The Phal abuse ends here.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q: How does one induce a Phal to bloom?

A: Simple! By dropping the temperatures down to a range of 55 F to 75 F (13 C - 24 C).

[WillisWill]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Q: How does one induce a Phal to bloom?

A: Simple! By dropping the temperatures down to a range of 55 F to 75 F (13 C - 24 C).

I have a phal putting out a spike, which is probably ~50% of its expected height - when should I begin controlling the temperature?

btw - thanks for putting this FAQ together, very helpful!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by WillisWill

I have a phal putting out a spike, which is probably ~50% of its expected height - when should I begin controlling the temperature?

btw - thanks for putting this FAQ together, very helpful!

You're welcome.

After the temperature drop, you have the option to wait 2 - 3 months before raising temperatures again.

It technically doesn't have to experience that long of a cool period, but whatever. The shortest cool period it has to receive to initiate a spike is really only about a couple weeks to 1 month.

[greenpassion]

I don't have my phals on window sills, I have them on an island counter, with track lighting about 3ft above them. They finished blooming a few weeks ago, (I bought them in full bloom from Home Depot) The bulbs are regular 'grow' bulbs for plants, in track lighting heads, which are on 8 to 10 hrs a day.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q: If Phals are so easy to artificially induce blooms in, why doesn't everybody do it?

A: It is generally not recommended to continually artificially induce blooms for a Phal. It is taxing on the plant, and they can bloom themselves to death over a period of time.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Fun Phalaenopsis factoid.

- When people usually think of Phalaenopsis, the image that comes to mind are usually two species or the hybrids that resemble them. Those two species are:

Phalaenopsis amabilis
Phalaenopsis aphrodite

- The reason why Phalaenopsis were given the name "Moth Orchid" was because the person who discovered them looked up into the trees and saw a bunch of them in flower, and from a distance they resembled white moths hanging on the trees.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q: It was mentioned that some Phals can re-spike from older spikes. Does that affect future blooms?

A: Yes, it can, but not always. It will make subsequent blooms slightly smaller than the previous ones.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q: If Phals that re-grow spikes from older spikes make subsequent flowers smaller, is it best to remove the original spike once it is done flowering?

A: Yes, but this is done at the grower's discretion as to when they want to do so.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Q: What about Phals that bloom from the same spike? Should they be removed as well?

A: For species such as Phal cornu-cervi and Phal mannii, I don't recommend it, but again, that's at the grower's discretion as to when they'd like to do so.

[mooburr]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Q: What about Phals that bloom from the same spike? Should they be removed as well?

A: For species such as Phal cornu-cervi and Phal mannii, I don't recommend it, but again, that's at the grower's discretion as to when they'd like to do so.

So, if you cut off a spike on a phal that will rebloom from old spikes, will it eventually grow a new one? Why, if ever, should you remove one of these spikes?