My Laelia anceps won't bloom...any advice?

[papayj]

I've bought this as a small seedling w/ 4 bulbs back in 2016. It grew into a 13 bulb handsome plant but still no flowers yet.

It is mounted on a plastic mesh cylinder filled with lava rocks, fiber cloths and chunk of pumice. It sits at the south-facing balcony along with other my orchids...I water it twice daily during the summer and once every two days during the winter months. Temperature is around 35°C day/29°C night during summer and 28°C day/15°C night during winter. From March through October I fertilize it weekly with diluted liquid fertilizer....Is there something I am doing wrong?

[rbarata]

The major cause for anceps fail blooming is not enough light.
It also happened to mine until I put it outside in near full sun...some leaves were burned but I think this time it will bloom.

[Jeff214]

I also had the same experience with Laelia finckeniana, which has anceps as a parent. It only bloomed once I put it outside in full sun. It did burn a bit...

[papayj]

Thank you. Guess I will have to put it outside when the spring comes....

[Maryanne]

I recommend changing to a wood mount. My L. anceps and anceps hybrids are all on sections wood branches.
I don't think they care for the rocky type of media.
Also, as already stated: full sun, lots of water in the summer and fertilizer, then cut back amounts of both in the autumn/winter. Good Luck!

[papayj]

Originally Posted by Maryanne

I recommend changing to a wood mount. My L. anceps and anceps hybrids are all on sections wood branches.
I don't think they care for the rocky type of media.
Also, as already stated: full sun, lots of water in the summer and fertilizer, then cut back amounts of both in the autumn/winter. Good Luck!

Well, it is impossible to change mount now, since it would require destroying the entire root system. And they are really doing fine...as you can see in this picture. The root is all over the place, and tons of them went through the mesh.

[Roberta]

It looks like a very happy plant. It really does need lots of light. It can tolerate temperatures from freezing to the hottest summer day. If you don't have place to grow it outside, it will be more of a challenge to give it enough light, for enough hours, to bloom. But if you can possibly put it outside, at least for most of the year (just bring it inside if there is danger of going below 0 deg C for more than a few hours) it is certainly mature enough to bloom. So in the spring, move it outside.

[estación seca]

It looks fantastic on that mount, and I agree I wouldn't change it.

[Roberta]

I totally agree, don't mess with the mount. It is doing fine. My experience with L. anceps is that they grow on anything, or nothing (outside pots or baskets) The only thing they don't like is being confined. (They hate pots...)

I also haven't noted any need for any difference in treatment in winter. Mine get a little less water in winter just like everything else, because things dry out more slowly. But if it happens to rain (an occasional event) for multiple days, they get whatever Mother Nature gives them. (The rest of the time, "rain" comes from a sprinkler or hose.) In fact, I suspect that the trigger for blooming is mostly day length change rather than temperature or any other environmental factor. While Cymbidiums definitely wait for a night temperature drop (which where I live, came almost two months late both this year and last, and the Cym spikes were late by that much) but the L. anceps bloomed starting in late fall at their historically normal time. They didn't seem to care about the weird weather pattern.

[Fairorchids]

In NJ (= 40 deg latitude), I take Laelia anceps outside around April 20th, provided there is no more frost in the forecast. I take them outside on the first of 2 days with cloudy skies, that way they do not burn despite getting no shade.

I grow them in full sun all summer, and they stay out till first frost (2018 = Oct 20, 2017 = Nov 20). They grow, and bloom, very well with this treatment.

In 2018 we had a lot of rain in Aug & Sep. That impacted negatively in the form of about 1/3 of the new growths rotting.