3 Spikes Bloomed

[Tone]

Since my wife and I live in a house with no kids and no visitors and the cats don't seem to give a hoot, i wanted to a pic of my near-fully bloomed little friend's success story, 14 blooms, 3 buds.

It was my wife's present from co-workers when she left her job 2 years ago, unfortunately she took care of it in the tiny pot it came in and watered it with 3 ice cubes per week...so you could imagine how it looked.

I took over last September, took it out of the tiny pot and took an hour removing the roots from an inner plastic cup it was all grown through, repotted with much larger pot and well draining bark.

Up until it bloomed, i did a full soak and drain weekly, but i still give it a little water every other day since the bark drains so well. 2-3 times per week i gently wipe down the leaves with a wet microfiber towel (bought for this, no detergent). It sure paid off!

[PaphMadMan]

Nice save, though the cat does not seem impressed.

[Tone]

I'm definitely ready for another orchid in the house. Any suggestions on a specific type that has different types of blooms (non poisonous to cats ideally)? For the second one, i think i'd like a colored flower.

[WhiteRabbit]

Wonderful!

Orchids are generally non-toxic - safe for homes with pets and small children

Depending on the amount of light you can provide, there are many, many orchids to choose from that can be grown on windowsills. I quite like Oncidiums, and Oncidium alliance intergenerics, tho many can get quite big quickly (but many also don't miss a beat after being divided) - Oncidium Twinkle is nice, as they are fairly small, and have a nice fragrance. Paphiopedilums can usually grow alongside Phals, tho can be slow growers (in my experience, anyway). Dendrobiums (so many to choose from!) - especially what are known as "Den-phals" - some can get quite big, but there are many compact ones, as well.

You might also want to look at member's posts with their blooming orchids, and see what you like, and if it seems like it's do-able for you.

[Tone]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Wonderful!

Orchids are generally non-toxic - safe for homes with pets and small children

Depending on the amount of light you can provide, there are many, many orchids to choose from that can be grown on windowsills. I quite like Oncidiums, and Oncidium alliance intergenerics, tho many can get quite big quickly (but many also don't miss a beat after being divided) - Oncidium Twinkle is nice, as they are fairly small, and have a nice fragrance. Paphiopedilums can usually grow alongside Phals, tho can be slow growers (in my experience, anyway). Dendrobiums (so many to choose from!) - especially what are known as "Den-phals" - some can get quite big, but there are many compact ones, as well.

You might also want to look at member's posts with their blooming orchids, and see what you like, and if it seems like it's do-able for you.

Thank you very much for the suggestions, I will check those out for sure. I'd love a larger plant, as i have tons of room and my house has amazing natural lighting. The table my Phal is on is in a turret-style eat-in kitchen area that is surrounded by windows which catch eastern and southern sunlight.

[Tone]

It's been 5 months since all 3 blooms, and i'm sad to say the largest spike (ironically the newest one) has died off. The two spikes that "spiked" off of old spikes are still very healthy and going strong.

The good news is that it not only has grown 2 more leaves, a massive spike shot up over the course of a week, and it appears it will be at least 8 blooms. Strangely it appears there are smaller spikes shooting out the sides of the new one...can anyone help identify what it's doing?

[estación seca]

When the plants get bigger, the flowers spikes branch, and there are more flowers! Good job!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Still looking good. Did you get another orchid?

[Tone]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Still looking good. Did you get another orchid?

No actually. I tried getting a hold of zygopetalum or dendrobium, for some extra difficulty and uniqueness, but didn't have any luck.

It's ok, I'm enjoying this guy as a centerpiece with copious amounts of blooms. All of my guests stare at it and tell me how they never have any luck getting them to rebloom. double spikes off a new spike is something i've never seen before, so I'm excited to see what's next. I'll be repotting into a significantly larger pot soon, maybe i'll get some keikis, this guy clearly has good genetics so i'd love to share. I tried pollinating healthy blooms with the wilting ones before they died, i guess we'll see how it goes!

[BettyE]

Beautiful phal, Tone...Love the cat, also! BettyE