How often are they supposed to flower?

[dfalkanger]

I was just wondering how often an orchid is supposed to flower, and what is healthy? It seems that mine has been flowering a lot. It has flowered three times in the last 6 months. Should I cut some flower stalks off once in a while to help the plant conserve energy? Thanks

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hiya

It would help to know what kind of orchid you have. A dendrobium? Phalaenopsis?

Flowering really depends on the genus. Some will only bloom once a year, some twice a year and some will bloom almost continually. Spring and fall are often flowering times. Many of my dendrobiums are starting to spike now. My dens can bloom 2-3 times a year for pretty long periods. I have a phragmipedium in bloom and my brassavola nodosa is spiking. Yay! I still need to get a good pic of my phrag. The petals opened at 4" and now they are about 8".

With phals, some people cut the spent scape about 3 nodes up from the bottom and they will produce a new spike. Other people like to let the plant rest for larger flowers later on.

Suzanne

 

[dfalkanger]

I have no Idea what kind it is. Here's a pic though, and when it flowers, the flowers are purple.

 

[PlantAKiss]

hi

Looks like a phalaenopsis to me although it looks like the leaves are somewhat ribbed...but the lighting may have accentuated that more than it really is. It looks pretty healthy.

Phals are easy growers. They grow well indoors and although their main blooming season is spring and fall, they can produce flowers at other times. As I mentioned, you can try cutting the spent flower scape above the third node and it may reflower. Or you can cut the scape off and let it build up strength for the spring flowering.

You need to take care that the roots don't stay too wet. They need to dry out some before the next watering.

There is a lot of good information on the Orchid Care sheet that is pinned at the top of this forum. That should help you out with more specific info on care for your phal.

Umm...maybe you need some more orchids. hehe

You can always do a Lowes rescue and get one pretty cheap.

Enjoy your phal.

Suzanne

 

[dfalkanger]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PlantAKiss @ Sep. 16 2003,10:39)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hi

Looks like a phalaenopsis to me although it looks like the leaves are somewhat ribbed...but the lighting may have accentuated that more than it really is.  It looks pretty healthy.


Umm...maybe you need some more orchids.  hehe  

  You can always do a Lowes rescue and get one pretty cheap.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I looked at it closely, and it looks like the leaves are ribbed. I don't know if that changes it from something different than a Phalaenopsis?

Maybe I do need some more orchids

This is my only one, I got it from the home depot when I used to work there. They were throwing it out and I figured I could probably save it, and I did. We weren't supposed to take things that were going into the garbage, but I did anyway, hehe

 

[PlantAKiss]

If you got it from HD then its a phal. Both Lowes and HD don't carry too many orchids other than dens, phals and oncidiums because they fairly easy to grow. If you think you might like more, try the ol' "This plant is half dead, would you reduce it please" trick.

Works well. They know they can't sell the out of blooms or sickly ones. They are lucky to get 1/2 price. Once your phal reblooms for you, you'll be hooked. hehe Its just about as bad as the CP addiction only orchids tend to be a bit costlier.

 

[larry]

My local Home Depot carries lots of intergenerics. I tried the "this plant is half dead, can I get a discount" thing, the cashier told me they send dead plants back to the supplier and the supplier gives em live new plants. So they would rather let the plant die than to sell it to somebody at a loss. The Home Depots here have a 1 year guarantee on all plants, so if it dies within one year, you can take it back. Is that the case in other parts of the country?

 

[dfalkanger]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (larry @ Sep. 18 2003,12:25)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"> The Home Depots here have a 1 year guarantee on all plants, so if it dies within one year, you can take it back.  Is that the case in other parts of the country?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
yes I think all of the plants at home depots around here have a 1 year guarantee, which is pretty good I think.

 

[goldtrap2690]

sometimes when i say " this plant is almost dead , can i get a discount on it " theyeither say ok or they just tell me that there gonna send it back to the company for a refund . that sucks , but good thing there is that 1 year warranty , i once though that it was plants that came directly from home depot . this year i'm gonna try to get some good deals on orchids with that phrase . sometimes when i look at the trashcan at plant sotres , there are so many wonderful planmts that can be revived that have been thrown away by unknowledgeble people , i wish i could just grab all those plants and get them free . thats a cool looking phal you got there , itdoe like it need more light because of the dark green leaves and i forogt why that new leaf is smaller then the others , try www.orchidlady.com for some info and help . orchids i usually see at my stores are phals , dendrobiums , oncidiums , paphs , brassia , cattleya , cymbidiums , and sometimes miltonias that can cost as much as 60 bucks , i can buy a refrigerator with that money .

 

[lithopsman]

Looks like a Phal to me, I have seen some with the ribbing in the leaves before, usually hybrids. Mine had the same flowers for six months nonstop, just dropped about 3 weeks ago... The flowers were also HUGE, about 2 inches across!!

GOOD LUCK, I think that you'll enjoy these guys!!

 

[PlantAKiss]

When I get orchids from a hardware store, its been Lowes. Here, Home Depot's plants SUCK. They look worse than Lowes and they don't have orchids that often so I never have tried the price whining trick there. At Lowes, they've never refused me (but they also have a Clearance area so obviously they don't send back the unhealthy plants). I don't really like buying orchids from Lowes but I do when something really catches my eye or I feel the need to rescue something.

I've got a local orchid nursery I can go to and I've gotten great buys on eBay as well...healthy plants too. There are quite a few good orchid vendors on eBay.

Suzanne