Philaepnosis Orchids indoor not blooming

[Annjacob]

Hello
I am new to this board. I live in georgia in usa. I have few philanopsis varieties . I had the luck to get of 3 blooming. But the rest not blooming. I was wondering what i can do to them bloomed. Tjey are kept near a glass window inside the room east facing and they are getting adequate sunlight. In the winter we have heating on.
Do i need to use a humidifier in the winter to help them to bloom?
I water them every week , usually mix a fertiliser with the water
Pls send me your advices for indoor growing orchids to get them blooming

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

If your Phalaenopsis are growing well but not blooming, duration of light is likely a factor. They are low-light plants, but want that light about 12 hours a day. When I was starting out in orchids, I had the same problem. I had them in an east-facing room that got wonderful morning light - for 4-5 hours - but then the sun shifted and the light became dim and indirect. I got some cheap fluorescent shop lights from Home Depot, put them on a timer for 12 hours per day, and ending up with about 80% reblooming. http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/indoor.jpg That was a long time ago, now lights are LED, much more efficient. Since it is just a supplement to natural light, you don't need grow lights, just regular "daylight" spectrum. Light duration is likely the culprit, and easy and cheap to fix.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Remember they're from closer to the equator than you are. They get longer winter days. If you have a good sunny winter you can use lights in the early morning and/or evening to extend daylength to 12 hours total, including natural light. If it's a dark, cloudy winter you'll need them on longer.

Hardware stores sell LED shop lights that work fine for this purpose and aren't too expensive.

Another method is a few weeks of cooler temperatures. If you put them outside in the shade in Fall when it starts cooling, this will trigger flowering. Be careful critters don't eat them, and don't let them go below about 60 F / 15C at night.

[tmoney]

welcome to the ob!

we struggle as well, and the advice given by the others is spot on. but i would also suggest you keep working at it! just don't give up.

also there is the factor of what stage your plants were in when you bought them (maybe they are still young?). also your media and watering can help or hinder. perhaps you just need to send them some more positive vibes?! (just kidding)

really, there is no magic bullet, and while lights may help certainly learning how to maximize success without a bunch of money and gadgets will make you happier in the long run...or so i like to tell myself.

keep learning, keep growing, and eventually they will bloom. also, to reassure you, we have never seen the flowers on over 60% of our orchids and have been growing them for over a couple years in nearly all cases. and if you watch any vids online, you will see way more plants NOT n bloom than the ones that have flowers. so if you have bloomed 3 out of 5, in my opinion, you are doing pretty good!