Three year old noid phalaenopsis hasn't bloomed

[daisyd681]

Hello all. I'm obviously new here, so a little background. I live in a high desert region (lots of pine trees, no humidity, barely any rain) at 7,000 feet above sea level. We get into the high 90s in the summer and we'll into freezing in the winter, so more seasonal swing than regular deserts. Inside we usually keep it in the 75 degree range (depending on who's got control of the thermostat ).

Three or so years ago I received a lovely purple phalaenopsis (99% sure that's what it is. The flowers have faded from memory a bit). It was one of those "just add ice" ones. After all the flowers fell off and the spike dried out I whacked it off and stuck it in the window with the other plants. It got watered anywhere from once a week to once a month (whenever the other, mostly succulent types, looked thirsty). My husband was sure I shouldn't have cut the spike and that I had ruined it. I always cut dead dried out things off plants, but I wasn't sure. I had resigned myself to it being an architectural green thing in the window.

Fast forward to this mother's day. My son picked out a lovely phal with huge white blooms on it and brought it home for me. Now I have two orchids I know nothing about and an African violet in need of attention, so I decided to educate myself before I went to get dirt for the violet.

I had never taken the clear pot out of the vase, so I got orchid dirt as well while I was out, along with fertilizer. I wanted to do right by it so I went to the nursery instead of Wally World and purchased the only orchid stuff they had (that I was assured was the right stuff). It felt chunky through the bag and said it was for epyphites (sp), and the grow more fert that's 20-10-20. It says year round for phalaenopsis.

When I got home my MIL was visiting so I sat down and had a couple of glasses of wine (I only mention it because I would have been more cautious about the soil if totally clear headed...) I decided it was time to pot so I did the violet first to get up the gumption and then dove in. After all of the horror stories I was expecting at least enough rot to put it back in the same pot after trimming. To my surprise there was not one mushy root. They were not the bright green, more of a yellow, but the videos showed people keeping those too. The media was pretty darn chunky, even after 3 years and fell away easily. Now needing a bigger pot, I grabbed a Terra cotta and opened the bag of Black Gold Orchid.... dirt. Crap! I'm standing in my kitchen with a very naked orchid in one hand and what I would call chunky soil in the other. I should have sifted out bigger chunks and just used that, but the wine fogged me. I proceeded to plant it as loosely as I could to get stability. Then I took it to the sink and ran it through as thoroughly as possible. I had to cover the bottom with one finger to keep this stuff from coming out the bottom. So I held it there until it stopped dripping and called it good. The next day I ordered a slotted clear pot and some media that has been recommended by people here. Hopefully I don't get much rot between now and then.

Now for my question. I've seen that most people say to find a cool spot for a few weeks to stimulate a spike. I've also seen many people say the window is the place to do that (this guy had plastered himself against the window so he had to feel any cold that was there). Are there any other ideas on why I haven't gotten any spikes in three years? Will the repotting help? Did I get the right fertilizer? My other thought was to park him on top of the window ac unit, since it's basically an open window, when it cools off. For now I've moved him to the kitchen island under a big skylight so they can humidify each other a little. He'll get better air flow there too, I think.

Wow, that got really long. Hopefully it was at least a little entertaining. I really want flowers on this guy again. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Please let me know if anything else I said has me on the brink of disaster.

TIA Meira

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board!

It sounds like you kept your Phal pretty happy despite not really knowing you were. Some of those bags of orchid media at the box stores are not much good for too many orchids other than some terrestrial ones. If you don't overwater it until you can re-pot, it should be fine. Remember new media doesn't hold moisture as well as old stuff so you may need to ramp up the watering or even give it a soak now and then when you get the new stuff if it is bark or similar.

Usually the Phals are chilled for a few weeks in fall. That should induce bloom spikes to develop thru the fall or winter. It likely needs a 10 degree drop, although not below 55 to be safe. Some might say 50F but mine don't get that cool. If your temps can get like that in Sept. or Oct. you could set it out doors or near a patio door or a slightly cracked open window. Your plant food should be fine. Some suggest using a bloom booster (large middle number) when inducing spikes. Others claim it doesn't work. I do use it occasionally when I think an orchid should start producing a spike. There is a lengthy thread called the Phal Abuse Ends Here in the beginner section that you might want to browse thru. It addresses most of the questions and problems beginner Phal growers run into. Good luck.

[daisyd681]

Thank you! I spent the last two days reading all 71 pages of that thread lol. It's where I found the suggestion for some mix I can get shipped site-to-store for free. The whole not blooming thing was usually to put it in a cold window so I thought my situation merited a separate question.

Yeah, it seems like these guys might really like a succulent water schedule give the right media. That's handy.

ETA I'll run around the house this fall and see if I can find a cold enough spot. I saw a video of someone putting ice in a tray then the plant on an inverted bowl in it so the didn't actually touch, but that seems a bit time consuming...

[Raqsharqi]

Daisyd, you don't say where you are, but if you can put your orchids outside in the shade, when fall comes and temps drop, you'll have accomplished the requisite drop in temperature. I think it is supposed to be 20 degrees, and really, you can do that in one day. (For example, it is 110 here during the day, but 70 at night. Voila...a temperature drop.)
I won't stick mine outside until the rains come, but if you only hit 90, you might find an outdoor area that works.

[daisyd681]

I'm up the hill from you in Flag. I was wondering if monsoon might be the time for that. I'd get some decent humidity in the process. I do worry about getting bugs outside though. I have a policy about not killing outdoor bugs that don't destroy outdoor plants, but I don't want them in the house.

[Raqsharqi]

Based on your description, I thought you might be a fellow Zonie! You just got some rain, didn't you? Yes, by all means take advantage of that great rain, sun, and breeze and stick your orchids out in a shady spot. They'll love it.
I haven't had any problems with outdoor bugs, but you can certainly spray them with something like the Get Off Me product that repotme sells, or even gold Listerine. I will put mine out in a few weeks (though I do have a few out now in the hopes of baking out the fungus they had. No fungus can stand up to the combo of high heat, low humidity, and wind!) and I leave them out until about November. If we are in the 70s during the day, I expect to be in the 50s at night. I won't leave them out if it is cooler than that.
Many of mine bloomed. Some didn't, and I assume it is because they just didn't feel like it!

[daisyd681]

We have had a lot more rain than usual this year. I've hardly had to water the garden yet. I thought it was going to be one of those snowing in June years. Luckily for the lilacs it didn't do that!

I have a covered entry that I can probably find a spot in. Gold listerine eh? I'll pick some up. The spiders love the entryway, which tells me there's plenty of food that I may not see.

I love Tucson, though I rarely get down there. I want to try and make the Gem and Mineral Show one of these years.

Now I just need my stuff to get here so I can get the old guy potted. The new one appears to be in bark with a bit of moss. The air roots are pretty shrively, but since it likely wasn't raised in single digit humidity, it seems that's to be expected. Lol

[daisyd681]

Okay, I have couple more questions that I hope someone can answer for me. What size pot do phals usually end up in? They're both in 6" pots now and 7" is really the biggest I'm going to have room for. Is it okay to trim just enough roots to keep them in the same size pot?

Also, I have a three pot planter in my window and everything that goes into one of the 4" pots seems to die. I was thinking of getting one of the orchids that Wally has in like 2" pots and sticking it in there, pot and all (I'm really not sure why nothing lives in there, but it's right next to where the old phal was and I figure if it starts to go south I can always take it out and put it in the old phal's spot). How big do those little guys get? I assume they're minis since they are blooming at that small size. This assumption may very well be false. How do I know a mini when I see it?

TIA Meira

[Raqsharqi]

Did they come in such big pots?
The pot should be just big enough for the roots to fit comfortably. Since phals normally get repotted after blooming (or once a year), you don't have to worry about leaving room for growth. If the plant outgrows the pot, you'll know because it will start shooting roots out of any holes in the pot! If the pot is too big (and I'm thinking any phal in a 7" pot would have to be monstrous), the roots have so much media to sit in that they rot. I have one large phal sitting in a 5" pot with some peanuts to take up extra room. Most of my regular sized ones (like you'd find at Lowe's for $8-$12) are in 3.5-4" pots. If the spread of the root requires the space, but there aren't good roots in the center, fill in that space with packing peanuts. I have some phals in smaller pots...a maybe 2.5" size...but most of these had some kind of problem with the root system.
What do you mean by a 3 plant planter? If it is something ceramic with no holes anywhere that is decorative (and sometimes orchids will come in such a thing), that may be the problem. The roots don't like to be sitting in water, and they like air. If air can't circulate (and that's why the peanuts are good, as they provide air space), the roots with mush up and the plant dies. Phals are often sold in ceramic containers. DON'T LEAVE THEM IN THOSE CONTAINERS! It's just too easy for water to accumulate at the bottom.

[daisyd681]

I guess that was a bit confusing. I have a ceramic planter in my window that is three ceramic pots on a drip tray base. They all have drainage into the tray. I have a succulent in one, a goldfish plant in another, and have had a couple other things in the third. I'm thinking of getting a mini that I will put in the empty one. I'm not planning on planting it in there, just putting its pot in there.
As far as the other two go, they are actually in 5" pots (I misspoke), and are quite large. The new one has like 9 leaves and the older one has like 11. I don't have anywhere else in my house that gets sufficient light, and I can't let them completely take over the island (I use it to cook lol). I'm just wondering if they'll get much bigger. I'm guessing not judging by your reaction. Will the ones that come in tiny pots stay tiny?