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This gorgeous multifloral phalaenopsis is blooming now on our windowsill with more than 40 flowers on two spikes! The flowers will last several months. Don't worry about the name --- doritaenopsis is a hybrid between two closely related orchid genera: doritis and phalaenopsis. It's essentially a phalaenopsis and should be grown like one. Multiflorals are bred to have more numerous, though typically smaller, flowers. The plants will often bloom small, and remain compact. However, plant size depends on their parentage and many multifloral plants, like this one, will get as big as a standard phalaenopsis.
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This plant is growing in a 5.5" plastic pot and is potted in Pro-Mix, a sphagnum peat-based mix, that has had additional perlite added to it to improve aeration. It has been demonstrated that many orchids grow better in a Pro-Mix type mix, but it does not work well for everyone. I find that phals do well in under household growing conditions in plastic pots. However, it takes some skill to make sure you do not overwater plants in this kind of mix, as it is easy to do so. This plant receives bright indirect light from south and eastern exposure throughout the year. It's spikes in early spring when night temperatures below (around 60). Keeping night temperatures low while the spike is elongating to about 10 inches, has been shown to increase the number of buds. This can be accomplished by keeping plants near a cracked window at night. Once buds are clearly visible there is no need for night temperatures to be particularly low.
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 This photo shows the numerous flowers on branching spikes to better advantage. The flowers are also not as crowded along the branching spikes, as is the case with many multiflorals. Once buds are visible, its important not to move the plant so that they buds are well arrayed for a uniform display. |
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This
orchid is fertilized regularly during the growing season,
using a standard 'blossom booster' orchid fertilizer that is
not very high in nitrogen (orchids in Pro-Mix do not require
the higher nitrogen levels that those growing in a bark mix
do). It is kept evenly moist, though not wet, throughout the
year, with slightly less moisture during the cooler darker
winter days.
This multifloral is
one of many superior clones to emerge from Taiwan, where
phalaenopsis breeding is reaching new heights. This is its
first blooming with two spikes, and shows what can be
accomplished in a relatively small space on a windowsill (or under lights). |
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From left to right: Different phalaenopsis hybrids-all of these are easy to grow!
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