Observing Phals, I have not noticed any correlation between spike growth and
flower life: I've got Phals that will spike for two months and bloom for two
months, and I've got ones that will spike also for 2 months but bloom for 6
months.

I think the spiking speed and flower life are related to the species or in
case of hybrids to the species that make up that hybrid -- for example, phal
equestris seems to grow its spike very fast and then it's in flower a long
time.

Also the environmental conditions during the spiking and during the
flowering will influence how fast the spike grows and how soon the flowers
wilt, I think I read somewhere that the light and temperature are very
influential in how long the flowers last, and if you move the plant while it
is in flower this may well influence the amount of time until it wilts.

In addition, I think the maturity of the plant is a factor, so more mature
plants might be in flower longer than they were when the same plant was
younger (but I don't think they are necessarily in spike longer).

Another thing to consider is: do you count flower life per individual flower
or the time that the spike is in bloom. If you count the time that the spike
is in bloom, then sequential orchids often are in bloom longer than ones
where the entire spike opens all its flowers. With sequential orchids I
would say that the amount of time they are in spike could be counted from
spike initiation until the first flower opens, but at that time the spike
still has a long ways to grow since most of the spike will grow as it
progresses to more flowers -- so one could argue that they are in spike
longer.

So I don't think the answer to this question is straight-forward.

Someone more experienced than me, please correct me if I am wrong on any of
this, or if you have stuff to add. The timing of orchid activities is a
subject that interests me very much.

Joanna

"bk" wrote in message
...
Is there a correlation between how long flowers last and the speed at
which
the spikes grow?. I've been told that if the spike grows slow the flowers
last longer. I've seen this happen, but I've also seen fast spikes with
long
lasting flowers. As well as fast spike growth with shorter lived flowers.
If
there is a correlation, is it relative to plant types like Vandas, Cats,
phals...?