Phalaenopsis seedlings

[Orchidrhia]

Hi guys! So my friend gifted me these Phal seedlings but she didn’t bother asking the vendor very much about them so I hope you experts could enlighten me on a couple of questions:

1) how many more months/years will it take them to reach blooming/mature size?
2) is there any way to tell if their blooms will be mini or standard sized phals?

Size ref: they are in 1.7inch pots.

Also if you guys have any tips/advice on what I can do to make them grow faster/healthier, please let me know! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Ray]

How soon until blooming is determined by plant genetics, and your cultural conditions, so there will be no good answers forthcoming. If you do things well, I’d say you’re looking at at least 2 or 3 years, likely longer.

Orchids are what I refer to as “Goldilocks plants”. Each one has its own set of “just right” cultural parameters. Hit them all perfectly, and they’ll grow and bloom to their maximum, genetically programmed maximum; miss any of them, and they won’t.

You might find this article of value.

[tmoney]

the seedlings look great! lucky you! but yeah, it seems that patience is the rule with first blooms. no telling. our oldest seedlings were deflasked a year ago and look about the same size as yours, and i am not super confident that any will bloom next year. also, if you don’t know any parent info it will be next to impossible to predict flower size.

wait and see!

perhaps a clear plastic bag inverted over them might help. but it takes some observation to make sure you aren’t keeping them so damp that you get fungal problems. once a week water with a bag greenhouse helps our seedlings thru the winter

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

It's important to remember they like plenty of air at the roots. They like to be kept warm.

[Orchidrhia]

Thank you all for your wonderful insight and advice! I'll definitely keep them all in mind. I guess patience is always key when it comes to orchids, can't wait to see what their blooms look like.

Sorry, I've also just thought of an additional question: for seedlings of this size, what kind of fertilizer should i be using? Would one with a balanced NPK ratio be sufficient or should i be using one with a higher nitrogen ratio to encourage foliar growth?

Thank you again for all your help!

[Ray]

the fertilizer formula is relatively unimportant.

Forget everything you (think) you know about what mineral does what. Plants need all minerals. Nitrogen is the most important, but they need everything.

N=leaves, P=roots, and K=flowers (or whatever) is crap.

[camille1585]

Genetics is important to consider, but with good care I've had Phals of that size bloom within 1-2 years, and some a bit longer. Phals are among the fastest maturing orchids and a lot of them can bloom a couple years after deflasking.

You can feed them the same thing and same way as any other orchids you may have.

[Orchidrhia]

Ooh okay thank you both! Perfect, I'll just continue feeding it the same orchid fertilizer I currently have then. Thanks again everyone for all your help, I truly appreciate it.