Phaius Tankervilliae In Bloom Now

[Drosera]

Great blooms and a fantastic picture !

[bench72]

beautiful blooms... love that Phaius.

[ischel1]

Alright; if you don't mind I'll show what my in spike one looks like. You beat me to the flowers part...I'm still at the waiting to see which color mine is. I was lucky and finally found mine a couple weeks ago, covered in ants with one broken spike, but she sold it to me cheap because she remembered me from the time I rescued a few of her really bad phals. She refers to me as "that orchid woman". lol I hope you'll share your tips with me on exactly how much "neglect" this one needs. And cannot wait to see if my flowers look as amazing as yours! Thanks for posting...

Connie Looks like you're on the right track. What I do is each year dump the old soft bulbs trim the dead roots and repot in same pot. If I have any bloom booster left from my other orchids I give her some, if not...oh well. She is inside all winter (too cold here in the panhandle)gets only morning sun (maybe 2hrs.) Outside in summer in morning sun (but be careful in Fl. those leaves will burn real fast in the morning sun so I make it a mottled morning sun. Water when DRY (if I remember) or wait till it rains. Use mostly bloom booster, maybe every couple of months.

I've had this Phaius for 2 yrs and, as you can see from the pic it isn't a baby! I know it flowered in the past because I purchased it just after the flowers died for a $1.00. It has grown and looks great but alas and alack no flowers...none, nada, zip, zilch! So I'm going to take your lead and ignore this puppy because the next move is the dumpster 'cause it is a big plant taking up lots of room for other stuff!

Howard your Phaius is beautiful, maybe too much Nitrogen to bloom. Putting all it's energy in to growth. I've had this about 4 years, got a small division and it bloomed the very next year and only skipped one year and I think I fed it too much that year. Check out the neglect below. Look close and you can even see the cob webs in the pot. Oh my, I really have neglected her!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hi Ischel, do you bloom your desert rose often? I have grown two of them and used to bloom them every year, but something went wrong and they both died. They rotted on the inside of the 'bark' or 'skin'. I think they are so unique. I need to get another one this summer.

Cheers,
BD

[zainal abidin]

Nice plant and blooms too.

[ischel1]

Hi Ischel, do you bloom your desert rose often? I have grown two of them and used to bloom them every year, but something went wrong and they both died. They rotted on the inside of the 'bark' or 'skin'. I think they are so unique. I need to get another one this summer.

Cheers,
BD

Bruce the 'Desert Rose' has never bloomed for me. It really doesn't do well for some reason in the winter and that seems to set it back quite a bit. During the summer it grows a lot of leaves, but no blooms and then when I bring it inside the tips of the leaves turn brown and the plant looks awful. I can't seem to get the culture right. I have it about 2 years and no idea how old it was when I got it. Do they need high humidity or what?

[ischel1]

Thanks ya'll for the kind words . Glad you enjoyed my treasures.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Bruce the 'Desert Rose' has never bloomed for me. It really doesn't do well for some reason in the winter and that seems to set it back quite a bit. During the summer it grows a lot of leaves, but no blooms and then when I bring it inside the tips of the leaves turn brown and the plant looks awful. I can't seem to get the culture right. I have it about 2 years and no idea how old it was when I got it. Do they need high humidity or what?

Well, keep in mind that I rotted both of mine... but I would increase the humidity. I also recommend putting it outside during the summer in partial shade. Ours bloomed fairly well like that.

Cheers,
BD

[Diane]

Mine puts out tons of leaves - then does nothing... Glad to see someone is successful with them.

[Orchidzrule]

Very nice Phaius. This is a plant I've never tried, but looking at yours makes me want to! BTW, the Phal is also a great looking flower. Definitely worth all your battles with the spider mite!

Cheers,
Rob