Reblooming orchids--sticky
 

Hi, everyone. I need some information. We all know that phalaenopsis bloom for a long time and that sequential bloomers like psychopsis and some paphs can also give extended bloom. But some of us dearly love cattleyas and others that only bloom for a month or less. I've looked in vain for some online list that would tell me which cattleya tribe plants are reliable rebloomers, and which other genera might have this capability. (I know about the vanda tribe, but what else?) If you have plants that have shorter bloom times but that reliably bloom more than once a year, please share their names--especially if they're beautiful and fragrant!

Can you clarify on what you mean by "rebloom" or "rebloomer"? It sounds like you're tossing sequential bloomers in there with plants that bloom multiple times a year and those that bloom for extended time periods, is that correct?

Anyway, aside from monopodial orchids (and sticking with Cattleya alliance as per what I think you're requesting)...

Some of the most common examples of what I believe you're discussing would be the Anacheilium / Prosthechea / formerly Encyclias like Anacheilium. For instance Anacheilium radiatum, its relatives, and especially its hybrids would probably qualify.

Then there are the Brassavolas to consider, particularly B. nodosa and its hybrids. These are night fragrant and bloom multiple times throughout the year basically whenever the newest growths mature.

Loosely speaking, it also seems like a lot of the minature/compact Cattleya intergeneric hybrids follow this same pattern. They bloom when the latest round of growths mature, and they seem to produce multiple rounds of new growths a year (perhaps because they're small and take less time to grow to maturity).

Much will depend on providing proper temperatures, light and day length. A plant known able to flower several times per year will not necessarily do that in every gardener's hands.

Many complex Cattleya and Oncidium tribe hybrids push new growth continuously when happy, and can flower on each new growth. This is because their ancestry includes once-flowering species that bloom at different times of the year.

The best thing to do is to read plant descriptions in the catalogs. As an example, look at the Cattleya listings in the Sunset Valley Orchids catalog. Reblooming potential is often listed.

My Zygopetalum hybrids bloom multiple times a year, stay in bloom for months, and smell great. I have a NOID that looks like Miltonia ‘Sunset’ that blooms multiple times a year. My Miltoniopsis NOIDs have also bloomed multiple times a year, some of these were quite fragrant.

Pretty much all of my Oncidium and intergeneric orchids have been reliable annual bloomers but stay in bloom a long time. Some are quite fragrant.

The Santa Barbara Orchid Estate has lots of Cattleya types and lists bloom times on their website: Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Home Page. Some are listed as free flowering. I’m not sure if this means they can flower multiple times a year.

To clarify, I know about sequential bloomers, but I'm talking about orchids that aren't sequential but may have more than one blooming period a year. I've heard some people claim that they've gotten as many as four blooms a year on certain cattleya hybrids, but this information is often missing from catalogs. As aliceinwl points out, many simply say "free blooming" or "ready bloomer" but who knows what that means? If you have standouts that bloom several times a year without any special effort (as opposed to those that just keep producing more buds from the same spike) I'd love to know about them. Specific species or hybrid names would be useful.

As Mr Happy mentioned, you need to define "rebloom".

Monopodials will bloom again on the same growth, and while there are some sympodials that can, most only bloom once per growth.

Doesn't really matter to me whether it's a monopodial reblooming from the original growth or a sympodial blooming from a newly developed growth. If I have a good-sized orchid I haven't divided, I'm happy with either a new growth that blooms in the same year or older growths that rebloom.
The problem with most sequential bloomers is that you only get a bloom or two at a time. They're lovely, but I'd like to have a better show without waiting an entire year. I know mini-catts do better than bigger types, but that's not an entirely reliable guide, is it? I'm also aware that cultural conditions make a big difference, but every once and a while, I hear some one talking about a reblooming orchid that just outdoes itself in spite of less than perfect conditions, and I'd love to make a list of those that sound promising.

I don't think you're going to be able to develop such a list and have it be reliable.

"Less than perfect conditions" has a LOT of different definitions, and you cannot count on every individual of a certain plant performing identically.

Think of a people analogy - not every Homo sapiens "performs" identically, yet we are considered to be the same species, are we not? Even if you look at a smaller, family unit, all brothers and sisters of the same "parental cross" are not the same.

I'm just looking for non-sequential bloomers that have been reliable re-bloomers for the person posting. I know everything that works for one person won't work for another.

If it helps to know my conditions, I live in the humid mid-Atlantic coastal region, and all my medium and high light orchids go outside in a shade house from mid-spring through mid autumn. The winter is when my conditions are the worst, because we do get a number of dark days and I can't supply optimal humidity in my sun room when the furnace is running a lot. I do what I can with a humidifier and some spotlights. I grow in semi-hydroponics with pure water and msu fertilizer. I have some flower spikes and blooms and everything looks great. But I want to pick the best plants to get maximum bloom and fragrance out of my pretty-good conditions, because I am probably limited to about 75 orchids unless I move to a house with a bigger and better sunroom or a greenhouse.

Bpl. "Golden Peacock."
 

This one is always in bloom.