Do all your phals spike at the same time?
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Old 05-13-2017, 09:22 PM
jkofferdahl jkofferdahl is offline
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Join Date: May 2008
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Location: Smyrna, Georgia
Age: 68
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First, I'm a Phal Phreak. By no means am I am expert, but I've been around them for almost 40 years. One thing I've learned in that time is that just as soon as you think you know what a Phal is going to do, it does something else. The more I learn about them the more I come to believe that Phals master their growers rather than the other way around. They're smarter than we are. So it's possible to generalize about them, but a bit trickier to talk specifics.

A part of the reason for that comes from the fact that most of the Phals sold on the market are hybrids, and pretty complex in the parentage. It's fairly easy to predict when a particular species will bloom, especially in nature. Like other blooming plants, many orchids are seasonal. For example, when three months or so ago I noticed that a Phal equestris was spiking I also knew that my others would soon follow - as predicted, all of them did; that said, there's close to a six week lag between when the first spiked until the last (and then there's the one that's been in constant bloom for close to 18 months now). I also know that my stuartianas and schillerianas aren't going to bloom now, but will spike again late Fall or early Winter and bloom in January or February. Different species will of Phals will bloom at different times of the year, but they work hard within a species to bloom together since doing so is quite advantageous to species perpetuation. Even so, if a species plant decided to bloom completely out of season from the others then that's just what it's decided to do, and especially if the plant is grown in cultivation rather than in a jungle.

Hybrids are more difficult to predict. The more complex the ancestry of the plant, the more likely it is that it has ancestors from different species which have different natural blooming periods. Rather than being confused, though, a Phal solves that by perhaps blooming a couple of times a year, or perhaps by blooming at somewhat different times from year to year. Of course, to make it even more difficult, commercial growers usually push their plants for sale to bloom when they want to sell them, and so when you buy the plant in bloom it may actually be off from its natural cycle - AND might not bloom for a year or more once the initial flowers fade.

That was all a long-winded way of saying that you don't have a thing to worry about and the Phals not now in spike might go next week, next month, or in three months, or in six. Phals do what they want when they want, and frankly, my dear, just don't give a damn what you want. And I think that's why I love them so much!
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