My first ever phal has yet to spike for me

[en3rmax]

Hi OB,

The first ever phal i got as a gift in easter 09 has still yet to send out a spike, i have quite a few phals that have spiked this year and last but my first seems shy :-)

It's really healthy and has been repotted and has grew 2 leaves this year and plenty of roots but still no spikes, i fertilize all of my orchids with dyna-gro orchid pro.

The phal is pretty much in the same spot as my other ones maybe a little bit more shaded, the room they are all in is cooler at night but i was thinking of putting it in a room that's cooler all the time for some weeks.

I really want her to bloom to show my friend who brought it for me, i only see her at christmas as she's been living in Oz for the past 5 years.

[Wjs2nd]

If it has the right temp differences, I believe it's a 10 degree diff between night and day, you probably need more light.

[RosieC]

10F is what most people talk about for a temp drop. I read 10 degrees above as 10C and so just wanted to clarify as you never know in the UK which scale someone thinks in.

Another thing to be aware of is that high Nitrogen fertiliser can inhibit flowering. Ray's fertiliser calculator aims at a concentration that's a good balance for both growth and blooms. Fertilizer Mixing Calculators

Other than that, if it's healthy it should bloom. Sometimes they need a break to settle into a pattern after the forced blooming at the nursery, but I would have expected that it would have done that by now.

I've not actually kept track of all of mine to check every one has re-bloomed and as I've just looked around I do have one which I bought in early 2008 which has never re-bloomed. I'm not sure why as it's been healthy the last couple of years (struggled after an early re-potting mistake).

Generally I expect them to start spiking around November to March so hopefully yours will spike this year. I'm not really sure what else to suggest

[Merlyn]

Put it in the cooler room, it's a 15F (maybe that's 10C ?) difference at least that initiates spiking if it's that type of Phal. Won't hurt it to try.

[Wjs2nd]

Oh, I should have clarified, I meant Fahrenheit. Usually what I see, from memory, is a suggested Fahrenheit difference of 10 to 15 degrees, usually it being 10 suggested.

[Paul Mc]

I have had several phal's that fail to bloom for one year or more. The main reason is that they were forced to bloom out of season and it took a year or two for it get back on track. When was it given to you in 09? I'm assuming Christmas time. If that's true, then it would have skipped '10 but not sure why it would have skipped '11. Did it get subjected to some sort of environmental change between '10 and '11? Just throwing out thoughts here.

[Merlyn]

I waited 4 years and 9 months for my Dtps. Kenneth Schubert 'Blue' to rebloom for me without any complications or changes in environment. It was perfectly happy just growing and healthy, of course that's a human anthropomorphizing again !!! Let me rephrase that, it LOOKED like it was happy and healthy ! So when it was ready it bloomed, BTW it hasn't stopped since August '10 !!! I was told that some orchids take up to 3 years to adjust to a new environment and I believe it ! Obviously there are those that NEVER adjust.

[marydaniellesantos]

It's a very healthy and lovely plant. Are you sure you want to try to force it to bloom? You could always wait for it to, and take some really nice pictures of it, get them professionally printed and maybe framed, and send it to your friend as a present.

[Merlyn]

The 10-15 degree difference in temp is NOT forcing it to bloom, it's trying to duplicate what in nature would be initiating it to bloom !!! It's not the drastic measures some vendors use to get Phals to the market on Mothers' Day or Easter ! They FORCE them to bloom at a financially convenient time for them to sell !

[Paul Mc]

However, not all phal's bloom at Christmas time, in fact very few actually do. They would typically bloom in early spring.