Bellina X Violacea help needed!

[InspirChid1712]

I am getting a bit frustrated with this plant! It is Phal. violacea "Tequila Sunrise" X Phal. Bellina from Hausermann orchids. I have heard that Phals of this type can be difficult to flower... mine looks so healthy but I fear another summer will go by without any blooms. Is there something I can do to trigger flowering for this type of plant? I don't know if providing cool night periods is the answer because it is such a warm-growing plant. It is fertilized regularly and I have been bloom-boosting all summer. This will be the 3rd year I have had it, and I do believe it should be blooming size by now... the root system is very extensive and the leaves look great! What should I do??????

[kiki-do]

I would try the cool nights. I think they still need that kick-start. Sometimes they don't pay attention to when they are suppose to bloom, and bloom when they feel like it. I would do three things: 1) do the cool nights 2) slow up on the bloom booster, and 3) move it near the trash bin and scare the beegeebers out of it.
That's all folks!

[rhw7879]

Yes, I agree with Kiki. Violacea and Bellina's tend to like it better cooler ... maybe bring it in the house..

[Dorothy]

Elliot - to repeat what others have said - allow the night temps in the fall time to be about 60°F for 2-3 weeks. This should induce the Phal to spike.. The ideal temps for Phals are 65-80°F.

[quiltergal]

Elliot how much light is it getting? These guys can take quite a bit more light than some Phals. I'm growing the exact same plant in a south window under lights. It's blooming now and has 2 more flowers on the way. It actually double spiked for me this year and it looks like it may flower off last year's spike too. The leaves on mine are a very light green.

Mine had cool nights fall through winter. We turn the heat off in the house at night so it gets pretty cool, often as low as 60 in the house. I'm also feeding all plants MSU weekly 125ppm N except for the ones that like a winter rest. I think I'd try a combo of cooler night temps and more light.

[orchideric]

Give the plant significantly more light. The leaves should be closer to apple green than the dark kelly green of your plant. The best bellina I ever saw was grown by the late Herb Hager whose plant had 14 pairs !!! of very pale green leaves.

Eric

[Dorothy]

Oh Eric - I would love to see that bellina .. is there a link to a site that might have a photo of it?

[orchideric]

Dear Dorothy, No link available. This is from the early 1970's but I do have a great color slide of it. And alas I don't have a scanner.

Eric

[InspirChid1712]

Thank you for all of your input! I think I will let the plant stay outside until the nights start to cool down on nature's cycle, but until then, I will move it over a few feet to a more sunny spot. All of the other Phals growing beside it are doing very well, and compared to how it has grown in the past, the bellina looks pretty good too. I have also seen bellinas with very light green leaves, so maybe the increased light will do the trick. I saw a HUGE specimen of Phal. Sweet Memory quite a few years back at an orchid show, and it was similar to what you described- about 14 to 16 sets of leaves and HUNDREDS of flowers... you could smell the plant the moment you walking in the door! I wish I had gotten a picture! Ahhhh, don't you wish you could flip a switch and suddenly have flowers? But, patience is a virtue, I suppose!

[Dorothy]

Thanks anyways .. Eric