My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

What kinds of orchids and where are you located?

--j_a
Faz wrote:
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

Ditto jankey. Need more info.

Diana

wrote in message
...

What kinds of orchids and where are you located?

--j_a
Faz wrote:
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

The general answer is "no", indicating that there is a deficiency in your
overall culture.

Fill us in on light, humidity, watering frequency, feeding (concentration,
formula, frequency), and temperatures , and we might be able to help.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Faz" wrote in message
news:%vzIj.19877$Cj7.1261@pd7urf2no...
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

i can't remember who is was.... had an orchid that was fat and happy
and bloomed like clockwork--every five years. ;-)

--j_a

Reminded me of a comment Rebecca Northen made about plants liking to get
potbound before they flower. Could be what's happening here but I really
don't know.

K
wrote in message
...
i can't remember who is was.... had an orchid that was fat and happy
and bloomed like clockwork--every five years. ;-)

--j_a

I was given these orchids and I don't know what kind they are.... They are
kept in pots inside the house in winter and put outdoors in filtered shade
in the summer. I have 5 pots now of the same flavour and the stocks look
healthy. They are in a bark mulch and I feed them starting in the spring of
each year with Spoonit for orchids in bark. The orchids are cream with
reddish colours. I live in the northwest (Vancouver, Canada) and these
orchids have healthy leaves, but usually only bloom about every second year.
I'll try and take a digital photo of them and try to paste it on this site
if that is OK. The 5 pots are from the original one as they get pot bound
and then I separate them. Someone did say that they heard that they bloom
only when pot bound. This could be the case. Anyway thanks for any help you
can give with this vague discription by a novice who doesn't know the proper
name.

Faz


"Faz" wrote in message
news:%vzIj.19877$Cj7.1261@pd7urf2no...
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

Faz,

This group is text only, so don't post the photos here. Instead, go to
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids and post them there. Just about everyone here
also posts there.

Alternatively, there are free photo sites like Web Shots and Snapfish, so if
you can't get to abpo, post the photos on a free site and then give us a
link.

BTW, I'm thinking that if they are inside during the winter (common with
folks who grow in cold climates), they might not be getting enough light.

Do the photo routine. We'd love to help. We enjoy enabling orchid growers!

Diana

"Faz" wrote in message
news:KPSIj.20813$rd2.17778@pd7urf3no...
I was given these orchids and I don't know what kind they are.... They are
kept in pots inside the house in winter and put outdoors in filtered shade
in the summer. I have 5 pots now of the same flavour and the stocks look
healthy. They are in a bark mulch and I feed them starting in the spring of
each year with Spoonit for orchids in bark. The orchids are cream with
reddish colours. I live in the northwest (Vancouver, Canada) and these
orchids have healthy leaves, but usually only bloom about every second
year. I'll try and take a digital photo of them and try to paste it on this
site if that is OK. The 5 pots are from the original one as they get pot
bound and then I separate them. Someone did say that they heard that they
bloom only when pot bound. This could be the case. Anyway thanks for any
help you can give with this vague discription by a novice who doesn't know
the proper name.

Faz


"Faz" wrote in message
news:%vzIj.19877$Cj7.1261@pd7urf2no...
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz

Without pics or ID, I can only generalize.

Orchids should bloom at least once a year. Many will bloom more often. In
my experience, 99% of the time, a healthy mature orchid that is growing but
not blooming well is not getting enough light. That would be my guess for
the "every 5 years" plant mentioned by a previous poster.

"Pot-bound" is a term I don't really see as applicable to orchids -- if they
want out of their pots, they just climb on out G. That said, it is true
that many orchids bloom best when they are seriously due (or a bit past due)
for repotting. IMHO, this resolves to a watering issue -- a small orchid in
too large of a pot is easy to over-water.

It's also true that one large plant will give more, bigger, better flowers
than that same plant divided amongst 5 pots (and will also take up less
total space). Maybe you've been making your divisons a little too small, so
they need a year to grow before they bloom again?

Time of repotting could also be a factor. The best time is when there are
new roots/new growths just getting started. This is usually just after they
bloom. If you have been repotting and dividing not long before the usual
bloom time, you might have aborted some blooms due to transplant shock,
which might account for the "off years." Just some ideas,

Kenni


"Faz" wrote in message
news:%vzIj.19877$Cj7.1261@pd7urf2no...
My orchids only flower every second year, is this normal?

The Faz