Healthy phalaenopsis orchids but no spikes or blooms! What am I doing wrong??

[Orchid grower]

Hello everyone!

I am writing today a bit frustrated with my orchids I have 9 orchids that are all in pretty good shape. They all have healthy leaves and nice roots. The oldest one I've had is 3 years old. Now out of these 9, 1 has spiked and bloomed but only gave me two beautiful flowers. Another bloomed around 7-9 months ago and gave two flowers before the spike bud blasted and stopped growing. Now all that is great and I was happy because they at least bloomed!

There are about 4 other phals that should be spiking and blooming but have not! I dont know what I'm doing wrong.. I water them with either plain tap water or a diluted fertilizer (growmore, green coloured, 20-10-20?) and some weeks tap water mixed with a very weak seaweed fertilizer. I am also going to start incorporating growmores 20-20-20. After watering I will usually turn my heat mat on because I want the orchids to dry out a little to avoid mold, rot etc.. I live in British Columbia and it can get cold.

I keep my orchids near a west facing window. The days here were very short in February and colder than the past months have been but the days have now started to become longer and warmer just this past week. I love my orchids so much and just want them to bloom.. I think I have been patient enough.. I have had all of these orchids for over a year and they should be blooming based on everything I've read.

I do believe there is a temperature drop between day and night.. at the very least it has been cold at night. I just purchased a thermostat so I'll see if maybe the temperature is the issue but I doubt it... I am wondering what should the temp difference be between day and night to induce blooming??
If anything I'm thinking it may be they are not getting enough light but the blinds do typically stay open for most of the day. But from now I will be more vigilant I guess. I am sorry to rant and make this into a long post. I am looking for any suggestions or tips on what I could be doing better to help these orchids bloom. It is not a matter of me just having purchased them and there blooms just dropping.. I've had these in my care for some time. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you all!!!

I will attach some pics of one of my orchids in specific that I really want to bloom. I nursed it back to health and last year it gave me so many beautiful roots! Another picture of my setup and you can see how close to the window they are. The heat mat is not on.

Thanks orchid lovers!

[aliceinwl]

I think the general rule is a 10 degree drop in average temperature for at least two weeks. Following the drop, it can take months for the plants to initiate a spike. If you’ve only had the plants a year, sometimes their first bloom was forced and the plants may skip a year of blooming to recharge. Light can also be a factor. My Phals kept in brighter locations, put on better displays and bloom more consistently.

That said, you may just need to give them more time. I have over 50 Phals, most are plants that I’ve rebloomed reliably. Very few of my plants have started spiking. The initial bloom may have been artificially induced but the rebloom in your care will occur on the plant’s preferred schedule which may be earlier or later.

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 PM ----------

For those that have bloomed , my suspicion would be a light issue. They like bright indirect light for most of the day. I had Phals go from producing 2-3 flowers once a year to 8-10 on multiple spikes or spiking multiple times during the year when moved into brighter windows.

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

I think the general rule is a 10 degree drop in average temperature for at least two weeks. Following the drop, it can take months for the plants to initiate a spike. If you’ve only had the plants a year, sometimes their first bloom was forced and the plants may skip a year of blooming to recharge. Light can also be a factor. My Phals kept in brighter locations, put on better displays and bloom more consistently.

That said, you may just need to give them more time. I have over 50 Phals, most are plants that I’ve rebloomed reliably. Very few of my plants have started spiking. The initial bloom may have been artificially induced but the rebloom in your care will occur on the plant’s preferred schedule which may be earlier or later.

Thank you so much for your response you have given me some hope.. I'm going to see what my thermostat tells me, I've just gotten it today. Around 5pm it was 20 celcius and now at 9pm it is 17 so I'll see tomorrow if there is a 10 degree drop or not and at least that question will be answered. If there is the right drop in temp I can then focus on the light.

Do you mind if I ask your opinion on weather or not the pics of the phal I've posted should get a repoting before the next growing season. It was potted in that pot about a year ago when it only had 1 root to keep it going. It grew lots of new roots but as they got longer they got skinnier and I'm not sure if that was a bad sign. Thanks!!

[aliceinwl]

To me, the media and roots look go so I wouldn’t repot. Phals that I’ve dealt with that had to recover from major root issues have often skipped a year flowering.

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ----------

The 10 degree drop might have been Fahrenheit. For Celsius, I think you’re going to want lows between 13 and 18. A lot of my Phals wait to start spiking until temperatures warm up in the spring.

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

To me, the media and roots look go so I wouldn’t repot. Phals that I’ve dealt with that had to recover from major root issues have often skipped a year flowering.

---------- Post added at 09:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ----------

The 10 degree drop might have been Fahrenheit. For Celsius, I think you’re going to want lows between 13 and 18. A lot of my Phals wait to start spiking until temperatures warm up in the spring.

I hope it's the same for me! Thank you so much for all your input.

Do you think it's different for mini phals at all? One of my pics is of my mini phal that I've had for a couple years, shes always in good shape with her roots and leaves but also has failed to ever rebloom for me. I heard minis may need more light but if you can see in my pic one of the top leaves on the mini has some yellow/white streaks and I'm afraid that was from possible sun damage? So I've shy'd away from the sun a bit.

[Ray]

You are not looking for a 10-degree drop in nighttime temperature (that's Celsius, equivalent to 16 degrees Fahrenheit), you are looking for about two weeks of an average reduction in growing temperature of that much. A ten degree nighttime drop is only a five degree drop in the average.

Then it takes about six to eight weeks for a spike to emerge.

So what temperatures are your plants exposed to without use of the heat mat? I'll bet you're growing them too cold.

Also, don't be in a rush to add more fertilizer or change formulas. That's not going to fix anything.

[Arizona Jeanie]

Hello OG, I feel your pain. I had the same problem with one plant that wouldn't bloom. After three years, I tried to give it away but couldn't find a taker, so here's what I did.
First, make sure they're getting plenty of light. My plants are on a bright screen porch all Summer, then come in to a dark house in the Fall. I now have a grow light for their Winter sojourn.
Next, cut down on all fertilizer, especially the nitrogen component. Way down. Use a small amount of all-purpose fertilizer through the Summer. In the Fall, try switching to very dilute "bloom" type fertilizer, it's lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus.
I bring my plants in the house when outside low temps get to be around 50F (10C). They come inside but to a room that can be kept cool--shut off the heat vent and juggle the window and door openings to keep the plants between 50-62F (10-17C). Read Ray's site for details on cooling Phals to get them to bloom. He's right, this is key. When they spike, I gradually bring it back to my normal household temps, around 68F (20C) through the Winter.
Don't be afraid to stress the plants a bit--a little warmer in the summer, cooler in the fall, a little dry, less fertilizer. When they're too happy, they put out lots of healthy greenery but don't want to bloom. A little stress can trigger blooming, just don't overdo it. I also think that it helps for them to feel at least a bit of the natural seasonal cycles of light, day length and temperature.
So, this worked, it's blooming nicely now--both a new spike and on a branch on last year's. I'm glad no one took it when I tried to give it away!

[viridian-skies]

A lot of good advice here. Mine spike every year and what I do is make sure they have plenty of supplemental light all year long. I probably give my phals more light than what is typical. Most of their leaves are tinged with purple or are light green. Then, usually in late September into October, I put them outside at night for about 3-4 weeks where the temps get down into the 50's. Around Christmas, I always see spikes develop.

[aliceinwl]

I don’t do anything differently for my mini Phals. I have a bunch that I’ve purchased as minis and they’re all so different. I don’t think there’s a one size fits all for them. I think some probably have more in common genetically with some of my larger plants than they do with one another.

Not all of them stay super small either. With the minis there seems to be a mix of truly small Phals and larger Phals that were likely forced to bloom young.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by viridian-skies

A lot of good advice here. Mine spike every year and what I do is make sure they have plenty of supplemental light all year long. I probably give my phals more light than what is typical. Most of their leaves are tinged with purple or are light green. Then, usually in late September into October, I put them outside at night for about 3-4 weeks where the temps get down into the 50's. Around Christmas, I always see spikes develop.

indeed, duration of light is more important than intensity. I had success with supplemental light (the cheapest fluorescent lights that I could find) on a timer 12 hours a day. Even in California, I found that light coming in the window by itself was not sufficient - maybe 4 hours of good east light, then the sun shifted and it was indirect. With those lights I went from hardly any reblooming to about 80% reblooming. It works!