Is it OK to have your Phalaenopsis facing the room just for the look of it?

[kimg]

Hello all, and thank you in advance.

I saw a youtuber today talking about her plant room. She had all phalaenopsis type orchids. They were all facing away from the window. What I like about that is that I will be able to admire my phalaenopsis even when they aren't in bloom when seated in the same room. But I wonder how much less light they will get.

Does anyone else do this or know anything about it?

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!
You don't have to worry about light on the flowers... it's the leaves that need light for photosynthesis. However, there's "gotcha"... flower spikes tend to bend toward the light. So you don't want to be moving them around once they're in spike, to get good presentation. So if you move them away from the window to the opposite side of the room even when not in bloom they may not be getting adequate light. They are low-light plants, but need about 12 hours a day of good light to bloom. You COULD leave them in the window until the spikes start to develop, then move them to the opposite side of the room, once the spike starts it likely will continue to develop with less light. There is the conundrum... What is good for the plant vs. what is good for you?

[kimg]

Thank you so much Roberta!

I just meant that when they are not in spike or bloom, can I have them in the window, but not facing the window. Can you do that?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by kimg

Thank you so much Roberta!

I just meant that when they are not in spike or bloom, can I have them in the window, but not facing the window. Can you do that?

I'm not sure that I get the picture... When Phals aren't in bloom, most of them have the leaves pointed upward, not in any particular direction. When not n bloom, they need good, but indirect, light. The biggest challenge for most of us is giving them enough hours of light in the shorter days of winter. When I was growing them in the house, I found that I needed to give them supplemental light, 12 hours a day, or else they just grew leaves instead of blooming.

[KatieM]

Welcome! As long as they get enough light and they are not in Spike it doesn't matter which way they face just like Miss. Roberta said. It's a little dark right now but I can send you a picture of some of mine tomorrow. Depending on what's in bloom they get moved about, but in general they're just happy to get some sunlight whichever way they are facing 🙂 send us a picture! I am known to actually rotate mine a little otherwise they just grow into the glass (the ones I have indoors mind you, outdoors stay as they are) so I find if I rotate them just slightly not too much because it can weaken the spike. It actually can create a super cool and showy curve and help give them space to get longer spikes.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by kimg

Thank you so much Roberta!

I just meant that when they are not in spike or bloom, can I have them in the window, but not facing the window. Can you do that?

First, welcome to the Orchid Board! I, too, am not quite sure what you are asking. I've never thought of any of my plants having fronts or backs, so "facing the window" is confusing me. Photos might help?

I grow all of my Phals on my kitchen/dining room table, in front of a south-facing window with sheer curtains that can be drawn when the sun is shining directly in. I do provide supplemental lighting because, as Roberta mentioned above, without it, they grow well but don't bloom as well.

I will typically rotate a plant every so often because, if I don't, they will tend to lean over in the pot and grow toward the window over time. However, when one of them spikes, I stop turning it until the buds start to bloom. Once it's actually blooming, I will turn it to whatever direction it looks the nicest, where I can enjoy the flowers from my vantage point in the house.

[kimg]

Thank you Roberta, KatieM, and Mountaineer,

I'm so sorry to have been so confusing. All of my orchids droop forward enough that it "appears" that they have a front and back. This is only due to me not knowing how to position them before, so they are kind of stuck like that until I repot. So since they face forward in only one way in their drooping method, I Isaiah face them "face" forward toward the light. I saw that youtuber who had ones that had that same "droop forward" thing, but she had them in the window with the "fronts" facing into the room with their "backs" facing the window. I will post a picture to help clear up what I'm talking about. And thank you so much for all of your replies

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

[kimg]

[kimg]

Sorry the pic is sideways, but even though this one is in spike, I hope that you can see that it is leaning forward in its pot, so it looks like it would have a front and back. That is why I wanted to know if I could have the "front" facing the room instead of the window while sitting in the window. I hope that makes sense