formulas? 30-10-10? 5-5-5? Nambe brands don't help much as the formulas can var with markets.

"50%" is of no value, as I don't know what 100% dose is. How many tsp/gal, ml/L, or g/L do you use.

How many days between feedings?

[GereonOrchid]

The growth booster is 20-14-13 and the bloom booster is 11-35-15.

As for the amount I do roughly half a teaspoon for every 4 cups. Most of my orchids get fed once every two weeks. So about 10 to 18 days between feedings.