Question about Phal growth habits

[3rdMaestro]

Hey everyone,
I have several phals I am giving the cold weather cue to try and make them bloom, but I got to wondering, will a phalaenopsis start a spike if it's also trying to grow a new leaf? I have 3 phals currently trying to grow new leaves. Will they bloom this season?

[Tindomul]

I don't think one will affect the other too much. If it has sufficient nutrition and water it will be able to do both.

[rbarata]

The flower spikes comes after new leaf growth, April is the most usual blooming season so you should start to see a spike forming during March.

[3rdMaestro]

Tindomul, Thanks. They are still being fertilized every week so I assume they are good.

Rbarata, During march? Then how come all the care sheets I've seen talk about letting the phals feel cool weather around Thanksgiving?

[3rdMaestro]

Thanks. I do fertilize very weakly. Not even 1/4th strength because I noticed even 1/4 can potentially burn oncidium root tips. But yes, in correction of myself, I do also flush with pure water every 2 weeks, so it's not truly EVERY week

[rbarata]

Though I usually agree with rbarata's answers, I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree here.

Thank you, jkofferdahl.

Thanksgiving is in November, I think. I know some phals bloom in different seasons but the most of them bloom in Spring. This is the experience I have but, of course, I don't know everything.
To those that bloom in April, cool night temps in the colder months (Nov, for ex) are adviseable to promote blooming in Spring. The spikes start to grow in March.
Note that what's cool for a phal might not be cool to us humans. My phals, in winter, spend the nights around 15º C (59 F) and days around 24º C (75 F).
That's the night temp drop that matters.

[3rdMaestro]

Ok then I am lined up with your temps. My nighttime temps outside are about 60F, and then during the day I move them inside where it's roughly 73-75F. All of these are NO ID phals so I have very little idea of when to expect blooms

[rbarata]

Again, from my experience...
If the plant has grown up leaves and it seems there's no activity, then you should give it cool nights (some people say a month is enough).
After, as soon as temps get warmer, the spikes start to grow.
When you got it was is it bloom?

[3rdMaestro]

Sort of. I got them as as a discount/rescue because the blooms were falling off

[rbarata]

And do you remember what time of the year it was?
What vendors usually do is to put them on sale when they're blooming. Although they can "force it" artificially, you might get an idea of its blooming season.