Bloom shoot has leaves and not flowers

[seawatson]

I've had my orchid plant for 6-7 years. It usually produces shoots with colorful flower blooms in mid December (blooming picture attached). This summer it produced a shoot that is not blooming flowers, but instead it looks like it's blooming leaflets (pictures attached). What is this flowerless bloom?

[Ray]

Sometimes plants just do odd stuff. it can be a result of genetics and/or cultural parameters.

It looks to me like it just hasn't "decided" what it wants to do quite yet, so I'd leave it alone.

If it does ultimately form a plantlet (AKA a keiki - Hawaiian for "baby"), it will grow roots and become a genetically-identical plant that can be removed and potted up separately.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! It is a beautiful plant. Great flowers tightly spaced and well displayed.

Any chance you've been using growth supplements on it - other than fertilizer?

[seawatson]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Welcome to the Orchid Board! It is a beautiful plant. Great flowers tightly spaced and well displayed.

Any chance you've been using growth supplements on it - other than fertilizer?

The only supplements I have used on it is Chrysal Orchid Food drops. I add those drops to the small watering can I have for the orchid.

---------- Post added at 05:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------

Thank you for your response. I'll leave it alone and see what happens with it.

[Ray]

It looks like those “orchid food drops” are nothing more than uniquely packaged fertilizer, and a very weak one at that. It’s a 5-6-7 formula, and a pack is a quarter of a teaspoon, so at the 1/quart recommendation, the applied solution is about 120 ppm N. I’m quite sure that’s not the issue.