Maxillaria tenufolia. How to get it to bloom

[Sharlynn]

Would like to know how to get the maxillaria to bloom.

[Arielinwonderland]

How long has it been since its last bloom, and how large is it?

[Sharlynn]

It is pretty large.DO they only bloom once a year?

[mimigirl]

I am following this one.

[RandomGemini]

Most orchids only bloom once a year, so it's safe to assume that if you have not had it for a year, it will not bloom again until you have.

When did you get it? Was it in bloom when you purchased it?

[Sharlynn]

It was in bloom when I received it.

[RandomGemini]

This plant won't bloom again until next year.

Here's the AOS's guide to this species. It's very popular in hobbyist collections, so it's widely grown.

https://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=180

[katrina]

This species needs a lot of light to bloom well. I got rid of mine last year because...well, I got bored with it. I had had it since '08...and it didn't start blooming really well until I increased the light. In the summer it sat in full sun most of the day (after being acclimated, of course) and it sat in a tray of water...thirsty, thirsty plants.

I can't find my pic from '14 but here's the one from '13. It was a very large plant when I gave it away. It was mounted on a tree fern totem w/a lot of sphag tied around it, sitting in a 6" clay pot back filled w/chc and sphag.

In the summer, as I said, it sat in full sun all day and I watered it just about every day but it also sat in a shallow saucer of water. In the winter I reduced the water to some extent and it sat under HO T5s. Lots of light is what it needs. If you've been growing it kind of "dark" then slowly increase the light over a couple of weeks so you don't burn it.

I wish I had last year's pic because it was even bigger and I don't think it shows well but there was nearly as much plant on the back side of that totem as what you see on the front. My goal was to have it grow around the totem ...and it was doing it quite well.

Yes, they only bloom once a year but they do bloom for a long period. Mine usually bloomed in the spring/early summer. If you live farther south then you might see it bloom earlier.

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by katrina

This species needs a lot of light to bloom well. I got rid of mine last year because...well, I got bored with it. I had had it since '08...and it didn't start blooming really well until I increased the light. In the summer it sat in full sun most of the day (after being acclimated, of course) and it sat in a tray of water...thirsty, thirsty plants.

I can't find my pic from '14 but here's the one from '13. It was a very large plant when I gave it away. It was mounted on a tree fern totem w/a lot of sphag tied around it, sitting in a 6" clay pot back filled w/chc and sphag.

In the summer, as I said, it sat in full sun all day and I watered it just about every day but it also sat in a shallow saucer of water. In the winter I reduced the water to some extent and it sat under HO T5s. Lots of light is what it needs. If you've been growing it kind of "dark" then slowly increase the light over a couple of weeks so you don't burn it.

I wish I had last year's pic because it was even bigger and I don't think it shows well but there was nearly as much plant on the back side of that totem as what you see on the front. My goal was to have it grow around the totem ...and it was doing it quite well.

Yes, they only bloom once a year but they do bloom for a long period. Mine usually bloomed in the spring/early summer. If you live farther south then you might see it bloom earlier.

Off topic - Katrina, what is the lamp and fixture that you have in the pic behind the maxillaria ? I've been looking for something like that for my vandas, that doesn't look industrial or that I have an illegal crop growing.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Wow nice plant. I don't know how you could get bored with that one. Ok I guess I can you have so many nice plants. I will keep dreaming.