Phals going into the Fridge

[RJSquirrel]

have some phals going into the fridge at 55f to get them to spike. Keep you informed. I know this will work bec the small noid I kept is pushing something up now after 3 weeks. The others are Surf Song and White Dream V3.

They all had grown at least one good leaf before I try to force a cold spike..and don't do this with your species phals..it might kill em. I haven't tried this with them yet.

[Ray]

What day & night temps have they been experiencing?

The key to reliable spike initiation is that the average growing temperature should be reduced about 10-15 degrees for about 2 weeks, then returned to former, warm conditions.

[RJSquirrel]

been outside upwards to over 90 degrees most of the summer.

inside its 72 and I just dont think thats enough of a drop to get em going.

inside the fridge its 55. The cold worked on some cuthberts. Didnt work on the dendrobium bec it had already gotten to warm and made keikis' instead.

Will give em a few weeks see what happens.

I really think the cold drop is the cure for most of the why wont my phal rebloom

[dbarron]

It did seem that I got blooms best when I left them out till it got quite chilly before bringing them in, so you may be right.
One of the disadvantages of the Desert SW and Texas Tropical zones

But on the face of it, putting phals in a fridge just fills me with shivers (but truthfully and metaphorically).

[Ray]

A study at Texas A&M established the protocol I mentioned.

Within limits, it doesn't matter what the "normal" and "treatment" temperatures are, as long as the difference is there.

I plotted 2-week running temperature averages in my greenhouse and correlated it to my spiking phals. My peak for the entire year was an average of 86°. When I started seeing spikes emerge, I back-tracked the calendar by 6 weeks, and Lo, and Behold! that corresponded to a time where the 2-week average had dropped to 70° after that.

[Dimples]

All of my phals are spiking and our indoor temperatures are significantly above 55F.

Our indoor highs at the warmest part of the year are in the low 80s and the plants are probably a little warmer than that because they’re in diffused direct light while the thermometer is in complete shade next to them. Our lowest daytime highs have been in the low to mid 70s over the last few weeks. The drop in overnight low temperatures has been less dramatic, from the low 70s to the upper 60s.

I love experimenting but putting phals in 55F on purpose would make me very nervous!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

been outside upwards to over 90 degrees most of the summer.

inside its 72 and I just dont think thats enough of a drop to get em going.

inside the fridge its 55. The cold worked on some cuthberts. Didnt work on the dendrobium bec it had already gotten to warm and made keikis' instead.

Will give em a few weeks see what happens.

I really think the cold drop is the cure for most of the why wont my phal rebloom

Can't equate Den. cuthbertsonii (which hates heat) with Phals... I no longer grow many Phal hybrids (just find species in general more interesting these days) , but when I did (early "career") I got about 80% reblooming once I increased the light to 12 hour a day. Temperature change was gradual, just the natural temperature variation of the house as it transitioned from summer to winter... never went below 65 deg F at night, days typically above 70 deg F. With the stress of 55 deg F, you might get the sort of blooming that orchids do when they are about to die. You may get spikes once, but end up weakening the plants for the long run. Also keep in mind... if commercial growers do this to time blooms for holidays, etc. they don't necessarily particularly care about the long-term health of the plants. They want to bloom 'em and sell 'em, what happens after is of no concern.

[RJSquirrel]

the little noid has a spike, not a root.

the mittens are showing.




I saved this noid bec it was fragrant. I dont see any fragrant noids around bec scent is too expensive to waste on a grocery store phal. The plant had been in the fridge already for a few weeks.

[RJSquirrel]

outside now been down to 45 past few days..its spike or die time !!


the small fragrant no-id has spike growing but it looks like maybe only a few flowers.. not very strong thin and weak..

[BrassCat]

What ended up happening to these phals in the fridge?