Phal will not bloom

[thepiecesfit]

My parents bought an Orchid and it has not re-bloomed since they have purchased it. The plant looks really healthy and has about 10 healthy air roots with huge green tips. It keeps putting out more leaves and roots but hasn't bloomed its been over two years. It is planted in sphagnum moss and a clay pot. The pot is actually cracking! Pictures now attached. Any advice?

[merkity]

light and temp....Is it getting a nice difference of temperature at night/day? mine bloom in spring and fall when the weather is changing. some of them bloom more than others - I have one that blooms like crazy and others that only bloom maybe once a year if not once every two. and a few that haven't bloomed since i got them, but i know i have them in a lower light area and they are in recovery mode anyway

[thepiecesfit]

That might be the problem as it always seems to be a constant 70F around here. And since the plant is near the kitchen it is getting extra humidity. We need to measure the temperature and see how it fluctuates at night. I was suggesting to replant it, but I'm not sure that will help at this point. Look at all those leaves!

[merkity]

all those roots are air roots, they can't be put into a pot now, but if your roots in the pot have actually broken the pot, you might be able to move to a new pot - its not really an issue unless the media or roots are rotting.... but it looks absolutely happy and healthy.

[lexusnexus]

I have to agree with merkity. I'm not one to automatically say repot, but in the case I would definitely repot. Just ensure the pot isn't too large. Use the medium most comfortable to you. I like a bark mixture, but that's a personal choice.

[tarev]

It needs to feel the temperature change..pretty much my Phals do their spike as mentioned by others earlier during late Fall to Spring. Maybe by late Fall, try to move it near a window, open it ajar a bit to let the cool air in so the plant feels it. But for now, your plant looks really happy, and you can repot if you want, just not too big.

[rvalkenburg]

Well it definitely needs to be repotted but that will not help it spike and I see a newish leaf so the plant is very healthy. The temperature change I have found I dont think helps or hurts the plant but all my Phals, except the ones in bloom, are in a temperature and humidity controlled mini greenhouse (30 Phals) and I get them to spike fairly regularly. I use Grow More Orchid Bloom Formula which is 6-30-30 on none spiked plants, right now out of those 30 I have 14 in spike (less than 3" spikes) and that is without any temperature change. I know what all of the books say, but I have been growing my orchids like this for along time.

[thepiecesfit]

Originally Posted by rvalkenburg

Well it definitely needs to be repotted but that will not help it spike and I see a newish leaf so the plant is very healthy. The temperature change I have found I dont think helps or hurts the plant but all my Phals, except the ones in bloom, are in a temperature and humidity controlled mini greenhouse (30 Phals) and I get them to spike fairly regularly. I use Grow More Orchid Bloom Formula which is 6-30-30 on none spiked plants, right now out of those 30 I have 14 in spike (less than 3" spikes) and that is without any temperature change. I know what all of the books say, but I have been growing my orchids like this for along time.

That's a good idea I will try that bloom formula. Unfortunately, the night temperatures are not going to get cooler now. Summers in NYC is extremely warm and humid. The AC can barely keep up to make the house 70f . I guess we will see how it does by next year and look to repot sometime soon!

[RosieC]

Personally I don't believe in 'Bloom Formulas'.

Bloom Boosters used to be thought to work because of higher levels of either Potassium or Phosphorous (I can't remember which is was) but that has now mostly been 'debunked' and it's now thought the advantage was seen because raising one element caused a drop in another (Nitrogen). It's actually thought that too much nitrogen (while promoting growth) actually inhibits flowering.

You can achieve lower nitrogen by simply mixing the same fertiliser more weakly, rather than buying something different. This is what many people do now, in fact many people just water year round with the lower strength. Most advise you will find for fertiliser concentration of this forum are based on a weaker solution which is low enough to use year round.

You can of course use a bloom booster to lower nitrogen if that works for you... I just find it simpler to only use one fertiliser at a time (currently that one is Akerne's Rain Mix, the European version of the American MSU) and have the same regime for everything.

Even the older advise you will find on this forum, which from memory was about 125ppm Nitrogen every week, with a monthly flush of plain water, is low enough to not inhibit flowering in most orchids. Newer advise is 50ppm with every watering and this certainly should not give too much Nitrogen for most orchids. Bloom Boosters became popular in 'the old days' when concentrations were much higher then either of these and were used monthly.

I've not used a Bloom Booster since the first year I started growing, just followed the year round low nitrogen advice (the last year switched the even lower 50ppm regime) and I get a lot of orchids in bloom all the time. (Great mass of spikes starting just now )

Dropping Nitrogen levels is definitely worth a try if it's too high. Light can also be a factor depending on the parentage of the orchids. Many respond to light changes as well as/instead of the temperature changes. A good percentage of Phals on the mass market have mixed parentage that comes from those Phals that respond to light and those that respond to high light in the summer, so many of the hybrid respond to both/either.

[Optimist]

Many plants will not bloom if the light is too low. Iris, for example will grow very well, and be healthy in the shade, but they won't have flowers. Some people under estimate the amount of light they are getting in their houses. Getting an actual light meter is a pain if you only have one or two plants. I go by the standard of whether the plant leaves develop a slight red tint on the outer margins. If your leaves are light green with just the slightest bit of red, they are at the maximum but safe level.