My son's gf gave me my first orchid, a paph, over 2 1/2 years ago. She
works in a nursery and had been giving me all kinds of plants. I should
explain, I'm not much of a plant guy. I've had plants over the years,
killed more than I've kep alive. Just don't give them the attention
they need to flourish.
The paph was in bloom, and I fell in love with it. Was deathly afraid
I'd kill it, knowing that orchids are considered difficult to grow. I
bought a couple of beginner books and did some research. She gave me
more orchids as time passed. At one point, I had 12, since then, 2 have
died.
But over the 2.5 years, none had blossomed. Searched for ideas in
different places, for some reason never thought about a ng.
Finally, after changing the food, watering different ways, moving them
to get less light and then to get more, my first paph is spiking! I
noticed it on Jan 1! It had been spiking for a while, I just was so
busy I hadn't even noticed. I started jumping around the kitchen, I was
so excited. I had stopped feeding and watering it and 2 others a few
months ago, having read that this would make it bloom. It worked. Have
been watching it spike nearly every day since. It's really amazing!
I've never gotten this attached or excited by a plant in my life.
I've stopped feeding 2 others, in addition to the 2 I haven't been
feeding for a while, hoping to get some more to spike and flower. Now
that I've finally had one success after 2.5 years, I'm really hooked.
These damn orchids are like kids! Ok, so they don't talk back at least!

davegb,
Congratulations! Yup, reflowering orchids have a tendency to do this to us.
I remember that the first time my orchids reflowered for me, I went berserk,
and I have been acquiring more and more orchids ever since. So be careful,
it's a very addictive hobby. Oh oh, it sound like this advice comes to late
for you. :-) Welcome to rgo, btw.
Joanna

"davegb" wrote in message
oups.com...
My son's gf gave me my first orchid, a paph, over 2 1/2 years ago. She
works in a nursery and had been giving me all kinds of plants. I should
explain, I'm not much of a plant guy. I've had plants over the years,
killed more than I've kep alive. Just don't give them the attention
they need to flourish.
The paph was in bloom, and I fell in love with it. Was deathly afraid
I'd kill it, knowing that orchids are considered difficult to grow. I
bought a couple of beginner books and did some research. She gave me
more orchids as time passed. At one point, I had 12, since then, 2 have
died.
But over the 2.5 years, none had blossomed. Searched for ideas in
different places, for some reason never thought about a ng.
Finally, after changing the food, watering different ways, moving them
to get less light and then to get more, my first paph is spiking! I
noticed it on Jan 1! It had been spiking for a while, I just was so
busy I hadn't even noticed. I started jumping around the kitchen, I was
so excited. I had stopped feeding and watering it and 2 others a few
months ago, having read that this would make it bloom. It worked. Have
been watching it spike nearly every day since. It's really amazing!
I've never gotten this attached or excited by a plant in my life.
I've stopped feeding 2 others, in addition to the 2 I haven't been
feeding for a while, hoping to get some more to spike and flower. Now
that I've finally had one success after 2.5 years, I'm really hooked.
These damn orchids are like kids! Ok, so they don't talk back at least!

Thanks, Joanna, but like you said, "too late"!

Thanks, Joanna, but like you said, "too late"!

Growing orchids is like acquiring Psoriasis, once infected it's impossabvle to
get rid of it. I speak fom experience orchids.
drbob

Growing orchids is like acquiring Psoriasis, once infected it's impossabvle to
get rid of it. I speak fom experience orchids.
drbob

Now that my paph is blooming, I need some advice. One of my orchid
books says they should be fed from Feb through Oct. This makes some
sense to me because up until this past fall, I fed and watered them
year round. I had read that one way to get orchids to bloom was to stop
feeding them, so I stopped feeding the 3 healthiest looking ones,
including the paph, a few months ago.
But what should I do with the spiking paph? Should I start to feed it
now, since it's spiking, or wait until Feb? Or until it's done
flowering? The book says to feed it while it's flowering, but not
between the end of Oct and the beginning of Feb? So what am I supposed
to do?
In this general vein, does anyone know of a table, or at least some
good reference, listing when to feed and water the different major
categories of orchids, and when not to? Now that stopping watering and
feeding has worked with one, I want to try it with the others to see if
I can get more to flower. Geez, at this rate, I'm quickly moving toward
being one of those old orchid people, like the cat people who own 43
cats. At least the orchids will smell better! But it seems my life is
becoming more and more centered around my orchids!

Now that my paph is blooming, I need some advice. One of my orchid
books says they should be fed from Feb through Oct. This makes some
sense to me because up until this past fall, I fed and watered them
year round. I had read that one way to get orchids to bloom was to stop
feeding them, so I stopped feeding the 3 healthiest looking ones,
including the paph, a few months ago.
But what should I do with the spiking paph? Should I start to feed it
now, since it's spiking, or wait until Feb? Or until it's done
flowering? The book says to feed it while it's flowering, but not
between the end of Oct and the beginning of Feb? So what am I supposed
to do?
In this general vein, does anyone know of a table, or at least some
good reference, listing when to feed and water the different major
categories of orchids, and when not to? Now that stopping watering and
feeding has worked with one, I want to try it with the others to see if
I can get more to flower. Geez, at this rate, I'm quickly moving toward
being one of those old orchid people, like the cat people who own 43
cats. At least the orchids will smell better! But it seems my life is
becoming more and more centered around my orchids!

My own experience says that most orchids do not need to have nutrition
withheld in order to induce blooming, but for those that do, I resume
feeding as soon as I see the emergence of an inflorescence.

Some plants, phals for example, respond instead to a sharp day-night
temperature drop, while some catts look for changes in day length.
Others seem to respond better to constant feeding. My vandaceous
plants (mostly ascocendas) used to bloom once or twice a year, but
since switching to a year-round application of a stronger fertilizer
dose at every watering, they tend to do so more often, sometimes
growing a new spike as the old one fades.

I don't know if anyone has compiled a reference about those factors,
but it's an interesting idea.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"salgud" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that my paph is blooming, I need some advice. One of my orchid
books says they should be fed from Feb through Oct. This makes some
sense to me because up until this past fall, I fed and watered them
year round. I had read that one way to get orchids to bloom was to
stop
feeding them, so I stopped feeding the 3 healthiest looking ones,
including the paph, a few months ago.
But what should I do with the spiking paph? Should I start to feed
it
now, since it's spiking, or wait until Feb? Or until it's done
flowering? The book says to feed it while it's flowering, but not
between the end of Oct and the beginning of Feb? So what am I
supposed
to do?
In this general vein, does anyone know of a table, or at least some
good reference, listing when to feed and water the different major
categories of orchids, and when not to? Now that stopping watering
and
feeding has worked with one, I want to try it with the others to see
if
I can get more to flower. Geez, at this rate, I'm quickly moving
toward
being one of those old orchid people, like the cat people who own 43
cats. At least the orchids will smell better! But it seems my life
is
becoming more and more centered around my orchids!

My own experience says that most orchids do not need to have nutrition
withheld in order to induce blooming, but for those that do, I resume
feeding as soon as I see the emergence of an inflorescence.

Some plants, phals for example, respond instead to a sharp day-night
temperature drop, while some catts look for changes in day length.
Others seem to respond better to constant feeding. My vandaceous
plants (mostly ascocendas) used to bloom once or twice a year, but
since switching to a year-round application of a stronger fertilizer
dose at every watering, they tend to do so more often, sometimes
growing a new spike as the old one fades.

I don't know if anyone has compiled a reference about those factors,
but it's an interesting idea.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"salgud" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that my paph is blooming, I need some advice. One of my orchid
books says they should be fed from Feb through Oct. This makes some
sense to me because up until this past fall, I fed and watered them
year round. I had read that one way to get orchids to bloom was to
stop
feeding them, so I stopped feeding the 3 healthiest looking ones,
including the paph, a few months ago.
But what should I do with the spiking paph? Should I start to feed
it
now, since it's spiking, or wait until Feb? Or until it's done
flowering? The book says to feed it while it's flowering, but not
between the end of Oct and the beginning of Feb? So what am I
supposed
to do?
In this general vein, does anyone know of a table, or at least some
good reference, listing when to feed and water the different major
categories of orchids, and when not to? Now that stopping watering
and
feeding has worked with one, I want to try it with the others to see
if
I can get more to flower. Geez, at this rate, I'm quickly moving
toward
being one of those old orchid people, like the cat people who own 43
cats. At least the orchids will smell better! But it seems my life
is
becoming more and more centered around my orchids!

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 05:47:31 -0500, "Ray"
wrote:

My own experience says that most orchids do not need to have nutrition
withheld in order to induce blooming, but for those that do, I resume
feeding as soon as I see the emergence of an inflorescence.

Some plants, phals for example, respond instead to a sharp day-night
temperature drop, while some catts look for changes in day length.
Others seem to respond better to constant feeding. My vandaceous
plants (mostly ascocendas) used to bloom once or twice a year, but
since switching to a year-round application of a stronger fertilizer
dose at every watering, they tend to do so more often, sometimes
growing a new spike as the old one fades.

I don't know if anyone has compiled a reference about those factors,
but it's an interesting idea.

For a gh grower I would say the balance is easy. You have the
light you can feed better. But many windowsill or underlight
growers need to be careful of too much fertilizer. I am still
one that suggests the balance is more important than the timing.
The balance between light and food. So I would think you might
have had a limited light problem and the plants grew to the food
rather than balancing their growth and bloom. When they no
longer had excess food they settled into a more normal pattern of
growth and bloom. This is generally just a case of too much
nitrogen. Before - were you getting very dark green lush
growths? This is also a sign of too much nitrogen. A little
less food or a little more light, probably either would have
produced the blooms.

We too fertilize year around. The only plants I withhold
anything on is the ones that rot if wet in the winter. And I am
not always successful in drying them... ya, some die, then I
don't have to worry about next year. Some just don't bloom as
they should because they do not get dry enough.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

I'm just a visitor here, but I'm pretty interested in paphs and they are
rapidly taking over my collection.

The short answer to one of your questions is that you should never withhold
fertilizer from a spiking/budding plant. It's doing a lot of work and needs
the support, regardless of what time of the year it is.

The reason books say to withhold fertilizer during the cooler months is
because many paphs, especially species, naturally rest during these months.
They naturally slow down in nature because the habitat becomes dryer (and
brighter), hence less need for fertilizer. Having said this, many hybrids
are not particularly dependent on a rest, and they grow and bloom all year
'round provided the light, warmth and moisture is supportive of this. And
even among the species, some are more demanding of a cool, dry rest than
others. Since plants vary in their requirements according to species, a
generalized table for genera wouldn't be very accurate or helpful.

In general, and if you are dealing with paph hybrids, I would venture to say
that it is safe to continue with feeding year round. However, if, as
another respondant suggested, your plants go into semi-dormancy because of
reduced seasonal light, then, naturally, feeding should be suspended and
watering reduced. HTH.

John :)

"salgud" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that my paph is blooming, I need some advice. One of my orchid
books says they should be fed from Feb through Oct. This makes some
sense to me because up until this past fall, I fed and watered them
year round. I had read that one way to get orchids to bloom was to stop
feeding them, so I stopped feeding the 3 healthiest looking ones,
including the paph, a few months ago.
But what should I do with the spiking paph? Should I start to feed it
now, since it's spiking, or wait until Feb? Or until it's done
flowering? The book says to feed it while it's flowering, but not
between the end of Oct and the beginning of Feb? So what am I supposed
to do?
In this general vein, does anyone know of a table, or at least some
good reference, listing when to feed and water the different major
categories of orchids, and when not to? Now that stopping watering and
feeding has worked with one, I want to try it with the others to see if
I can get more to flower. Geez, at this rate, I'm quickly moving toward
being one of those old orchid people, like the cat people who own 43
cats. At least the orchids will smell better! But it seems my life is
becoming more and more centered around my orchids!

Thanks for all the great feedback. This is definitely one of the most
"beginner friendly" NG's I've encountered. It's nice not to get flamed
for not knowing much yet.

"Before - were you getting very dark green lush
growths? This is also a sign of too much nitrogen. A little
less food or a little more light, probably either would have
produced the blooms"

Since I'm not yet familiar with normal growth vs abnormal growth, I'm
not sure what I'm seeing. The blooming paph has grown from 2 leaves,
when I first got it, to 7 now, as it is spiking. They are mottled light
and dark green. So the plant has been growing well. Perhaps too well?.
I will certainly withold food from it next winter, if it hasn't bloomed
again in the interim. I did significantly increase the light last year,
having been told originally not to put any of my orchids in direct
southern light. I did some reading, and found that if they aren't
blooming, they need more light. So I moved them all to my south
windows, of which I have a bunch. But that alone didn't cause any of
them to bloom. So should I now adjust their fertilizer to lower
nitrogen?

"In general, and if you are dealing with paph hybrids, I would venture
to say
that it is safe to continue with feeding year round. However, if, as
another respondant suggested, your plants go into semi-dormancy because
of
reduced seasonal light, then, naturally, feeding should be suspended
and
watering reduced"
How do I know they have gone into semi-dormancy? Just look for slower
growth? Are their any other more obvious signs?
In terms of oveall health, I know to look for growth, nice green-ness,
full pseudo-bulbs on those that have them. What else do you look for?
In particular, I have a catalaya that is very pretty and I'd like to
see bloom. Any ideas on what to do with it? I've already tried polite
complements and cursing! jk!

On 23 Jan 2005 11:10:07 -0800, "salgud"
wrote:

Thanks for all the great feedback. This is definitely one of the most
"beginner friendly" NG's I've encountered. It's nice not to get flamed
for not knowing much yet.

We try. Sometimes we are silent -- because it is the same
question asked yesterday. G even we have a limit.

very dark green lush growths?

This is generally a problem with Catts and a sign they are not
receiving enough light for the amount of fertilizer they are
getting. More light requires more food __ BUT__ it is a
balancing act. And as a generality - less food will not kill a
plant.

I will certainly withold food from it next winter, if it hasn't bloomed
again in the interim.

Most orchids only bloom once a year. Their season depends on the
maturity of the new growths. Some will grow enough to mature to
this point several times a year. A Catt must grow a new
pseudobulb in order to bloom again. A Paph must grow a new
'fan.'

not to put any of my orchids in direct southern light.

It is more a case of too much direct light will cause them to
sunburn. Just like you must slowly adjust to more light in the
summer or you burn, your plants can burn. Some will never be
happy with full light. Phal's do not like direct sun. Catts
after being acclimated, will generally take full or close to full
sun.

So should I now adjust their fertilizer to lower
nitrogen?

It is a balance act. If you have adjusted the "light" side of
the equation up and the Catts and Oncid or inter-generic are not
giving you dark forest green leaves don't reduce the fertilizer.
If they are headed toward grass or yellow greens keep the food
coming. You have increased the need for food with the increase
of light.


"In general, and if you are dealing with paph hybrids, I would venture
to say that it is safe to continue with feeding year round.

We never reduce our feeding schedule unless life gets in the way
of our getting out to do the fertilizing.


In terms of oveall health, I know to look for growth, nice green-ness,
full pseudo-bulbs on those that have them.

Be careful of that "nice green-ness" that generally tends to too
much fertilizer and too little light. They should generally be
growing strongly - not weak and spindly. Each growth should
equal or be slightly longer, larger than the prior ones. No
drastic changes and definitely not shorter.


In particular, I have a cattleya that is very pretty and I'd like to
see bloom. Any ideas on what to do with it? I've already tried polite
complements and cursing! jk!

TIME. Hardest thing to supply. Sometimes it takes a plant a
second year to adjust to your growing conditions. Sometimes it
just needs to be more mature to bloom well. Continue caring and
you will continue working to make them more healthy. But on the
other hand, Orchids thrive on neglect. These are not delicate
creatures by and large, there are some exceptions, mostly the
exceptions just need a specific style of care (temp or humidity)
that they are not getting when they don't thrive. Most orchids
want, demand air movement. Stagnant air does more harm than low
humidity.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

Sue,
Thanks for all the info. I'm going to copy it and put it in a file I
keep on orchids. Now if I could just find a way to extract the juice
from inside and inject it directly into my vein...
Dave