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T
his gorgeous Ascocenda needs
very bright light to flower
well.
This stunning mini-cattleya
will flower in a bright window.
Mini-catts, as these are
called, will often flower in
bright indirect light, or under
artificial lights far more
easily than their
standard-sized
counterparts.
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I will assume
that your plants are
healthy with lots of new
leafy green growths and
good roots. If you don't
have a healthy plant,
don't expect it to
flower! If you're not
getting blooms AND your
plants are healthy, read
on.
Here are the
main reasons orchid will
not bloom and what you
can do about it. One or
more reasons may apply to
your orchid
plants:
#1. GIVE YOUR
ORCHIDS ENOUGH
LIGHT
Most
flowering house plants, orchids
included, will not bloom
if they are not getting enough
light. This is generally the
main reason that orchids do not
bloom. Northern exposure is
usually not sufficient. A
bright western, slightly shaded
in the hottest months, or
eastern exposure work
well. A southern exposure
gives you the greatest
flexibility. If your window is
heavily shaded by trees or
adjacent buildings, this will
reduce light to your plants and
you will have to make
adjustments accordingly. If you
have bright indirect light,
your phals and paphs should do
fine. Oncidiums generally
need slightly brighter light.
Dendrobiums and Cattleyas need
the brightest light of all, and
do best in a Southern
exposure. Find out
more about light requirements
for growing orchids
indoors
Skylights,
unless you live in
Arizona, or unless they
are about five feet above
the plants generally do
not provide sufficient
light, for all but the
most shade-loving of
orchids. Please
don't email me and tell
me your orchids do fine
under your
skylight-perhaps they do
but I need to make some
broad generalizations
here
;)
Remember also that while a
few paltry blooms on an orchid
may be
nice,
our goal here is to get
our orchids to put on a
good show, and to
make your investment of
time and money
worthwhile. How do
you know if your plants
are getting enough light?
As a general rule look at
the foliage. It should be
a light grassy green.
Lush dark green foliage
is nice to look at, but
it means your plants are
not getting enough light.
Leaves should also be
turgid and firm on phals,
cattleyas, and
dendrobiums. Mottled
leaved paphs should show
good color
contrast
on
the leaves- see our
paphiopedilum culture page
for more
details.
If your plants
are not getting enough
light move them closer to
the window. Yes, even a
foot can make a huge
difference as light falls
off very rapidly within
increasing distance from
a window. During
the summer months place
plants outdoors in
dappled shade if you can.
Whenever you move
plants into brighter
conditions always do so
very gradually as you
risk burning the
leaves. Lastly,
remember to only grow
plants suited to your
conditions to avoid
disappointment. I just
saw some beautiful vandas
in bloom at the grocery
store! Vandas are very
difficult to grow in the
home and sadly most will
end up in the trash
heap.
Continue to Part II of this
article
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