Getting Phrags to bloom!

[Love my Orchids]

Hello
It has been a while since I've been here.
I have an ongoing problem with my Phragmipedium grand.
I've had the orchid for almost 5 years and while it is very healthy looking, it has never bloomed. It is in a very bright room that gets lots of sun. Both east and south windows. I've read that they are easy to bloom but not this one.
Any input from other Phrag growers will be much appreciated!
Thanks
Love my Orchids

[Ray]

Most phrags prefer to never dry out, so that's potential issue #1. Tell us about your feeding regimen - formula, concentration, and frequency.

[Love my Orchids]

Hi Ray, I try never to let it dry out. It's in a south west window with a little but not much shade and a morning east window. I feed twice a month in winter alternating Fox Farm CAL-Max 1-0-0 with Neptune fish fert.2-4-1. It is outdoors under light shade spring - fall.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Love my Orchids

Hi Ray, I try never to let it dry out. It's in a south west window with a little but not much shade and a morning east window. I feed twice a month in winter alternating Fox Farm CAL-Max 1-0-0 with Neptune fish fert.2-4-1. It is outdoors under light shade spring - fall.

How much of each do you mix in a gallon of water? I'll bet you're underfeeding.

If you're only feeding every two weeks, in order to get the proper nitrogen level, you would need 16 teaspoons/gallon of the cal-mag (which might overdose the plant with calcium) or 8 teaspoons/gallon of the fish fertilizer.

I suggest you drop both of those and just use a decent quality, complete fertilizer like the MSU formulas or K-Lite. 1 teaspoon/gallon every two weeks is fine with any of those.

[Love my Orchids]

I'm not familiar with either of those. Should I get both and alternate or will one do. I like to keep things simple if possible.

[Lil Duck]

You shouldn't have to alternate fertilizers at all, I recommend MSU RO as it is easier to use. Heres another variable, what are the day and night temperatures in your growing areas, some species of orchid require a strong day and night difference to initiate blooming.

[Ray]

Lil Duck is correct - there is absolutely no reason to use more than one fertilizer.

[Optimist]

I have a lot of phrags. First, is it old enough to bloom? In my experience, I grow phrags like water iris. They are constantly in water all the way to the top. I guess if you have a very damp environment you may not need to. Also at least Dendrobium to Cattleya light. 1500-2000 FC. There is one phrag that does not like this, but it is not Grande. In fact, grade has the genetic parents of caudatum x longifolium. Longifolium loves sitting in rivers or at the edge of a swamp or on a cliff with constant rain fall. About the only thing I have done wrong as far as care is my water is a bit hard. so I have some leaf tip burn. If you do emerge in water, then you need to change it every few weeks and make sure it is RO or rainwater. Also as far as ferts. Only twice a year and very weak.

---------- Post added at 07:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Love my Orchids

I'm not familiar with either of those. Should I get both and alternate or will one do. I like to keep things simple if possible.

Ray is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the orchid world. The idea of those two is that Cal Mag introduces water without much "hardness" to the two minerals that it really ought to have to make orchids like phrags happy. A lot of this depends on whether you are getting your water from which aquifer. I am in a place with "rock water" so I have gone RO in the case of phrags. (funny none of my other plants object to hard water). Phrags and paphs like rain water. If you can get large amounts of that, I doff my cap to ye.

In orchids things are more like an on-going science experiment than a "keep it simple" type things. Everyone has unique parameters. Water is never just water. Light is never just light. And on it goes. But nothing is simple.

[Optimist]

My picture: My crazy Phrag. 11 pups last year and 14 as of today they keep growing from the original plant. Some have some leaf tip burn because I used plain tap water at first, but then they started to have no leaf tip burn after I started RO water only. The growths that are burned will still provide flowers in time. This is Phrag. QF Leina'ala/ Conchiferum ‘Kay’ × Phrag. Incan Treasure. They are under a grow light but will go outside when it gets warm.

[Love my Orchids]

The avg. difference in temp. is about 10 degrees in winter when they are indoors. It varies in summer. Upstate NY weather can be a bit crazy.

---------- Post added at 09:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Lil Duck

You shouldn't have to alternate fertilizers at all, I recommend MSU RO as it is easier to use. Heres another variable, what are the day and night temperatures in your growing areas, some species of orchid require a strong day and night difference to initiate blooming.

Winter indoor temps vary 10 degrees. Summer temps can vary in upstate NY.

---------- Post added at 09:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 AM ----------

Thanks everyone!