Phalaenopsis won't flower anymore

[Rhodic]

Hello. I have a Phal and it was given to me by my son for Mother's Day last year. It bloomed and bloomed and I was thrilled until.......I pruned it! I cut back the stems to the last but one node after flowering and nothing has happened since. The leaves are lovely and green and the roots look healthy but it just won't flower. I have not watered it so much over the winter. I know someone who doesn't cut hers back until new flowers appear and then she cuts it back to them and it thrives. Please can you help me? This is my 2nd Orchid...I drowned the last one! I look forward to reading any replies that come my way. Many thanks.

[camille1585]

First of all, welcome!!
You haven't done anything wrong. If it was done blooming, then you can prune it. But pruning it above a node does not automatically guarantee a side spike, it depends on the plant. It's not to clear to me what your friend is doing.

When did your plant finish blooming? You shouldn't expect a new spike to appear very soon after the plant finishes blooming, it needs to rest. The other thing is that new Phals sometimes skip a blooming the first year, since it's quite a change for them to go from optimal conditions and feeding in a greenhouse, to house conditions.

Many Phals induce their spikes in the fall, when the temperature start to drop, and then bloom in the winter/spring. Others can bloom a bit whenever.
Until then, keep your plant in a bright window. Avoid direct sunlight, otherwise place a sheer curtain between the window and the plant. Be sure to fertilize regularily

[Paul Mc]

I agree with Camille and would add that your friend may have one that allows her to cut the way he/she does and get away with it. Some phals do bloom almost continuously, but most do not.

Out of bloom, the orchids are building up energy for the next bloom cycle. If you leave and roots are healthy then you have won half the battle. To initiate spiking, phal's need to feel the dip in temperature, down to but no lower than 55F at night, although I think most people here would not go past 60 or 65 as the low. Increased light, albeit filtered, will also help as well as starting to fertilize weakly weekly.

Search for the thread "The Phal Abuse Ends Here.". It's long but has a wealth of information.

[Rhodic]

Thankyou both for your replies. I pruned it back last September when it had finished flowering and gave it to my sister in law (she's the one who hasn't pruned hers yet) and she put it in her conservatory for a month while we were away in Oz. I started feeding it about a month ago to try and see if it would kick start it but all it's growing are healthy leaves. Maybe, as you said, it is skipping a year. However, I have just gone to the garden centre here for something entirely different and happened to see the Orchid assistant. She said that they had an Orchid demo about a month ago and the guy who came said not to prune after the last flower has dropped off as it's the flowers that produce an enzyme that produces flowers. Once the last flower has gone and you prune, the enzyme has gone. She suggested I prune right down to the source and wait many months! It will grow again, she said. Is this true? I haven't dared do that yet!

Many thanks again.

[Paul Mc]

Not sure about the enzyme part, but you would need to cut the stem down within or less than inch from the base. Unless its a kind that continues to bloom off of the old spike, this is what we all do. Not knowing the name of yours, we can't tell if this is what you should do or not. Since it was in bloom in September, it won't probably bloom again until next spring for you.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Rhodic

However, I have just gone to the garden centre here for something entirely different and happened to see the Orchid assistant. She said that they had an Orchid demo about a month ago and the guy who came said not to prune after the last flower has dropped off as it's the flowers that produce an enzyme that produces flowers. Once the last flower has gone and you prune, the enzyme has gone. She suggested I prune right down to the source and wait many months! It will grow again, she said. Is this true? I haven't dared do that yet!

I've never heard about the enzyme. Are you sure it wasn't about hormone levels? Those are what regulate pretty much everything that happens in a plant. Here's all the options you have with a Phal:
- Leave the spike, and sometimes after a few weeks/months the tip will wake up and grow again. (depends on the plant's genetics)

- After blooms wilt, cut the spike down to the first node below the ex-blooms. Cutting off the top part of the stem changes the hormone balances in the stem, causing the nodes to wake up and create new stems off the main one. Some people don't like doing this because it amounts to forcing a plant to produce more blooms, weakening the plant, and the next new spike may not be as floriferous.

- Pruning the stem all the way down. There is no harm at all in doing that, so don't worry. That way the plant puts all its energy into growth, and a brand new stem somewhere in the future.

There's a lot of waiting in orchid growing, we must be patient for the flowers! That's why we own so many orchids, so that there's always something blooming! Out of my small collection of 70 or so orchids, there's always something with flowers.

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

Since it was in bloom in September, it won't probably bloom again until next spring for you.

Not necessarily, since commerical growers can get Phals to bloom exactly when they want, simply by adjusting the temperature in the greenhouse. You can't know the blooming habit for sure until you've bloomed it yourself.

[Rhodic]

Thankyou Camille and Paul. You have both been most helpful. I might have got the enzyme word wrong. I thought that was what she said. It seems that I can cut it right down to the bottom and just be patient and wait for it to bloom again. I will obviously have to go and buy more Orchids! But at least I now know that I won't kill it if I cut it right down.

Many thanks.

[Paul Mc]

You are welcome! Be sure to read the phal abuse stops here for more information on getting it to rebloom and proper care.

[Rhodic]

Thankyou, I will.

[Paddle_grl]

Every Orchid is soooo different! I have 7 orchids now, 5 of which are some for of Phal's. I rescued all of them except my Wilsonera. The one may parents tried to kill blooms once a year in the spring. If I cut the stem to just above where the first flower came, it always puts out another stem off the old one. I rescued two almost dead Orchid's from Lowes. I've had them almost 2 and a half years and one is just now about ready to bloom. I don't even know what color it's going to be. One of my other Phal's blooms in the fall and will sometimes grow a stem from the old one.
My most recent acquisition is my Grandma's Phal. I bought it for her probably 7 years ago. It was blooming when I bought it and then took a 3 year nap! For three years it did nothing. This is the only Orchid I know of that has year round blooms. There has only been a 4 month window in the last 3 years or so when it wasn't blooming. Even at my house with a drastic change in environment, it just keeps putting out more flowers.
Be patient! That's why I like Orchid's so much...they are kind of unpredictable, but the flower's are worth the wait!