Flowers don't bloom, leaves look great!

[New Grower]

Hi! I'm a new comer to this forum. I've been growing a few pots of orchids for about 4 years, so not really a new grower, but have not been successful. Killed a number of them so far, and the ones that I've finally kept alive, they don't bloom.

Current care:
They are planted in clay pots, with good drainage.

They are in a south facing sunroom (all glass), near a window that's mostly open day and some nights even. Shaded from direct sunlight. All light reaching it through sunroom glass. Gets pretty warm/ hot, so I water daily to once every 10 days depending upon temperature and humidity - if it feels and looks dry, I water. Recently, I just mist them over with a spray bottle.

Fertilize every 3rd to 4th watering in a fairly diluted orchid fertilizer.

I give the orchids a thorough shower about once a month. Occassionally, I soak them in a diluted pot of fertilizer for 10-15 minutes.

Currently leaves look healthy and roots appear so too. BUT NO BLOOMS!!! Not a single pot.

Some history. Last year, there was a period when they were neglected - i.e. left in direct sun and leaves got burnt out and plant very dried out. Fortunately, I realized it before they were completely dead, but I've been nurturing them for about 9 months now.

Are they still recovering from that one time abuse??
Is my south facing sunroom too hot? I just moved them today to the north side of the house, under some bushes with filtered light and auto sprinkler system.

All advise very welcome!


Thank you!

New Grower

[Restrepia]

Hello New Grower and welcome to the board.

Please could you tell me what type of orchids you are growing?

One of the main problems for beginners who start out with orchids is trying to get them to re-bloom again.

The two most important cultural requirements to get your orchids to bloom is a drop in temperature of a night. If you are dropping the temperature of a night and have been doing so for some time then I would suggest you look at your light requirements.

There are many orchids that also require a dry rest!

Please let us know what your orchids are and we will be able to offer some specific advice with regards to the type of orchids that you are growing.

[Ray]

There are several reasons orchids won't bloom:

1. Insufficient light
2. Improper lighting
3. Insufficient food
4. Sufficient food, but with too much nitrogen
5. Improper temperature conditions

The first doesn't sound like it's a problem, and until you tell us types of orchids, the fertilizer formula and at what concentration you mix it up, we cannot advise about the nutrition.

The "improper lighting" is also not likely. Some plants bloom in response to changes in day length, but that's usually only a problem with under-light growing of really finicky species.

The "improper temperature" thing relates mostly to phals. They grow best at warm temperatures, but require lower temperatures to shift their metabolisms to blooming. (Once upon a time, it was thought that a week or two of nighttime chill did it, but recent research indicates that it's really a steady, but cooler, temperature that does it. I suspect that in the typical household, the two go pretty much together, and we always just interpreted it as the nighttime chill.)

[New Grower]

One is Phalaenopsis. I have 5 pots of these. 2 are new, so they just finished blooming. The other 3 are old, one has rebloomed 2x but didn't bloom this year. Other 2 have not and are cared the same way.

I also have Epidendrum (tiny fragile red flowers with upright multiple stems with leaves growing off it all the way up stem).

Can't remember name of other kind - it's common and grows almost wild, under most conditions, I was told, even if neglected. I just got these.

Another I can't identify has a sort of wrinkly bulb at the base and light green leaves are that not too thick. They never rebloomed in 4-5 years! They look healthy but the same every year, like a plastic plant - no identifiable new growth in leaves either - just sits there!!

I also managed to kill a "King Orchid" after I attempted separating them. They were my best bloomer (even under severe neglect) giving me clusters of huge dark-purple pink orchids when they were tossed in a corner of the sunroom uncared for...????

I use a fertilizer that's 6-30-30. 1TB per gal.+ (to make it more diluted).

The sunroom is unheated, so the temp def. drops to near outdoor temp., esp. on nights I forget to close windows.

Thank you for any help.

[Dorothy]

How often do you fertilize?
1 TB? That seems a lot .. I use half the suggest 1 TS per gallon of water to fertilize. My strength of fertilizer ratios on K and Ph are half of yours also.
Anyone else wish to comment? Please do!

[Ross]

Ray has great information free on his web site pertaining to feeding and PPM nitrogen. I recommend it --> Welcome to First Rays Orchids

[New Grower]

Thank you! Dorothy - what does K stand for? I"m new to this discussion and don't know terms yet. I assume Phal is Phalaenopsis.

Does Phals prefer shade to bright light?

[Ross]

Originally Posted by New Grower

Thank you! Dorothy - what does K stand for? I"m new to this discussion and don't know terms yet. I assume Phal is Phalaenopsis.

Does Phals prefer shade to bright light?

K is for Kelvin (a measure of light coolness - temperature). Phals prefer light shade but bright light (no full sun) is OK.

[Dorothy]

Phal is for Phalaenopsis .. correct
and they do like bright light but not direct light as the 2 are very different!
Bright light for phals consist of a sunny exposure with the plants set away from any direct rays of the sun coming through a window. That, or shade the window with a sheer curtain. The phals will love it!

As for fertilizers, this has been taken from orchid food, fertilizer for orchids,non urea fertilizer

All commercial Orchid fertilizers are labeled with three numbers, such as 10-20-30. These three numbers are the percentage by weight of the primary nutrient components of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous or phosphates (P) and Potassium or potash (K) in the fertilizer.
Nitrogen is important for leaf and stem growth and provides the rich green color in leaves.
Phosphorous provides for root and flower development.
Potassium helps build Orchid tissue and aids in the production of vital chlorophyll.

That site continues to explain fertilizing and its ratios for orchids ..
Please use the search option and type in 'fertilizer' for past archives of first hand experience on this subject as different genus of orchids grow best under specific fertilizer ratios.
Personally, at this point with mostly catts and phals, I use an orchid fertilizer with urea free lower nitrogen. But I have been told by growers, private and commerical that many use 20-20-20 for their plants.
Best to gain as much info as you can by reading and asking questions and see what your chids like most by experimenting, watching and learning!

Oh I almost forgot .. I fertilize with a weak (half strength) solution at least once a week
After and only after I have watered the roots

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

All commercial Orchid fertilizers are labeled with three numbers, such as 10-20-30. These three numbers are the percentage by weight of the primary nutrient components of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous or phosphates (P) and Potassium or potash (K) in the fertilizer.

Actually, that's not quite correct.

Due to some old-time testing techniques, the three macro ingredients are legally required to be expressed as N, P2O5, and K2O, meaning that your 10-20-30 fertilizer is really 10% nitrogen, 8.8% phosphorus and 24.9% potassium.