Blooming Frustrations!!

[Reeses]

In the four or so years that I have been growing, I have enjoyed seeing new leaf, root, and pseudobulb development. It's made me so happy to see my babies getting bigger. But the one thing I haven't been able to do is get blooms! I know it's a lighting issue--none of the windows in my apartment get much light, so I've supplemented with grow-lights. Then this summer, I worked up the nerve to put them outside, and what do you know--for the first time in years, I got a spike on my oldest phal!

But when I moved them back in, the window I put the phal by was more drafty than I realized, and when I looked at it today, the single bud I have is starting to blast
Just come on, let me have blooms for once!

[ryrycochinco]

): Well spikes will stick around until the environment is conducive for blooming. It'll happen eventually.

[Reeses]

Thanks, ryry. The spike still looks green, and I've moved it away from the window and closer to the grow-lights, so there's still hope! I've just been looking forward to this for a long time!

[Leafmite]

What are you currently growing?
I understand your frustration. I have actually gone through this in the past. Currently, most of my collection of orchids are seedlings that have a few years to go or are orchids that bloom once a year. I do have three that are fragrant, effortless, and frequent bloomers: Burr. Nelly Isler, Haraella rectrocalla, and Dendrobium auriculatum. If you do not have these, I highly recommend them. Good luck!

[Reeses]

I have a small but eclectic collection. Two Neos (okay, one did rebloom but it was soon after I got it), 3 phals, a Tolumnia, Hwra. Lava Burst, a Paph seedling, a Zygopetalum hybrid, and Den. kingianum. Oh, and a Brassia "Little Stars." That one's new.

As a grad student with limited space, I tend to go for compact/minis, because that means I can have more in a small space!

[ryrycochinco]

Originally Posted by Reeses

I have a small but eclectic collection. Two Neos (okay, one did rebloom but it was soon after I got it), 3 phals, a Tolumnia, Hwra. Lava Burst, a Paph seedling, a Zygopetalum hybrid, and Den. kingianum. Oh, and a Brassia "Little Stars." That one's new.

As a grad student with limited space, I tend to go for compact/minis, because that means I can have more in a small space!

Light is really important, but I find that bud blast is often related to humidity. Look into buying a cheap digital thermometer and humidity meter. Whenever it falls below 40% I mist everything down. My dorm is quite dry.

[estación seca]

Also consider growing low-light minis, rather than large plants that need more light. When I was a student in San Francisco I had a dorm room with an east-facing window in the fog belt. I grew a number of low-light miniatures in a 10-gallon aquarium with a glass top. Of course, the flowers were so small I missed them sometimes. I gave them to a fellow student when I moved to Seattle, knowing I would not be able to take care of them there.

One I really miss. I don't even remember what it was, and I've never seen anything like it since. It produced its tiny white flowers through the year.

[Roberta]

A big factor with light is duration. For Phals, I found that I got good blooming (up to 80%) with the cheapest fluorescent shop lights that I could find, on a timer 12 hours per day. They did get some natural light, but very indirect most of the day. The humidity they got was whatever the house had, and I didn't have much bud blast problem. (I suspect that sudden change is far worse than any absolute level of humidity). See what I did when I was living in a condo and using the spare bedroom as my "greenhouse" http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/indoor.jpg

[Selmo]

Reeses, your ‘eclectic collection’ maybe part of your problem. You have plants that take all kinds of different specific environments and seasonal changes to get them to bloom. The neos take high light, and the phals need low light. The den kingianum needs a dry rest period, the zygopetalum needs to be wet all year long. Your Brassia likes it warm and humid, tolumnia like it a little cooler. Find some thing that will do well in your conditions with out a lot of manipulation. Only pick one environmental factor to change, like adding more light or more shade, or raise or lower the humidity, or go with cooler growing plants or stay with warmer ones, and grow plants that fall within your parameters and you will be successful. And with window gardening always beware of drafts, they will cause problems and once you notice them it is too late.

[Ray]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Selmo...

That last plant is likely Brassavola Little Stars, not a brassia, and has far different cultural needs.