Phal Sweet Memory Liodoro: winter or summer bloomer?

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

what makes it tough sometimes to determine the flowering time is that a lot of these will be imported from the other side of the world like thailand and the season will be opposite to ours. They get sold in bloom having come from a different climate and either the plants stick to the yearly pattern they grew up with or they try to adapt to the different climate they are now exposed to.
This can mess up when they flower and has confused.
I avoid dry rest periods for my orchids and I have noticed this gives different results. A dry rest can delay flowering in some orchids so one grower might have his flower 2 months earlier than another grower.

Artificial lights can mess things up even more as I myself am tricking a couple inot thinking it is spring when it isn't yet

The first new blooming after purchase might occur outside the expected period as the plant is still adapting after import and/or induced blooming, but after that there is no reason for the plant to not spike/bloom based on cues in its current environment in the years following that. From what I understand, the OP has had the plant for a while, so I wouldn't expect previous growth conditions to play a role anymore.

As to artificial light, it will only mess up blooming if photoperiod is important to the plant. For the majority of orchids light won't be blooming trigger since they naturally occur close to the equator, though I understand that, for instance, there are certain groups of Cattleyas that do need changes in photoperiod in order to trigger blooming.

[chicken_wing]

Originally Posted by camille1585

The first new blooming after purchase might occur outside the expected period as the plant is still adapting after import and/or induced blooming, but after that there is no reason for the plant to not spike/bloom based on cues in its current environment in the years following that. From what I understand, the OP has had the plant for a while, so I wouldn't expect previous growth conditions to play a role anymore.

Yes, I've had the plant for several months.

Anyway... My orchid comes from NL... as the majority of the most popular phal hybrids in Europe. So... no doubt about that. I also purchased it in late spring... so during what it should be "her proper season" at this point.

I honestly think that she just suffered a lot the transport and the bad medium in which she was potted.. and now she's slowly coming back to "life". Which makes me hope for blooms in late spring!

My concern is that she doesn't have a good root system yet. That could be a possible reason for no blooms.... but let's think positive!
I was also thinking about using Kelpmax just to encourage root growth.... but I fear that it could mess up the hormonal balance of the orchid. I don't have any experience with that product.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Originally Posted by camille1585

The first new blooming after purchase might occur outside the expected period as the plant is still adapting after import and/or induced blooming, but after that there is no reason for the plant to not spike/bloom based on cues in its current environment in the years following that. From what I understand, the OP has had the plant for a while, so I wouldn't expect previous growth conditions to play a role anymore.

As to artificial light, it will only mess up blooming if photoperiod is important to the plant. For the majority of orchids light won't be blooming trigger since they naturally occur close to the equator, though I understand that, for instance, there are certain groups of Cattleyas that do need changes in photoperiod in order to trigger blooming.

Yes Camille, the OP has had it for a few months. To some a few months might be a while, to me not so much.

I'm still building up experience as I go along and on a discussion about what triggers phals to bloom I might have indicated recently that temps are important, ie the right temps for a plant to grow well but they have not seemed to be as much of a trigger as lighting has been.

The majority of care guides on orchid growing we still rely on today were written in the 50's including giving orchids a dry rest and the notion that temperature induces blooming. When these care guides were written the only lighting was natural lighting so very little could be done to change or experiment with it. I am not so sure anymore having observed my orchids for a few years that temperatures are the triggers.

I am currently getting two different nobiles to produce buds, one is getting the cold temps "it needs" - the other isn't. It doesn't seem to care and is producing buds at the same time as the other. The one with colder temps is going to bloom better but it was not the trigger it seems to initiate the buds.

I believe as more people grow under artificial lighting we will learn more to the story.

Even phals, I don't think are triggered by the cold autumn temperatures if they bloom in autumn, that just happens to coincide with when day light hours reduce.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by chicken_wing

It's to die for

First look after yourself in order to look after the orchids hehehe.

It should be 'to LIVE for'!!!!!

[Ray]

There are some species that have specific environmental triggers, and plenty of others that either do not, or we haven't identified them.

One thing all plants have in common is the need for the resources necessary to allow the plant to commit some of them to reproduction.

This article, published in the AOS Orchids magazine, lends a bit more insight.

[SouthPark]

My two mini phals (hybrids) here in the tropics are not stopping ----- with the flowers that is.

The old flowers are still on, while it is continuously producing new buds on the same spike, and the new buds keep opening.

It's like a never-ending story - at least for the moment - which is nice.

The relatively long lasting life of flowers from various phals out there is impressive. That's one of the strong points.

Originally Posted by chicken_wing

Now it's recovering and producing a new leaf and new roots - even if we have poor day light due to the cloudy winter.

That's a very good sign ----- as in new leaf and new roots. Given time - it will eventually flower again.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

My two mini phals (hybrids) here in the tropics are not stopping ----- with the flowers that is.

The old flowers are still on, while it is continuously producing new buds on the same spike, and the new buds keep opening.

Just attaching some pics to show what I meant ------- and it is the middle of summer right now. The mini phal appears to even be developing a new spike - apart from extending its existing spike to form more flower buds.

[chicken_wing]

my experience is that whenever we have cold temperatures... I have flowers. no matter how many hours of light my phals may receive.

For example.... Last year we had a chilly may. It was unusually cold.... and even if in may the days are plenty of light my phals decided to flower. This happened to all my phals.... to the point where I was a bit upset because I had to do a few repots but I hate to repot during the blooming time!