HELP HELP HELP HELP HELPPPPPPP

[ap1-ml]

Hello everyone,

I'm desperate to get my phal orchid to respike and bloom again. I was gifted this orchid over 2 years ago.

I'll give you the background.

When I first received the orchid it was already in bloom. The flowers eventually wilted and the spike began to dry out. I had cut it back to the closest node in attempts to save the spike but it kept drying out. Eventually I opted to cut the spike right off.

I eventually repotted the orchid all together since I noticed it was very poorly potted to begin with.

A year later

My lovely father decided one day that the ceramic brown pot it came in wasn't very nice and decided to repot AGAIN with dirt and woodchips and ... =(.

So I again had to repot the plant. I'm sure it has gone through enough trauma over the past 2 years.

I currently keep my orchid in a well lit area and water it accordingly. The last time I repotted, was a little under a year ago

Now all it seems to do is send out aerial roots and lots of leaves. The original spike (that was cut right off) is completely dried/woody almost.

I've stuck by this pot of leaves and roots for 2.5yrs now.

Is there anyway to coax a new spike?


thank you in advance!

[marydaniellesantos]

How often do you fertilize it?

[jrodpad]

I am by no means a phal expert. I have successfully rebloomed a few of them though. The two tricks that I use to try and coax these guys to send out a new spike are (1) a significantly lower nighttime temp (somewhere in the range of 15-20 degrees lower than the daytime temp) and (2) higher light for shorter light cycles. I read somewhere that if you provide constant warm temps, the phals think that it's summer and will continue to grow leaves rather than send out flowers and will continue to do this in perpetuity. When you induce cooler temps and shorter light cycles, the phals think summer's over and switch over to producing flowers. I usually give the phals a few weeks (4-5) of this treatment before bringing them in. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It never works for my phal bellinas - I've never been able to get them to spike.

Hopefully someone with greater phal experience will chime in.

Good luck!

- J

[CTB]

Welcome to the Orchid Board, this is the place to bring your questions. Post some pics too. We love them all

[Rosiefuture]

You could also try a hormone application like Keiki Pro. A lot of my phals are in spike after using this.

Marion

[WhiteRabbit]

Hello and welcome!

How much light does your Phal get? If it's indoors and you aren't using any artificial grow lighting, it needs to be very close to the window - all of my orchids that are indoors are directly on my small sills, so are only an inch or two from the window it's self. If the window receives strong direct light for an extended period, a Phal might be ok set a bit further back, or with a sheer curtain between plant and window.

[Oscarman]

Phals will initiate flower stems as a result of cooler night-time temperatures in the range of 15° C (55-60° F). They will need about a month of cooler night temperatures.

The new growth appears at the bottom of the plant from below the last leaf, or from between the oldest leaves. At first it looks much like a new root growth, but will grow straight up rather than outward or downward.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

For me the temp drop seems to do the trick on most of my Phals. I actually drop mine too low because of the winter temps in my house and they go dormant in the winter followed by spikes in the spring, but a 15F drop in the fall can lead to spiking over winter if they don't go too low like mine.

[trdyl]

Welcome to OB!

Another thing to look at along with the temp is the amount of light it is getting. Usually east or northeast windows are great for Phals.

[phalaephila]

The timing of spiking in Phals can depend on genetics. Does your plant have a name?

For example, the cool temps in fall will not work on Phal. bellina because it is a summer bloomer. They are more affected by the warm-up in the spring. Dor. pulcherrima and its hybrids can also be summer bloomers, starting their spikes in the spring. There are plenty of other summer-blooming species and hybrids, so it really depends on the parentage of your plant.

I agree about the light factor - you don't mention how much your plant is receiving. Usually a plant won't bloom if it is not receiving enough light. Most of my phals are by north-northeast windows (NOTE: I live in Las Vegas, sunny every day! = bright indirect light); you may need to find a brighter spot for your plant, or add some supplemental lighting.