We sell blooming Phals year round. To maintain inventory we force from late
spring to fall. I turned off forcing 3 or 4 weeks ago and the last of the
forced stuff will be sold in late Dec/early Jan. We force based on Wang's
research which controls high temp. In the heat of the summer the day/night
temperature difference will be less than 5 degrees. Next summer try placing
a Phal in the coolest spot in the house. It needs some light, but the light
does not need to be perfect. If you can keep the plant under 75 degrees you
should see a spike in about a month.

This time of year we do a lot of spike cutting. Rather then allowing all
the plants to come in together in Feb/March, we go through and cut some
spikes all the way down. This time of year, most will respike in 4 to 6
weeks.

In late winter we will start cutting spikes half way down and reblooming
spikes. These plants will hold us until the forced stuff comes on line.

Pat
"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
In the home environment, it would be very difficult for you to do this.
E.g., the 10-15 temp change referenced in one of the other posts will
often
induce a Phal to spike, but if the spike matures and makes its buds in
warm-hot conditions, it usually won't produce many flowers.

From your reference to "store," I'm gathering that you've been buying your
orchids at a Home Depot, Target or the like. All those chains buy from
gigantic farms which do force their orchids so as to have flowers
year-round. If not re-forced, they will go back to their natural blooming
season. Forcing is also hard on the plant itself, especially if done
repeatedly.

The better way to go would be to visit your local growers, and buy a plant
or two each month which is blooming in its natural season. Look in your
Yellow Pages under Orchid Growers. If there are none convenient to you,
then check www.orchidmall.com for some not too far away, for mail order..

Phals can keep you in bloom for 6-8 months of the year, but you probably
will need to diversify to have truly year-round flowers. If you have
enough
light, consider Dens. They are also long-lasting, and most will bloom
several times a year. Kenni

"Munir" wrote in message
ups.com...
Whatever time of year I visit the store, they sell blooming orchids.
But all mine seem to bloom at the same time. Is there a way for me, by
controlling micro-climates or something, to affect the timing? It would
be great to always have at least one of them flowering.

These are mostly phals, but this topic needn't apply exclusively to
them as I'm considering adding other types to the collection too.

Thanks!

-Munir