No Spike - No Bloom Lady Slippers

[Gunde]

I am new to the forum. Your help will be VERY APPRECIATED!

I live in Las Vegas and over the years have purchased many orchids from Trader Joe’s Market. The orchids are kept in a 78 degree F room during most of the year. Most shot up a spike and bloomed without the twenty-degree night-day temperature differential that is supposed to be required to trigger a new spike. After the blooms were finished, I cut the “spikes”. All have been fed following the directions on the orchid food bottle. All bloomed again the next year EXCEPT the lady slipper orchids. We had a real spring in Las Vegas this year, so I put the slippers outside for several weeks to no avail. Still no spikes and no blooms. What am I doing wrong?

[bellini girl]

I'm not an expert on paphs ..BUT you may not be doing anything wrong. Sometimes plants bloom when they're good and ready. I had about 5 paphs, could not get them to bloom at all. Stopped worrying about them and voila..started blooming like crazy a few months ago. Hang in there, they may surprise you

[kavanaru]

Ladyslippers are a world of their own... so many different species and hybrids with so many different needs: cold to warm, shade to bright, constant to changing temps, calcareous to humic substrat.. if you want good advcie here, you would need to say which species/hybrids you have or at least place a picture of them...

[Daethen]

Did they grow new fans to blooms from. Each fan only sends up one spike.

[Gunde]

Thanks all for your very prompt response! Forgive me, I am not sure what a "fan" is, however I do believe I have it right that the "spike" is the long stem an orchid shoots up that buds and then blooms will form on. Do I have it right? You asked for pictures, so I am going to try and inserts some. Well, I tried and it asked for the URL of my picture. Don't have a URL just a file name for the picture on my computer. Can someone tell me how to upload a picture to get the "URL". Again, thanks all for your help.

[Gunde]

These Lady Slippers have not produced a "spike" or a "fan" (not sure what a fan is), just very happy big green leaves.

[Gunde]

Help - I figured out how to create an Album and have not uploaded four pictures, but still do not know how to create the "URL" so I can include them in this Quick Reply. Help!

[Daethen]

I can't really help with the picture problem, but a fan is a new growth in my personal lexicon. If you don't have any new mature growths you will not get any new flower spikes.

[Zoi2]

Here is a link on posting pictures to the board.http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ng-photos.html
Joann

[RJSquirrel]

once the paphs spike they dont spike or bloom again until a new growth matures, a fan. some of the plants, I'm guessing not seeing them, where mature and blooming. maybe 2 or 3 years old, some older many hybrids about 18 months. that doesnt mean any of the new growths were mature that were left if you had any. might take some years now to get them to mature and spike/bloom. you need new growths and more fans before you get any more blooms. now you learn how to grow paphs

some multi-floral paphs need at least 3 fully mature growths before they will bloom again