How do you get a Grammatophyllum to flower - Orchid Board

Stasisgate · #1 07-25-2008, 03:33 PM

Hey folks, i really need some help here. I've got a large Grammatophyllum Yuan Nan x Tiger Praw plant but it just would not flower.

Can someone help me out here.

addictedcountryman · #2 07-25-2008, 03:48 PM

i don't know much about this orchid, but i know with inducing spikes, light is a big factor. you might need to either increase the intensity of the light or the length of light the plant receives. someone should chime in with a more experienced response.

beezermommy · #3 02-25-2009, 08:36 PM

I also have a gram. tiger's paw for 2 years. It is becoming a monster. Green as can be, but will not flower. Someone help....I was at an orchid show 2 weeks ago and saw some there, the seller told me to give it lots of light. I grow it with my cats. But I am going to move it out more. anyone got any ideas???

nancy · #4 02-28-2009, 04:06 PM

When I got Gramm. scriptum a few years ago, the best advice I got was to grow it in full sun, water every day and fertilize every week. It works.
It blooms reliably every June and is now too big to take anywhere to show off!
Cheers - Nancy

beezermommy · #5 03-01-2009, 07:25 PM

Thanks Nancy for your response. I moved the plant so that it will get better sun all day. I will water more. I have been watering only 2x week. Fertilizing 1x month. I will try your way and hopefully I will get a flower spile.

nancy · #6 03-01-2009, 11:23 PM

Last June's photo - this is a 14" basket. This year, it is crawling out of the basket.
"Little Shop of Horrors" ish.

lambelkip · #7 03-02-2009, 12:36 AM

wow, that thing is huge. and it looks like the spike is coming from the bottom of the pseudobulb. is that normal for scriptum? mine spikes from the top of the pseudobulb.

nancy · #8 03-02-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambelkip

wow, that thing is huge. and it looks like the spike is coming from the bottom of the pseudobulb. is that normal for scriptum? mine spikes from the top of the pseudobulb.

Hi Kip - the inflorescence comes from the base of the p'bulb. I would sure like to see a photo of yours!
I would not have gotten this plant if I'd had any clue how gigantic it would become. And scriptum is not the largest Grammatophyllum!
Here are photos of two from our last show - other people in other societies *somehow* got them here - both are well over 6' tall. You will notice that the second photo has all of the foliage cut off (!!!) - no clue why, you can certainly see the flowers just fine either way. If I managed to get this one somewhere, I'd be really tempted to abandon it!
Cheers - Nancy

lambelkip · #9 03-02-2009, 08:58 AM

in colder climates, the leaves will be destroyed by frost, so people just remove them. (mine is currently leafless). it grows specialized pseudobulbs with a spike on top instead of leaves (the pseudobulb stays after the rest of the spike dies back) I'll post pics of mine later. you can see it in bloom here, but you can't see the base of the spike.

nancy · #10 03-04-2009, 05:45 PM

Hi Kip - that scriptum 'Kiilani' is somehow hybridyzed down to the (very manageable) small size. I have one of these as well, and will keep this one!
I think the growths that lead to inflorescences on these aren't real pseudobulbs, as they don't have leaves and don't seem to persist very long after the inflorescence finishes blooming. Neat plant, though, and seems to be pretty close to everblooming.
The big Gramm. in the photo - the foliage was actually cut off, the cut parts of the leaves were left. South Louisiana is not noted for its cold, believe me; the leaves didn't fall on their own. Maybe it was to make the plant easier to transport, I hadn't thought of that. Seems kind of barbaric, though!
Cheers - Nancy