"Pam Moore" wrote ..
I have 2 orchids, a Phalaenopsis and a cymbidium which won't
re-flower.
The cymbidium I have had for about 15 years. I bought it in flower
for my Mum, and it has never flowered since. It's huge and looks
healthy enough. The last 2 summers it has spent outside in a shady
part of the garden. It used to be in the bathroom but it's now in the
living room where it might be a bit warmer.
The phalaenopsis I've had 4 or 5 years. It had 2 flowering stems
which I cut back to the next node as top flowers faded and eventually
cut off the whole stems when they went woody. All it will produce now
ar aerial roots, which come out of each leaf joint.
Do any of you have suggestions from personal experience? I've read up
quite a bit but cannot find what I'm not doing.
Feeding? I give them an occasional (every month or so) feed of orchid
fertiliser and I think I'm watering correctly.


The Cymbidium needs cold nights to initiate flower spikes so keeping it
indoors in a warm room will stop it flowering. Ours are still outside and
won't come in until a frost is forecast. Also need good feed whilst growing
in the summer and a feed of tomato feed will help. Some are easier to flower
than others too.
The best flowering one I know is owned by a friend who isn't in to orchids
and it spends summer on a S. facing patio and is watered and fed the same as
the other patio plants, full strength normal feed weekly.

Phalaenopsis. Ours flower almost constantly on S. facing windowsills with a
bit of dappled shade from a tree in the garden, compost is kept moist in
summer, dryer in winter, but no water trays at all. Water with rainwater at
room temp in the morning to let them dry off before night with feed every
other watering, in the summer I water weekly and let it pour through. If you
give them too much light they will get a reddish tinge to the leaves so you
know. Potted in half and half live sphagnum moss and bark chippings in clear
pots, I found it difficult to keep them growing in bark alone, probably too
dry. The roots are key IMO, keep them growing well with big green tips and
the plants do well, let them go grey and they die off.

Hope those ramblings help.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London