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Orchid Questions??

© Linda Fortner

It is understandable that nearly everyone has at least one or two questions when they first start growing an orchid. This month I will try and answer a few of the most common asked questions.

Q: Why won't my orchid bloom?

A: This is an easy question to answer. Either your plant is too young, it isn't happy, it's too "fat," or it doesn't know it's "time" for it to bloom. Unlike your garden flowers that go from a tiny seed to a mature blooming plant in the course of the spring and summer, many orchids such as Cattleyas can take as long as 5 years to reach blooming age! Typically, most new orchid owners purchased their orchid in bloom from a local nursery so the plant is obviously old enough to bloom. The question most people are actually asking me is "Why won't my orchid RE-bloom?" Since age is not an issue, this takes us to solving the other possible problems. Typically, if your orchid does not receive enough light, it will not be happy, and therefore, will not bloom or re-bloom as the case may be. A Cattleya for example, will not bloom if it receives only the light from a North-facing window (unless you live in Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand! ) and will burn if it is left in window where it will receive full afternoon Sun. You need to give your orchid the light "it" needs or it will not bloom for you. Check the culture sheet for the Genus/species of your orchid to learn what amount of light it needs to make it happy. If age and light are not problems, your orchid may be too "fat." If your orchid is producing lots of lush green growth but no blooms, you may be over fertilizing. Try cutting back on the fertilizer for a couple of months or change to a special "bloom" formula fertilizer. Lastly, your orchid just may need the environmental queue that tells it that it is time to bloom. The queue many orchids need is a "cool down period" of about two weeks to initiate their flowers (kick the orchid into blooming mode). The cool down cycle is at least a 10 degree drop between day and night temperatures. In an artificial environment, the cool down cycle can be initiated any time of the year.

Q: Why did the buds fall off my Phalaenopsis?

A: This is known as "bud drop," and is a very common occurrence not only to Phalaenopsis but many other orchid genera. The main causes of bud drop is temperature fluctuation - rapid changes in the temperature around the orchid (like opening and

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