Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sounds to me like you should have phal spikes galore -- your temps are near
perfect for it. The only other thing I know of to look at is the
lighting -- mostly how many hours/day you are running it. It should mimic
nature to some extent -- e.g., less hours of "daylight" as we go into fall
and then increase again as we approach spring ...
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sounds to me like you should have phal spikes galore -- your temps are near
perfect for it. The only other thing I know of to look at is the
lighting -- mostly how many hours/day you are running it. It should mimic
nature to some extent -- e.g., less hours of "daylight" as we go into fall
and then increase again as we approach spring ...
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs, and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity, and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs, and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity, and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

My Dtps. New Cinderella hybrid is about 18 inches under a 100w bulb. My
other phals are also under a 100w bulb, and are placed between 24 and 48
inches away from it.

Ray, would you suggest that I switch to fluorescent bulbs?

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

I forgot to tell you about feeding. I use DynaGro Grow, diluted according
to your directions, every third watering or so. The rest of the time I use
tap water. I put a bunch of orchids in the bathtub and give them a lukewarm
shower.

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

I cannot claim to be a pro at lighting, but it seems to me that a 100W bulb
18" away isn't going to help that much, and at 2- to 4 feet, it's
essentially worthless. If you went to 30W or 40W fluorescents, you could
put them as close as 6" - 9" from the plants without fear of burning - a
problem with incandescents.

In my opinion, the "Grow" formula should be used at a rate of about 1.25 to
1.5 teaspoons per gallon at every watering, but that's based upon having
sufficient light levels.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
My Dtps. New Cinderella hybrid is about 18 inches under a 100w bulb. My
other phals are also under a 100w bulb, and are placed between 24 and 48
inches away from it.

Ray, would you suggest that I switch to fluorescent bulbs?

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great
deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my
house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a
window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

I cannot claim to be a pro at lighting, but it seems to me that a 100W bulb
18" away isn't going to help that much, and at 2- to 4 feet, it's
essentially worthless. If you went to 30W or 40W fluorescents, you could
put them as close as 6" - 9" from the plants without fear of burning - a
problem with incandescents.

In my opinion, the "Grow" formula should be used at a rate of about 1.25 to
1.5 teaspoons per gallon at every watering, but that's based upon having
sufficient light levels.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
My Dtps. New Cinderella hybrid is about 18 inches under a 100w bulb. My
other phals are also under a 100w bulb, and are placed between 24 and 48
inches away from it.

Ray, would you suggest that I switch to fluorescent bulbs?

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great
deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my
house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a
window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sarah,

For what it's worth, since many of my Phals have rebloomed for me (and
several of them multiple times), and it sounds like your conditions are
similar to mine, here are my thoughts on this matter (though I am still a
relative beginner myself so you may get better advice from others, however
my rate of Phal reblooming is quite good, so I must be doing something
right):

1) I think an important consideration on whether or not a Phal will rebloom
is the overall health of the plant when one acquired it and since then. The
two Phals that have not rebloomed for me that I have had long enough that
they should have were not in very good health when I originally got them,
and while their health has improved since, they are still not in as good an
overall condition as most of the ones that have reflowered. So the first
step to get Phals to rebloom is I think to acquire healthy plants to begin
with. How healthy are your Phals? Have they grown new leaves? How are their
roots? Have you repotted them recently to check out the roots -- what is the
condition of the potting media?

2) Light is crucial. 24-48 inches away from a 100w bulb may be too little
light (especially the 48 inches away). I use a combination of 60watt and
150watt incandescent daylight spectrum light bulbs, and on the boxes of
these it says to place the plant 24 inches or less from the 60watt or 30
inches or less from the 150 watt light bulb. I tend to turn the lights on
around 9am and keep them on until 11pm or midnight, so a long time.
Sometimes I will place a plant further away from the bulbs for a few months,
but then I will place it closer to the bulb if it has not reflowered for a
while. In general, consider moving your Phals to a different spot (both
different in terms of light and in other ways different) and then keep them
in the new spot for a while to see whether they like it better there. Even
if you don't think that the other spot is necessarily better, the plant
might flourish there. I have heard stories of people moving a plant just to
the other side of a window and the same plant that was barely hanging in
there would start to flourish. And I have experienced this as well that
changing the conditions brought on a new spike -- not always, but often
enough.

3) I keep thinking of ways to improve my Phals conditions and implementing
them gradually: improving the lighting, improving the fertilizing schedule,
adding a humidifier, etc.

4) Then there is the neglect factor. Sometimes orchids do better if
neglected for a while. I once read an article theorizing that blooming is a
plant's response to a lack of some kind, as in "these are not ideal
conditions, so I better bloom to try to procreate." A plant that is too
satisfied may not bloom. My orchid care seems to oscillate between
religiously following best practice for a while (for example fertilizing
every second watering, watering just when the plants need it), but then I
get busy or lazy, and I do not fertilize at all for a few months and let the
Phals get a bit too dry between waterings, and then after a while of that I
feel guilty over having neglected my plants and start being good again. My
phals seem to be fine with that sort of treatment, and from what I have
heard being too good all the time is really not desirable.

Those are my main thoughts at the moment. I hope that some of them help.

Best,
Joanna

"Sarah" wrote in message
...
My Dtps. New Cinderella hybrid is about 18 inches under a 100w bulb. My
other phals are also under a 100w bulb, and are placed between 24 and 48
inches away from it.

Ray, would you suggest that I switch to fluorescent bulbs?

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great
deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my
house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a
window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Sarah,

For what it's worth, since many of my Phals have rebloomed for me (and
several of them multiple times), and it sounds like your conditions are
similar to mine, here are my thoughts on this matter (though I am still a
relative beginner myself so you may get better advice from others, however
my rate of Phal reblooming is quite good, so I must be doing something
right):

1) I think an important consideration on whether or not a Phal will rebloom
is the overall health of the plant when one acquired it and since then. The
two Phals that have not rebloomed for me that I have had long enough that
they should have were not in very good health when I originally got them,
and while their health has improved since, they are still not in as good an
overall condition as most of the ones that have reflowered. So the first
step to get Phals to rebloom is I think to acquire healthy plants to begin
with. How healthy are your Phals? Have they grown new leaves? How are their
roots? Have you repotted them recently to check out the roots -- what is the
condition of the potting media?

2) Light is crucial. 24-48 inches away from a 100w bulb may be too little
light (especially the 48 inches away). I use a combination of 60watt and
150watt incandescent daylight spectrum light bulbs, and on the boxes of
these it says to place the plant 24 inches or less from the 60watt or 30
inches or less from the 150 watt light bulb. I tend to turn the lights on
around 9am and keep them on until 11pm or midnight, so a long time.
Sometimes I will place a plant further away from the bulbs for a few months,
but then I will place it closer to the bulb if it has not reflowered for a
while. In general, consider moving your Phals to a different spot (both
different in terms of light and in other ways different) and then keep them
in the new spot for a while to see whether they like it better there. Even
if you don't think that the other spot is necessarily better, the plant
might flourish there. I have heard stories of people moving a plant just to
the other side of a window and the same plant that was barely hanging in
there would start to flourish. And I have experienced this as well that
changing the conditions brought on a new spike -- not always, but often
enough.

3) I keep thinking of ways to improve my Phals conditions and implementing
them gradually: improving the lighting, improving the fertilizing schedule,
adding a humidifier, etc.

4) Then there is the neglect factor. Sometimes orchids do better if
neglected for a while. I once read an article theorizing that blooming is a
plant's response to a lack of some kind, as in "these are not ideal
conditions, so I better bloom to try to procreate." A plant that is too
satisfied may not bloom. My orchid care seems to oscillate between
religiously following best practice for a while (for example fertilizing
every second watering, watering just when the plants need it), but then I
get busy or lazy, and I do not fertilize at all for a few months and let the
Phals get a bit too dry between waterings, and then after a while of that I
feel guilty over having neglected my plants and start being good again. My
phals seem to be fine with that sort of treatment, and from what I have
heard being too good all the time is really not desirable.

Those are my main thoughts at the moment. I hope that some of them help.

Best,
Joanna

"Sarah" wrote in message
...
My Dtps. New Cinderella hybrid is about 18 inches under a 100w bulb. My
other phals are also under a 100w bulb, and are placed between 24 and 48
inches away from it.

Ray, would you suggest that I switch to fluorescent bulbs?

Sarah

"Ray" wrote in message
...
Sarah,

I would consider two possibilities: Not enough light, and/or improper
diet.

"Full spectrum" or not, most incandescent bulbs don't put out a great
deal
of energy as light - most of it is heat. What wattage, how many bulbs,
and
at what distance?

Can you tell us about the food and water they get? (Formula, quantity,
and
frequency of feeding.)

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Sarah" wrote in message
...
Hello everyone!

I need some advice on reblooming phals. I have several that haven't
bloomed
for years. (Apparently I'm not good at beginner's orchids! ;-)

I grow indoors in either fir bark or s/h. Some phals are at an east
window
with a supplemental full-spectrum incandescent light. (Part of my
house
blocks the sunlight.) The others I have in my office away from a
window
but
under a full-spectrum incandescent light. My growing temperatures
currently
range from 58F at night to 70F during the day. In the summer, they
generally range from 65F at night to 85F during the day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sarah

Dear Sarah,
I am by no means a phal expert; in fact, I would be an extremely
successful hitman for those plants. But for the first time in my life,
I have three phals in spike!! I've tried absolutely everything, even
nearing total obssession (and depression), and what has worked for me
is repotting into semi hydroponics.

Dear Sarah,
I am by no means a phal expert; in fact, I would be an extremely
successful hitman for those plants. But for the first time in my life,
I have three phals in spike!! I've tried absolutely everything, even
nearing total obssession (and depression), and what has worked for me
is repotting into semi hydroponics.