Frustrated by Lack of Blooms: LONG - Orchid Board

shadytrake · #1 09-20-2010, 05:22 PM

I am frustrated with my Oncidiums and Intergeneric Oncidium crosses because I can't seem to coax them to spike.

Here is the background.

-I know they should bloom as I purchased great quality orchids already in bloom.

-I have been successful reblooming 2 of my group, a Wilsonara and Oncidium sphacelatum.

-All of them are in semi hydro which should be an excellent medium for them if I can judge by the massive root systems in the pots.

-All of them get MSU fertilizer weakly every 2 weeks.

Based on this information, I am wondering if I have a problem with light, temperature or humidity OR a combination thereof.

Background.

-All of them are in my shadehouse which gets filtered sunlight from 10am-5pm starting from mid-May through late-September (then I put up the lights).

-All of them received some incredible temperatures this year as summer was pretty hot. We had 3 or 4 weeks where the temp in the shade house did reach in the 90s but not for very long (misting etc for cool down). Evening temps averaging upper 70s or higher with a few dips to the 60s (very few).

-All of them received pretty much just the relative humidity from outside plus the addition of some misting for cool down. Memphis, TN average 81%-85% morning and 57% evening for May-September 2010.

Here is the list of orchids.

Wilsonara Hot Spot - blooms profusely with no issues.
Onc. spacelatum - rebloomed once with a puny spike.
Onc. Ellen Williams (altissimum x spacelatum) - has not rebloomed
Onc. Gold Dust (Twinkle x cheirophorum) - has not rebloomed
Adgm. Summit ‘French Town’ (ODM bictoniense x ADA keiliana) - has not rebloomed
Miltassia Charles M. Fitch (Brassia verrucosa x Miltonia spectabilis) - has not rebloomed
Otobrastonia Skywalker (was Degarmoara) (Miltassia x Otoglossum)- has not rebloomed
Degarmoara Winter Wonderland (Miltassia x Odontoglossom) - rebloomed once but puny.

Any suggestions as to coax these guys to bloom? I have heard that Oncidium intergeneric hybrids are pretty easy to bloom but I am not finding this to be the case.

As FYI I don't seem to be having trouble with Dendrobiums (several types species and hybrids), Encyclia species or Cattleya/Laelia hybrids. I have bloomed and rebloomed many.

Royal · #2 09-20-2010, 06:56 PM

I don't grow many from the Onc. group, put I'll throw in my two cents.

It sounds like they are growing fairly well (nice roots, etc.). If that's the case, I'd bet you're feeding them too well, or not giving them enough light. Another OB member (Polka) wrote an article about this exact topic. After changing many of the other parameters with no success he stopped or reduced fertilizing and poof - blooms.

Excess nitrogen can inhibit blooming. For a long time people thought you needed a "bloom formula" with higher P or K, but it turns out that it's really just the lower N that does the trick.

dounoharm · #3 09-20-2010, 08:20 PM

i agree with royal....lowering the amt of fert would be the easiest solution, so try that first....if you still dont get flowers, then next step is increasing the light......

shadytrake · #4 09-20-2010, 11:41 PM

Correction to the fertilizer routine. Hubby is the fertilizing guru and he advised me that he was only fertilizing about once a month so it must be the light.

More light here I come.

What about during the wintertime? I use T5s, T8s and T12s but I wouldn't say there is a lot of light.

Maybe I should punch it up a bit in order to induce the spring bloomers.

thakshila smith · #5 09-21-2010, 03:49 AM

" All of them are in my shadehouse which gets filtered sunlight from 10am-5pm starting from mid-May through late-September (then I put up the lights)."
This is the problem I will pin point. You our oncidiums live out side, some times mounted and I think they get more light .Not the direct sun light but
sunny climate.
And all the guru's here preach that fertilizer should be given weekly weakly . That is believable.
These tips are only for oncidiums but not for others.
For Vandas they say want very strong fertilizer .
Bye.

Royal · #6 09-21-2010, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadytrake

Correction to the fertilizer routine. Hubby is the fertilizing guru and he advised me that he was only fertilizing about once a month so it must be the light.

What concentration?

What if it takes 2 or 3 months of a certain condition to "set" the blooms? A monthly dose of high N could be enough to interrupt the cycle and prevent flowering.

Hedge · #7 09-21-2010, 01:49 PM

I think it is a light problem - I have had no joy with Dgmra Winter Wonderland, despite good growth. I bought a seedling and it has got bigger and bigger, but no spike.

Conversely, my Odontoglossum Anna Claire is reblooming and so do my Colmanara and Burr. Nelly Isler. It can't be watering as the Nelly Isler looks like its leaves have been to the crimpers so bad am I at watering it! And it can't be humidity as yours is way better than mine (best ever recorded 57%)

Just as a matter of interest could anyone tell me why two Den phal type which are in the same compost, in the same conditions and one blooms, the other does not ( this has happened two years in a row)?

fotofashion · #8 09-21-2010, 02:30 PM

I'm with the "they need more light" gang. All my intergenerics are outside in fairly strong light and I am having a bumper crop of blooms. My Milt. Mem. Donald Christian (sp?) has 15 spikes. Every day when I inspect them I find another spiking. Yesterday it was Odtna. Lorraine's 14 WOC (what a name for an orchid!). I am a rather lazy fertilizer, they get some about every other week. I use Ray's MSU at half strength.
Of course, it is getting time in some parts to put the orchids into their winter quarters so they probably will get less light but try to give them everything you can and next spring acclimatize them to more light. They will love you for it.
Beverly A.

Junebug · #9 09-21-2010, 10:33 PM

My sweet sugar??? noid was slow to bloom. She was in bloom when purchased and she rapidly outgrew her pot. It took about a year for her to bloom after being transplanted into SH. She was exposed to plenty of light the whole time and filled out her pot with new growth. I was about to give up on her when she began spiking, and spiking and spiking. She was a non stop bloomer in 2009, but then she outgrew her pot again. I divided her last May. All the divisions are healthy but only one of them (the largest and most pot bound) spiked. The same thing happened with my twinkle...she arrived with blooms, stalled after a repot, and didn't produce another spike until she'd filled out her pot again. The twinkle was also divided this spring and none of the divisions have begun to spike. This time last year my twinkle was spiking "big time".

All of the divisions are getting plenty of sunlight. I'm wondering if oncidiums simply sulk after being repotted or if they prefer being a bit pot bound before blooming. Maybe they prefer tight quarters.

shadytrake · #10 09-22-2010, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

What concentration?

What if it takes 2 or 3 months of a certain condition to "set" the blooms? A monthly dose of high N could be enough to interrupt the cycle and prevent flowering.

Well I thought I gave good instructions to hubby about "weakly" but it seems like he is the "kill with kindness" type.

I made a 25% concentrated solution of MSU per First Ray's website instructions and based on that and using the fertilizer PPM calculator, I thought he was using 1tsp/quart in our feeding spray bottle. If I am using the calculator correctly, this comes out as:

3.25N .75P 3.75K
4 tsp / gallon = 172ppm N 17ppm P 164ppm K

Come to find out he was using approximately 3 tsp/quart which is 515ppm N 52ppm P 493ppm K.

Okay that part of the mystery is solved. I had a discussion with hubby about "killing with kindness" and advised him that we need to put the orchids on a diet.

Based on this and your advise about the light, maybe we'll get some blooms next year.

Junebug - I definitely agree about the tight pot fit. These guys all have great root systems and are nearly to the overflow on the pots and there will be no repotting of these until I get some blooms.