What Part Of The Cycle Is My Plant In?

by Nathalie Maullin
(Santa Monica, CA)

Hello,

My Phal has been blooming for 5 months, and has sent out a new green shoot below and a new leaf. Suddenly, most of the blooms except one fell off and there seems to be some sort of very small bud at the end of the flowering branches. I cannot tell if it is time to cut the plant or fertilize it and see what happens. I have never fertilized the plant and it seemed to be very happy.
Thank you!

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Sep 21, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		It Is In The Growth Part Of The Cycle
by: Melissa

Hi Nathalie, Thanks for your question.

It is great that your Phal. has been blooming for 5 months and is now sending out a new green shoot below and a new leaf.

It is not unreasonable that all the blossoms have fallen off now and is not worrisome unless for some reason the pot is not draining and the roots are rotting. But I suspect that is not happening as it would not have had flowers for so long.

I suspect that the blossom loss is just the natural course of things. Five months is a long time (though not unheard of) for blossoms on a Phal.

The very small bud at the end of the flowering branches that you describe is the plant setting a new bud. Sometimes this happens.

You can approach the next part of the cycle a couple of ways. You can leave the spike as it is and if it is green and still alive eventually the little bud may make a flower. Or you can cut the spike above one of the nodes and more than likely the plant will eventually push another spike from this node. If it does, then it will possibly shorten the time to bloom by a month or two. Or lastly you can cut the spike off about one half or oe inch above where the spike goes into the plant and let it go through the growth cycle. And then you can see if the conditions are right for it to initiate a spike again.

I am glad that your plant seems happy. Good job!

Since you are new to growing orchids I would suggest that you go to my page on Phalaenopsis Orchid Care http://www.orchids-plus-more.com/phalaenopsis-orchid-care.html and read that page carefully. There is lots of great free information on growing and reblooming Phals. And also a great thread with other peoples questions.

You might consider fertilizing. If you do, do it once a month for a couple of months and use the fertilizer at one quarter to one half strength of the label recommendation. Water your plant first and let the roots swell up a little and then fertilize it.

You are doing a great job and I think you will rebloom this lovely orchid. Just figure out what it needs (and if it was in bloom that long you have a lot of it right) and see what happens.

Good luck,

Melissa
www.orchids-plus-more.com

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