Neonfinetia Tamakongo spikes keep aborting, any suggestions?
 

I bought a nice little Tamakongo last winter, and in late May it started growing a spike, which grew enough to be just visible above the leaf axil, and then it died. I don't think this plant has ever successfully bloomed before, there are 3-4 other aborted spikes from previous blooming season(s).

Yesterday I noticed another new spike growing. Is there anything I can do to prevent it from dying as well? I always water carefully to avoid getting the plants wet, so I don't think that was the cause. Any advice welcome, I really want to see this one bloom since it's my only bean leaf!

Since the plant has a history of doing this, even before your obtaining it, I would give it one more year, and if the problem persists, unless the plant has sentimental value, I would garbage it because the problem might be genetic.

Why spend your time and effort on a plant which is only causing frustration and not pleasure? There are many plants available that are worthy of your care that will provide enjoyment.

Just my 2 cents.

A possibility might be the temperatures under which the spike was developing. These usually develop their spikes under cooler temperatures. They get a winter 'rest.' I place mine in a cool, south-facing window for the winter. With that, I keep it on the drier side and abstain from fertilizer.

Compared to some of my other orchids, these seem much affected by temperature. My neo bloomed during high temperatures and the blooms only lasted two weeks instead of the usual month (though it was fragrant both day and night, on the plus side).

If it is any comfort, my Angraecum leonis has been doing the same exact thing. Every year, buds, every year, the buds wither and die before opening. I have tried everything. Finally, after ten years of this, I tossed it and replaced it with a new one.

Thanks for the tips. I'm hoping it's not genetic, but even if it isn't, I'm not sure I want sure a high maintenance plant when it comes to blooming! For now all the dud spikes are on the same growth. I'll keep this plant until the other growths are large enough to spike (possibly next year), in the hopes that they don't do the same. If they're also duds, I'll buy a new Tamakongo. In the meantime, I'll buy another bean leaf to keep me happy!

As to temperature during spike development, I can't do anything about that unfortunately. Temps are in the 80s here, and I (like many Europeans) don't have AC. I also noticed that blooms don't last long when it's hot, the last spike I had on a Neo lasted less than 2 weeks.

On the bright side, I have 2 other spikes Neos to look forward to!

Have patience. I had this problem with my Tamakongo in the past, wondering what I needed to do to get it to flower. When the plant gets bigger with a number of growths it will flower more regularly on the older growths. This is similar to my Kutsuwamushi, it only flowers regularly on the really old growths, with spikes blasting occasionally on the younger growths. I have a Sengaku that has done this for 3 years now despite being a 6-growth plant. Sengaku was derived from a "mutant" seedling of Tamakongo. I'm hoping that it flowers in the future but I'm not really that bothered because I like it's unusual growth style anyway. So it is possible that it's genetic (if you have a seedling), but I wouldn't rush to that conclusion just yet. Keep it and give it at least another three years. Some bean leaf types can be a bit reluctant to bloom; I have a Ryokuho that I've had for nearly ten years and it has never flowered and I'm not hopeful it ever will. If you want a bean leaf that flowers well I can recommend Ootakamaru, mine produces multiple spikes each year and the new growth's do mature to flowering size younger than with Tamakongo.

Another general thing I've noticed with neos is that the quantity of this year's summer growth does impact on next year's flowering. In years when we have poor summer weather in terms of light the plants put on less growth and flower less abundantly the following summer. When I was growing these in a conservatory with brighter indirect light throughout the day they grew much better and flowered better. We focus on the over wintering a lot, and yes, this is important, but we shouldn't ignore the amount of useful "light-hours" the plants get during the growing season.

Camille I agree, have patience. If I’m not mistaken I had mentioned before that my own Tamakongo had not flowered for me and I have had it for over a year, possibly two years. It had an old spike when I received it so I knew it had flowered in the past. My plant came from Orchids Web and it has five growths. It has been growing roots and leaves this spring and after seeing your post I had to take a closer look to see if my plant was going to disappoint me again this year. Well well, there is a spike just beginning to show!

I have several Neos flowering currently and a couple that have already finished for this season. There are several with low spikes showing as well so exciting time for Neo growers. My Ryokuhou just finished flowering and had two nice spikes full of blooms.

I hope your Tamakongo flowers soon but please don’t give up on the little one. My bean leaf Neos are no doubt my favorites and even if they never bloom, I’ll enjoy them for the unique plants that they are. Of course I’ll love them even more when/if they bloom!

Thanks for the insightful posts, that's what I love about this forum!

My Tamakongo has 1 mature growth and 2 half grown growths, so it probably is too young to successfully spike. Being new to the world of Neos and being spoiled with spikes on other similarly sized Neos, I was not expecting Tamakongo to behave any differently. I'll still be carefully watching its second blooming attempt of the season, and hope that the spike nubbin stays nice and green.

It's hard to be patient since I have so few Neos in my collection (only 10), so maybe I need to buy more to distract myself from the problem child. :biggrin: I need more bean leaf and variegated ones, they're pretty to look at year round!

...why not just appreciate it for its form...not everything needs to bloom as well...
Just my $.02
AP

Neos are generally more expensive that other orchids, and they are not so easy to find in Europe. Therefore, if I'm going to put the time and money in finding and buying some, unless it's a cultivar known to be a very reluctant bloomer (like another plant I own), I expect the plant to bloom. I understand your point, but one of the things that also attracts me about Neos is their blooms.

Just adding and saying what's already said maybe... but I'm new into neos and what I've generally read is bean's aren't the most floriferous in general and need a lot of growths to flower. Much of bean leaf types are to be enjoyed through their foliage. The smallest bean leaf types are supposedly notoriously hard to flower until they have like 5+ growths. Tamakongo is of the easiest to grow and the fastest growing and from what i know probably the easiest to find and buy. It doesn't take up that much space so I say keep it around for a few more years and enjoy the foliage! It's a beautiful plant!

Oh I did read that not enough water will cause neos to abort flowers, so maybe you're being too careful with watering?... although that's tricky because I know from first hand experience they really need to dry out some between watering... but this time of year they supposedly can handle quite a lot of water.

Another goes without saying type note, it could be not enough light issue, as neodex mentioned, good light and growth from previous summer makes them produce the buds that develop to flowers the following spring so if you up the light now, if that's the issue, then you could at least encourage faster growths and strong buds for next year.

And if you want flowers moreso, there are very well known varieties that bloom far more easily that you've probably read about here or elsewhere. Shutennou to name an old standby that probably you already have but therea ya go...