My Phalaenopsis roots

[pinkdaybreak]

I have a Phalaenopsis that never seems to want to bloom. I have it in the correct light, feed it every three months and keep it watered with the correct amount of water. The thing it does grow are roots and lots of them. I watch it often and everytime I think it is going to bloom, it is another root. What am I doing wrong?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hi Pink!

I just wrote an article for the forum library on growing and blooming the phal. I go into some detail about light, temperature, etc.. requirements for them. Check out the article here: PHAL ARTICLE

Right off, my first guess is always the light issue, but you say you are growing it in the proper light, so my next best guess is going to be food. It may not be getting the nutrients it needs to be able to bloom.

I am sure several other members will have something to add.

Cheers,
BD

[pinkdaybreak]

BD,
Thanks for the heads up on your article. It has a lot of information that I found very helpful. I need to change a few things. I do have them in a window that is in the corner of my kitchen. One window faces east and the other south. I think I need to invest in a small fan to move the air. So, I guess I should not expect to see blooms until mid winter?

[Diane]

Check out your temperature too. They often need to have some cool nights to set spikes.

[aviator8]

Most Phals bloom in winter. At least mine do so I wouldn't expect anything until then. feeding every 3 months seems a bit sparce to me. Once a month would be better. Or I do it with every feeding but weekly. I feed with 125ppm Nitrogen every week for 3 week then flush with water only on the 4th. It works well for me. Use a non-Urea fertilizer. you can do a search for fertilizer ppm calculator to figure out how much of your fertilizer to use per gallon of water to get your target ppm. Can you post a picture of the phal for us to see?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

......you can do a search for fertilizer ppm calculator to figure out how much of your fertilizer to use per gallon of water to get your target ppm.

There is a link to a good calculator for fertilizer in our USEFUL LINKS page. It is number 6 on the list.

Cheers,
BD

[aviator8]

Thats the one I use .

[pinkdaybreak]

Thanks everyone for the information. I expect to see blooms this winter!

[Aleksa]

I've read somewhere that there is some order in growing cycle of phals... Something like: After blooming starts strong root growth, after root growth leaves are creating, after that flowers again etc.... Is that true?

I'm asking this because my phal have finished blooming and isn't creating leaves yet...

[KC C]

If there is an order in the growing cycle of phals my Phal x valentini var alba hasn't been paying attention. When I got it 4 months ago it had 2 spikes and a small new leaf and no new roots starting. A week after I got it, the new leaf suddenly started growing, 4 new roots started and the spikes did nothing. Then 2 months later a new leaf started and a couple more new roots started, the spikes were still just sitting there. A month ago, finally, a single bud peeked out and I now have a single flower. Latest news is that yesterday I noticed that the plant has a third spike just peeking out.