Won't Bloom

[Flower Fool]

My mom has an orchid that was given to her 15+ years ago. It was blooming when it was given to her. She says it had a long stem with a lot of flowers on it. It has not bloomed since. She does not even remember what color it was. Not even really sure if it's a Cymbidium.
Would really appreciate it if someone could give me some advise on how to get this plant to bloom again.
Thank You

[estación seca]

Yes, it's a Cymbidium. Most of the commercial hybrids need cool fall nights and a cool winter in order to make flowers. She can try leaving it outside in fall and winter (now!) so long as it doesn't freeze. Winter night temperatures all the way down to just above freezing are fine.

It also looks a little dark - try giving it more light, so the leaves are yellowish green. They take full sun if there is a breeze to carry off the heat.

When was it last repotted?

[Flower Fool]

It was repotted about 4-5 years ago. It was repotted with your typical orchid mix. (Bark and Sphagnum moss) Cannot put it outside. We already have about 4" of snow and temperatures are already at freezing. It sits in a corner between a south and west window. She has tried it in a few different spots.

[Keysguy]

You may have missed the window to get it to set bud in BC. Maybe wait until next year.
Good news.....the plant looks nice and healthy.
Once the weather has moderated in the spring to where it would be safe outdoors, I'd move it out. Pick a spot preferably with maybe 3-4 hours of early morning sun that is then shaded the rest of the day. Let it get rain water and feed a basic very weak orchid food solution evry week while it is outside. Leave it in that spot until you get that first night where it's going to be below 40F, and that's when you want to move it back in to where she has been keeping it. It will have some chilly nights in the forties by then which will be perfect. By the first of Dec I bet you'll see bud spikes starting.

[Roberta]

Cyms really don't even have to get that cold... they love warm fall days with cool nights (it's the difference that triggers them.) I am seeing lots of Cym spikes now that we have had just a few weeks where nights are getting down into the low 60's F (15-17 deg C) with days still in the 80's F (27-30 deg C) When that happens in various places will vary (Canada and NE US are already getting winter weather, i'm just barely seeing fall) but that's what the Cyms are looking for to bloom. FF, definitely too late to this year to catch that window... Along with the excellent advice of Keysguy, I would also suggest repotting in the spring - the medium tends to break down after about 3 years. So it likely can go back into the same pot, but will thrive on fresh bark. For the winter, just give it as much light as you can. Near a window is good, it's cooler there as well as brighter. I grow mine quite bright - full sun just slightly moderated with 40% shadecloth all day, 12-13 hours in summer. But they ease into that amount of light gradually as the sun shifts higher. Like any orchid, increase light gradually.

[Cym Ladye]

Cymbidiums need to be outside in 50/50 shade to sun until frost in the fall and returned outside when all danger of frost is over. They will grow inside but not bloom. This plant appears not to have gotten enough light.

[Shadeflower]

If it was last repotted 5 years ago it's time for a new repot (in spring).

I cannot see the bulbs so it must be potted pretty deep.

Have the bulbs sit on top of the substrate, only the roots should be buried.

Most likely reason for no flowers is too little light so find a brighter spot without burning the leaves long term.

I've only got one flowering sized cymbidium but it flowered great indoors even in gloomy england. But it is sitting in my brightest western exposed window. I wouldn't risk it in the south but it can handle our western sun.

It needs to be right against the glass, not between windows.

[Fairorchids]

To recap:

• It needs repotting every 2-3 years.
• If it is very rootbound, it might be necessary to cut off the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the roots to make it fit into the next pot.
• When you repot, it should have bottom 1-2 cm of the bulb below the surface of the mix.
• You can use almost any mix you wish, but you must water according to the mix (see below).
• Cymbidiums are very greedy plants. They should be fertilized every couple of weeks with close to full strength indicated from the fertilizer manufacturer.

Cymbidiums do best if you can bring them outside spring/summer/fall. The plant can tolerate temperatures down to -1/-2C, but prefers temps above 0C. I know growers who start taking plants outside in late winter (bringing them back in if temps drop below 0C).

When you bring the plant outside, start it in light shade for one week. After that, it can go into full sun - provided that you water and feed it enough.

When the plant comes back inside in the fall, ideally it should be:

• In as bright a spot as possible.
• Daytime temp doesn't matter much (don't bake it), but as cool as possible at night.

A spaghnum/bark mix is fine. I use a terrestrial mix (see the Cymbidium seedling thread I just started). However, the key is that you must water enough that the plant never dries out (year round).