Phal Sweet Memory Liodoro: winter or summer bloomer? - Orchid Board

chicken_wing · #1 01-11-2021, 09:31 AM

everyone!
I'm Alessandra and this is my first post!
I've been reading this amazing forum for quite some time but today I've decided to join in as well.

This post is about the blooming season of Phalaenopsis Sweet Memory Liodoro.
I've bought this beauty in June last year and even tho the shipping was super quick.... the orchid didn't react that well. It lost tons of its roots, its beautiful leaves became limpy and full of yellow dotted spots. It was very very scary.
After two months of nothing, it started to root again... but in the meantime, it lost all its blooms.

Now it's recovering and producing a new leaf and new roots - even if we have poor day light due to the cloudy winter.
In November it elongated one of its four flower spikes and it produced one tiny branch... but no flowers.
So my question is.....

In which season does your Phal Liodoro bloom? In winter like the tipical grocery store phals... or in summer?
Should I hope for something in late spring/summer?
Tell me your experience!
Thanks!!!

Mr.Fakename · #2 01-11-2021, 09:45 AM

Welcome!

This is a summer bloomer, as it's 75% made of hot growing Phal species.

Mine started branching the spikes as well, but it won't bloom before May, up to September.

camille1585 · #3 01-11-2021, 10:14 AM

Welcome Alessandra!

I also have this Phal, and like Mr. Fakename it's usually blooming in late spring to summer. I'm had it start blloming as early as mid april, and the latest has been mid june. This is for brand new spikes, I haven't really been keeping track of extending spikes (and it currrently doesn't have any spikes at the moment)

estación seca · #4 01-11-2021, 12:50 PM

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Orchidtinkerer · #5 01-11-2021, 10:52 PM

I'm not familiar with the liodoro myself but I know from following other growers it flowers this time of year too but it will depend on the growing conditions. Certainly not unusual for it to flower twice a year.

chicken_wing · #6 01-12-2021, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

I'm not familiar with the liodoro myself but I know from following other growers it flowers this time of year too but it will depend on the growing conditions. Certainly not unusual for it to flower twice a year.

I heard people that experience flowers with the fall drop temperature as well.... so they have flowers this time of the year!

But as the others said... The Liodoro SHOULD BE mostly a summer bloomer due to its parentage! In the forum, I saw beautiful pics of Liodoro in bloom! And the timing of those posts is generally in late spring/summer!
Because of that, I'm quite confused about what I should expect :O!

I don't know if my orchid will be able to bloom... due to last year's stress. But the new leaf that it's growing let me hope a bit for this spring!

Anyway, thanks for your feedbacks! They are so important for an orchid freak like me

camille1585 · #7 01-12-2021, 08:24 AM

I guess the end conclusion, as often, is that orchids will bloom when they want! Most blooming events will tend to cluster around a certain period, but you can also expect a lot of natural spread and outliers.

When I see my other phals (hybrids or species) that tend to extend from old spikes, it seems that the original spike will often appear in the season which is considered 'typical' for its genetics, but for new growth on old spikes, it seems that they use much smaller environmental cues and the moment at which the spikes will bloom again seems much more variable (but not completely random either).

rbarata · #8 01-12-2021, 02:34 PM

Hello Alessandra and welcome to the forum.

Mine blooms between March and May but I guess my spring must be equivalent to summer in other parts of the world.
Here's a photo:

chicken_wing · #9 01-13-2021, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbarata

Hello Alessandra and welcome to the forum.

Mine blooms between March and May but I guess my spring must be equivalent to summer in other parts of the world.
Here's a photo:

oh my god! I've already seen your MAJESTIC Liodoro! It's to die for <3! I can't imagine how beautiful is to see its flowers moving with the airflow!

So yours behaves like a typical summer-blooming phal. Good to know! Thanks!

Orchidtinkerer · #10 01-13-2021, 09:03 AM

what makes it tough sometimes to determine the flowering time is that a lot of these will be imported from the other side of the world like thailand and the season will be opposite to ours. They get sold in bloom having come from a different climate and either the plants stick to the yearly pattern they grew up with or they try to adapt to the different climate they are now exposed to.
This can mess up when they flower and has confused.
I avoid dry rest periods for my orchids and I have noticed this gives different results. A dry rest can delay flowering in some orchids so one grower might have his flower 2 months earlier than another grower.

Artificial lights can mess things up even more as I myself am tricking a couple inot thinking it is spring when it isn't yet