Best conditions for Zygopatellum spike?
 

Hey everyone, once again I continue to fail to get spikes. I've gotten 6 new growths in just under a year out of my zygopatellum blue-bird, but haven't gotten a spike? Any thoughts? Thanks

You'll get some soon...

Hint:

The inflorescences don't come from the old pseudobulbs...

I know... Impatient, but 2 of the new growths are full now, while 4 are at varying stages. Just looking for a pointer or 10 to get things going.

hehe -
I know zygos bloom from growth that is still quite small - i haven't yet got mine to rebloom tho. I know I have seen people posting with their zygos blooming and am hoping some of them will have advice for you (and me) ;)

Hi I only have a hybrid. So my experience is very limited. I have found in my conditions that it likes a more water/humidity than other orchids.I repotted into a mix of bark/hydroton balls/choir- I put spagh. moss on new growths & roots. Mine has really surprised me as it put out a new spike with 4 flowers on it from a recent new growth. I have taken a couple pics - The flowers are not yet fully opened
and I believe it needs even more humidity as the leaf tips are browned... Hope this helps!

Okay...

How are the roots? Are most of them healthy and growing.

If the roots are too badly damaged, it can delay blooming.

How's the light?

If it's too shady, the blooms will be infrequent.

Do you water often enough? You can tell if they're not getting enough water because the leaves will either buckle or turn yellow and fall off prematurely. This also affects blooming.

The "weakly weekly" guideline for fertilization is an excellent one. It prevents the unsightly leaf blemishes and leaf tip die back that can occur from over fertilization. Prolonged use of tap water that is high in dissolved minerals also contributes to leaf blemishes and leaf tip die back easily in this genus. Over fertilization also causes problems with the roots, which in turn delays blooming.

Other than that, if the temperature is intermediate to warm, you should get some blooms soon. I don't know what else to say. They really weren't very difficult for me to bloom. I don't know of any "tricks" for these guys.

If your plant is as healthy as you say it is, it should be spiking soon. All of the above feedback is great, but here's my contribution: it could be the time of season. With the exception of my Zygonisia, which blooms on and off throughout the year, most of my zygos wait until the time of year is right to bloom. My Z. Blue Blazes, for example, will only bloom in the winter. It may also have to do with the individual plant. Some hybrids are more stubborn to bloom than others, and some clones/individuals will bloom better than most of their counterparts.

Ok, I'll try to help summarize on my current conditions, and how I view the plant as a whole. It's in S/H, and has been for roughly the time I've had it. Roots, so far as I can tell through the S/H pot seem fine, but I haven't pulled it out to check officially. It gets south/southwest sun right by a window, that is shaded a bit. I fertilize weakly weekly as well, with one week left off for a flush of the Leca. Overall it's put out one completely new growth, one growth is probably 3/4 complete, and 4 brand new ones, less than 2" long. The only thing I ever really worried about is the leaves. I haven't lost any, and only 1 is showing some tip browning, but they all have a accordian like look. I dont know if it's normal for them or not, but even the new growth have this appearance, so I've paid it little attention. They look a little more crinkled than the pics in nenella's photos. Thanks again for all the comments, and hopefully I can get her squared away.

Leaf tip die back is the leaf tip browning you're describing. Are you using tap water? If not, then reduce the fertilizer concentration a bit more.

Crinkled leaves are what I was talking about too. Leaf buckling ("the accordion look") is a sign that it is not receiving enough water.

This plant will most likely not bloom this season until these problems are fixed - particularly the leaf buckling one.

Crinkled foliage would suggest plant is too dry - but if it's in s/h I don't know if that could be the case.
Zygos will bloom off pretty new growth - before the pbulbs develop - so if looking for spikes, look to the most recent growth.

I'm wondering if it gets enough light ? This time of year with the sun high in the sky, southern exposure doesn't get much light - tho I don't know about south-west.

I did just yesterday find a little spike on my Bollopetalum - much to my surprise! I have my zygo and zygo hybrids outside with cyms and catts, maybe getting a bit less sun than those.

I'm having the same difficulty with my lone Zygo. I assumed it was a light issue, and it is now in my greenhouse with still no blooms. It's has plenty of new growth, but all of it matured without blooming. I have two new growths which recently started... so I'm holding out hope! I'm going to take some suggestions from this thread... the weakly weekly fertilizer and plenty of water! I hadn't been fertilizing anything real regularly because I was convinced I'd been over doing it for everyone. lol

Well after a few months, I wanted to update all on the Zygo's condition. After reading what everyone had to say, I shifted the Zygo outside for about 2-3 months. I dont know if that is what triggered it, but I finally got the spike I was waiting for.
So, maybe it was lighting, maybe it was the slow decline in overnight temps, or even the outside humidity. Either way, below is a shot of the spike, and thanks all for your help.

Hey! Congrats! Totally unexpected!

After careful monitoring of temperatures, I learned that my Zygopetalum mackayi begins to spike whenever the night temp drops below 60° F

Excellent! I can't wait for my first one to spike! It's got several new roots and leaf shoots developing along the base, and the bulbs are pushing their way out of two relatively new growths. I hope it will bloom for me sometime soon as well!

Congrats to you!

Here's a quick picture of the blooms. Dont know if it's normal for the lip to remain erect rather than slowly bend down, but looks nice to me. I'd argue a light soapy fragrance, but it seems to be come and go (might be time of day fragrance).
Enjoy, and thanks to all for the helpful comments

This is a Zygonisia. It has Aganisia (aka Acacallis) in it. the lip positioning is normal for the genus Aganisia. It may unfurl further, particularly if this is the first few days it has been in bloom.

Ahh, that's nice to know about the lip, though most pics I see of it dont show much lip drop. I do know it's a zygonisia, I just couldn't figure out how to change the topic title. Thanks King

I didn't catch your comment about the fragrance at first.

Yes, the perfume is timed.

Try smelling between 9 am to 4 pm.