Confused about blooming size

[Mr.Fakename]

That's a good looking baby you got there, congratulations!

I happen to have a Phal bellina coerulea as well, sold as a seedling... That is putting up its first spike. Here's a pic for comparison

[Carebear2]

phals tend to mature faster.
Dendrobiums only flower once a year and if they are not cared for properly will need to produce new canes and more roots before it is ready to flower again so 2 year waits for dendrobium is quite common.
It also depends where the plant came from, a lot of orchids are imported and they might be blooming size but the transport stress and completely different growing environment, sometimes even a reverse of seasons will delay blooming.
You can tell roughly how well your orchid is doing by the size of the leaves, sometimes new leaves grow smaller than the leaf previously - this is an indication that the orchid is not as happy as it previously was and vice versa shows the orchid is thriving and producing bigger leaves. With dendrobiums the canes either get bigger or smaller. It's a slow way to judge growing conditions but still a useful sign to look for every year.

[Roberta]

For Dendrobiums... there are plants and then there are plants. When I see someone buying a Den. speciosum in a 7 cm (3 inch) pot, happy that they got such a bargain (because it's likely to be quite inexpensive), I hope that they are young... because it could be 10 years before they see a flower - if they take really good care of it and are lucky. (There's a reason that blooming-size Den speciosum can be on the spendy side. But then there are real bargains to be had at society auctions, when someone had divided a beast to make room)

On the other hand, Den. moniliforme blooms on a 5 cm (2 inch) cane, in a 5 cm (2 inch) pot.

[jldriessnack]

Honestly, that looks like a flower spike, and also, that phal def looks blooming size. It is really about the vigor of the plant and not strictly about the age. I mean, that phal has plenty of leaves and mass and could likely flower with ease. Remember though, in the same way genes create differences between people, it is the same with plants. I have phals that flower reliably and for months, while others take way more time to recover despite having the same cultural conditions.

[Fairorchids]

While I am in general agreement with Ray's definitions, there is an added 'issue' for some plants (primarily Cattleyas & Cymbidiums).

For these two genera, you might expect a plant with pseudobulbs of a certain size to be blooming size. However, not all plants will bloom, when they only have a single pseudobulb of that size.

I have seen Cymbidiums bloom with 2 spikes from the first pseudobulb reaching 'BS', and I have seen other Cymbidiums, which won't bloom till they have 4-6 pseudobulbs reach 'BS'.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Maru777

Yes! Exactly this is why I was wondering to begin with I try to follow the instructions for the culture but sometimes they can be a bit vague. East window back home in Europe is a very different light setting than East window at the tropics where I am now. So the main reason I was wondering about this blooming size as % of full plant equation (yes, I work with numbers for a living ) is mostly so I can determine if I am providing them with the right conditions because if they are the size that should produce a flower and they are not blooming then something must be suboptimal in my culture. Though, as Camille was saying, maybe it’s just they do what they will anyway By the way this little one (the pot is 3 inches, it’s really not that big) seems set on opening a flower Can’t wait.

When I bought my Phal schilleriana, it was supposed to be two years from blooming, but it bloomed for the first time within just a few months from when I bought it, and it was still tiny. When I bought my Rlc Chia Linn 'New City' that was supposed to be near blooming size, that was about three years ago, and it hasn't bloomed yet, despite that the growths are already huge. The new growths are getting bigger each time, but still no blooms (although I've heard that one can be slow to bloom for the first time), but I think "near blooming size" is more of a guess than anything. It will depend on your culture, but even in very good cultural requirements, they will often still just do what they want and bloom when they are ready.

[Maru777]

It’s bloomed! Well, it bloomed a week ago but I’ve been swamped and only now got around to posting this So cute! And it’s fragrant. I do have a question though - are they supposed to only have one flower per spike or multiple ones? I saw they are sequential but I thought it means they will bloom on the same spike next year. The reason I ask is because it seems to be growing one more bud right behind this flower. It’s been steadily getting bigger since this one opened. Anyway, I just wanted to share the pic with the actual flower. Phal bellina coerulea it looks huge in the picture, the pot is 3’’ and the plant is not much bigger

[Roberta]

This one is a sequential bloomer. You won't get a lot of flowers open at the same time on a spike (maybe get up to 2 or 3 when the spike gets bigger, but 1 at a time is mostly what you'll get - but a spike can bloom for a long time. You might get 2 or 3 in fairly quick succession, then it takes a rest, and then maybe in a few months do another round... as long as the spike is green, it's likely to eventually bloom again. One the plant gets multiple spikes, then flush blooms become a possibility if several decide to bloom at the same time.

[Maru777]

Originally Posted by Roberta

You won't get a lot of flowers open at the same time on a spike (maybe get up to 2 or 3 when the spike gets bigger, but 1 at a time is mostly what you'll get - but a spike can bloom for a long time. You might get 2 or 3 in fairly quick succession.

Thank you! It seems like this is what it’s trying to do growing this new bud while this flower is open, but honestly I think that’s a bit of an overly ambitious project for a 10 cm plant. We’ll see if it gets the 2nd one to open. It’s been picking up speed so to speak in terms of getting bigger. I’d have liked it ( the plant, not the bud) to grow bigger instead, I’m more than happy with one flower at this stage. But I guess it will do whatever it pleases instead

[Roberta]

I don't have Phal bellina, but cornu-cervi, speciosa, tetraspis have the same habit. Over time, they produce more spikes while the old ones are still producing flowers so eventually, can become quite impressive.