Getting them to bloom - in most cases - comes down to temperature. Depending on the hybrid, they need a short cooldown in autumn/winter (I drop mine to about 18 degrees for a few weeks). Too little light could be a reason but unless you're putting them in a windowless bathroom, you should be fine. The phal species you're probably thinking about is Phal. Schilleriana. It is one of the most used species to create (complex) hybrids and it not only smells devine, it also has mottled leaves. As far as I know the scent wasn't bred out on purpose but rather got lost due to other priorities. Growers usually went for big, showy flowers and didn't pay much attention to the scent. This is changing however and there are lots of growers that produce perfume phals. Most will be sold as such (perfume orchid) and if you have a look at them, many have mottled leaves as well. The growth of keikis can be promoted by using keiki paste, although this paste contains hormones that can (and frequently does) lead to weird results. Usually, if you have phals for long enough, you will have keikis. I am actually suprised you never got one ^^ They can get mealy bugs (argh!), spidermites, snails ... what have you. Compared to a very leafy plant, they are rather easy-ish to get cleaned up. Yes! No ice cubes! Whoever came up with that bullpoop should take an ice bath. Media can be tailored to your environment and if you fancy, they love being mounted. I have some on wood and terracota shards and they absolutely love it. Also: Make sure you never have water sitting in the crown. That can lead to crownrot pretty fast. Please, please know that I very much appreciate your information and do adore your channel, your presentation, your plants and yes, you as well. And it has been interesting to hear someone talk about phals who isn't an avid orchid hobbyist. But if you or your audience would like to have very thorough information about all things orchids, give missorchidgirl a go. She talks about every imaginable orchid-topic and I am sure she will have any and all of your questions answered already. I for one am currently swimming in a sea of orchid flowers (it's phal season) and owe every bud to her expertise.
There are indeed quite a few phalaenopsis orchids that have a scent! Some of them that I personally own are: Phal. gigantea and many of its hybrids (flowery, perfumey, with a slight hint of burnt hair - yes, really), Phal. zebrina (white chocolate), Phal. Bronze Maiden (flowery, citrussy), Phal. lueddemanniana f. coerulea (honey), Phal. Lemon Spice (citrussy, tart). The scent isn't particularly strong in those, at least compared to orchids like the Rhynchostylis gigantea that you'll smell in the entire apartment. Care wise I do pretty much the same as you and it has worked well for me 😄 I personally don't have issues reblooming them either, but considering that most of the widely available Phals are winter bloomers and require a cool-down period to do so, others might have if their apartment is constantly too warm.
Phalaenopsis is the plant that taught me how to water and rest xerophytic plants. It's thanks to that I'm able to bloom cacti now. I saturate it in water and them let it dry until the plant tell me it need water (roots turn from green to silver). I dont water it at all during the winter. I know you can grow them in volcanic rock instead of bark and since you will never change the size of the pot it may be interesting to have a medium that doesnt break down with time, I will try on my next repoting.
I’ve never used Keiki paste but I’ve learned if a Phal is severely abused an dries out to much between waterings then given attention that it needs, they will push out Keikis from the stem. I think it’s because they think their on the verge of death. Lol Yes a drop in night time temperatures helps them put out a spike. 💚💚💚
Phalaenopsis was the first house plant I bought myself. I got them from IKEA and killed several of them (now I know why: insufficient light & overwatering). Then I swore I´d never buy any live house plant again and bought two large plastic Phalaenopsis in IKEA instead. Phalaenopsis became a symbol for me of not being able to care for plants. Many years later, I walked through a shop, saw a calathea and instantly fell in love. Without a second thought, I got several of them (despite the shop assistant´s horrified look when I happily proclaimed I never kept a house plant alive before). I decided that for that beauty to survive in my home, I will do anything. I had a very stressful first year learning, but majority of them not only survived me and pests, but seem quite happy and easy going now. So now a few years and many more house plants later, I think that your video finally convinced me to give Phalaenopsis another try 🙂 I do hope that I won´t kill any more of them
Some of the Phala do have interesting foliage. Phal schilleriana and its hybrids is the first that come in mind. I just got myself a schilleriana not long ago and it’s mounted in a 3D printed fixtures. It’s pushing out new leaf and roots now, I think it would give me some bloom next winter (and it should be very pleasingly scented). I am very excited about this orchid. I also got a Phal japonica, which suppose to have pretty nice scent as well. It haven’t bloom yet, but I think it would need a strong temp drop for it to bloom. Phal belina is also known for its scent and it’s a summer flowering Phalaenopsis which don’t need a drop in temperature to bloom. For Keiki paste, you should do it in the summer once the flower is faded, it’s very easy to get a new spike if the temperature is on the lower side. Propagation time is pretty long, so it might not be worth doing it. For grow Phal from seed, you basically need to TC it, as Phal seeds are super tiny and have no endosperm to provide nutrients for the seed embryo to germinate. In nature they steal energy from fungi, and in vitro you need a TC set up for it. Check out “Here But Not”, he has some pretty in depth video about the process for orchid seed propagation!
I have a North facing window in South UK in a barely heated room. Only place where I have room for my 4 gifted Phalaenopsis. One bloomed a year after receiving it, the others never have, but grow a lot of leaves and are healthy. However, last year, 2 of them made Keiki's, even though the plants seemed happy and healthy. One has grown enough for me to remove it, and although it's not thriving, it's alive. The other one is still attached. I will remove it come late Spring and will move them both near my small South facing window to see if they grow. Not a plant that I'm passionate about, but I adore experimenting :)
Thanks Memo! I have had orchids starting around 12-13 years ago. I have 11 Phalaenopsis (three from pups) ( four in bloom right now!) , only bought two at regular price (USA), I ALWAYS check out the clearance rack for the ones near death as a challenge. and, we almost have the same care. I use plastic orchid pots, orchid bark, and powder fertilizer. Watering (99% of the time just every 7 days) I use those smaller plastic paint buckets that the pots fit in nicely. In winter I fill the buckets (half of them in two rounds), set the stove timer for 33min (easier?) then drain the pots numerous times. Probably soon now I set the timer for 44min (you might guess that this is also how I warm stuff up in the microwave). The biggest pest problem I have is me. I hate it when the plant falls over and breaks a leaf in half! I bought a dendrobium years ago that I need suggestion on how to get it to bloom, never has? four keikies, two of which I'm trying in self watering with the PON I got myself for Christmas. Lastly I will research what E.P. just commented on those orchids for the scents. Not really sure I want more though?
Mine always bloom at the same time, late winter early spring, no matter when I buy them. I think they need a nighttime dip in temperature, because the flower spikes always first appear in October. I have a similar experience of pests as you. Since phals are non toxic, I keep them where my cats can get at the aerial roots and fresh new flower spikes. So my blooms are always slightly gnawed off 😂 I think I read somewhere that the loss of scent was not on purpose, but a side effect of hybridising them for showier blooms
Hi Memo. Didn’t realise that they needed watering that often have been watering my mini one a lot less than that😮 However saying that it’s been blooming pretty much continuously since I was gifted it by a friend nearly a year ago. Going to have to up my game, poor mite not sure if I have ever fertilised her either, always terrified I’m going to kill it lol.
Hi, I also love orchids and I do have some phalaenopsis - but most of them are botanical phalaenopsis or primary hybrids . So to your questiom about the scent of the blooms - yes they have a scent and besides one of the botanical phalaenopsis the scent is wonderful, not very intensiv, rather pleasantly unobtrusive. Those phalenopsis are much more sensitive in care than the multi hybridss. I think the scent got lost by hybridization which was surely done to get a plant which van easier live in our houses and which has bigger and more blooms. The fact that a phalaenopsis multi hybrid doesn‘t bloom for a rather long time after we baught it blooming is that the young phalaenopsis normally needed about five years to become adult and being alble to bloom. The laboratories where they are grown cannot afford waiting such a long time. Therefore the young phalaenopsis are treated with hormons to bloom afrer about one up to two years. (Otherwise they would cost a lot more money) after bringing them into our houses they „fall back“ in their normal age without being pushed and need time to recover. I have some phalaenopsis babies growing that are now about four years old from the time that I took them out of the bottle with fertile soil. Up to this time it took already about two years from the pollination . None of them bloomed up to now which is quiet normal. 😉 phalanopsis have a different time window - the oldest known phalaenopsis is about 200 years old … (I hope I could write this without too many mistakes, it‘s a long time ago that I learned your language. 🙈) Wish you all the best and am looking forward to your next video. Marie,
I have 7 that I have acquired over the years from big box stores. Regular and mini. Right now, they are all blooming together. I think it has to do with the longer day length of spring. I didnt do anything different as far as light and temp. They are on a grow shelf in front of an east facing window.
Regarding mealy bugs - I had a diefenbachia with a mealy bug problem (no longer as I've finally sold the bloody thing!) and the mealy bugs got onto one of my orchids (it sat next door to the dief). Only one or two got onto the orchid but where they sucked sap out of the leaves, the leaves wept and died and the whole plant went in the end and I had to bin it. (I did manage to kill off all the mealys before I sold the dief so I've not passed them on!) So I don't think they'd usually get mealys but if they happen to get visitors they seem quite hard hit by them.
Ohhh nooo I am sorry you went through that, but good to know thanks for sharing with everyone, yeah dieffenbachia I find are very attractive to mealybugs 😔😔😔💚🌿
I like orchids, although I usually prefer "weird" ones (oncidiums, ...) but I already bought a few phalaenopsis orchids when the patterns on their blooms is pretty enough for me. I also got around 10 from Ebay from someone who needed space in her home and would have otherwise thrown them away (I couldn't let that happen, could I? :D ) I don't struggle to get phalaenopsis blooming again, they basically start sprouting flower spikes at the same time, after the temperature got down, so end of Autumn or beginning of winter. Some are still flowering now. But I struggle to get the not phalaenopsis to bloom, though. I don't give up on them, I'll probably have to look for information about that, but we'll see. I love these flowers so much and don't manage to get them again :D I'll have a look if missorchidgirl has tips for these other orchids :)
I’ve actually just gotten into orchids after sticking to tropical house plants for many many years. No. You don’t have too many Phals. You can NEVER have too many Phals 😂 There are mottled leaf Phals out there, much like the mottled leaves of the slipper orchids you mention. I have the Shilleriana, but I also have a couple of hydrids that are mottled leaf. You won’t find them at the supermarket, but you’ll find them at specialist orchid suppliers. The main pest I’ve had on my Phals are mealy bugs. But I’ll generally find them on the stem or within the blooms. A cotton bud & 70% isopropyl alcohol will take care of them. I think the main myth is that it needs a resting period. This orchid genre does not rest. Once it finishes blooming, it goes into root production & then starts working on new leaves. I fertilise with an orchid fert all year, and in the non-winter months I give them 200ppm of CalMag & 40ppm seaweed as supplement each month. My media is super simple. Good quality Pine Bark and some perlite.
Not sure if you touched on whether to cut off a spike after it has bloomed. Does a spent spike need to be cut before the phal produces another one? Or will it bloom on an old spike that's still green? Thanks for all the info. Enjoy your channel so much!
Primero de todo diré que yo no tengo ni idea de orquídeas , pero en la tienda de mi barrio de plantas , me regalaron unas cuantas porque ya las tenían sin flores y así no las podían vender ( se fueron de vacaciones y estaban así ) , yo no les hice ni hago nada , salvo que están en la zona de más luz brillante pero ojo ! sin sol directo , las riego de vez en cuando si si es así ! no tengo un orden en esto 😅 y siempre que las riego pongo un poquito de fertilizante para orquídeas , con estos cuidados seguro que horrorosos , mis orquídeas no paran de crecer y de florecer ...... Y para colmo y como no corto las varas florales , normalmente me salen keijis , doy mi palabra que esto lo hacen mis orquídeas por ellas mismas ; en conclusión creo que sí las dejas estar a ellas tranquilas y las das un poquito de cuidados , van a estar genial y van a florecer mucho también . Un saludo 👍💌
Getting them to bloom - in most cases - comes down to temperature. Depending on the hybrid, they need a short cooldown in autumn/winter (I drop mine to about 18 degrees for a few weeks). Too little light could be a reason but unless you're putting them in a windowless bathroom, you should be fine.
The phal species you're probably thinking about is Phal. Schilleriana. It is one of the most used species to create (complex) hybrids and it not only smells devine, it also has mottled leaves. As far as I know the scent wasn't bred out on purpose but rather got lost due to other priorities. Growers usually went for big, showy flowers and didn't pay much attention to the scent. This is changing however and there are lots of growers that produce perfume phals. Most will be sold as such (perfume orchid) and if you have a look at them, many have mottled leaves as well.
The growth of keikis can be promoted by using keiki paste, although this paste contains hormones that can (and frequently does) lead to weird results. Usually, if you have phals for long enough, you will have keikis. I am actually suprised you never got one ^^
They can get mealy bugs (argh!), spidermites, snails ... what have you. Compared to a very leafy plant, they are rather easy-ish to get cleaned up.
Yes! No ice cubes! Whoever came up with that bullpoop should take an ice bath.
Media can be tailored to your environment and if you fancy, they love being mounted. I have some on wood and terracota shards and they absolutely love it.
Also: Make sure you never have water sitting in the crown. That can lead to crownrot pretty fast.
Please, please know that I very much appreciate your information and do adore your channel, your presentation, your plants and yes, you as well. And it has been interesting to hear someone talk about phals who isn't an avid orchid hobbyist. But if you or your audience would like to have very thorough information about all things orchids, give missorchidgirl a go. She talks about every imaginable orchid-topic and I am sure she will have any and all of your questions answered already. I for one am currently swimming in a sea of orchid flowers (it's phal season) and owe every bud to her expertise.
There are indeed quite a few phalaenopsis orchids that have a scent! Some of them that I personally own are: Phal. gigantea and many of its hybrids (flowery, perfumey, with a slight hint of burnt hair - yes, really), Phal. zebrina (white chocolate), Phal. Bronze Maiden (flowery, citrussy), Phal. lueddemanniana f. coerulea (honey), Phal. Lemon Spice (citrussy, tart). The scent isn't particularly strong in those, at least compared to orchids like the Rhynchostylis gigantea that you'll smell in the entire apartment.
Care wise I do pretty much the same as you and it has worked well for me 😄 I personally don't have issues reblooming them either, but considering that most of the widely available Phals are winter bloomers and require a cool-down period to do so, others might have if their apartment is constantly too warm.
Phalaenopsis is the plant that taught me how to water and rest xerophytic plants. It's thanks to that I'm able to bloom cacti now. I saturate it in water and them let it dry until the plant tell me it need water (roots turn from green to silver). I dont water it at all during the winter. I know you can grow them in volcanic rock instead of bark and since you will never change the size of the pot it may be interesting to have a medium that doesnt break down with time, I will try on my next repoting.
Ohhh yes for sure same here they taught me so so much, also glad I am not the only one that looks at root colour with these guys 👀👀👀
@@Houseplantygoodness lso if you are interested in lady slipper, 'Pinocchio' is know to bloom continuously.
Lovely orchid! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Carol 😊💚🌿
I’ve never used Keiki paste but I’ve learned if a Phal is severely abused an dries out to much between waterings then given attention that it needs, they will push out Keikis from the stem. I think it’s because they think their on the verge of death. Lol Yes a drop in night time temperatures helps them put out a spike. 💚💚💚
Phalaenopsis was the first house plant I bought myself. I got them from IKEA and killed several of them (now I know why: insufficient light & overwatering). Then I swore I´d never buy any live house plant again and bought two large plastic Phalaenopsis in IKEA instead. Phalaenopsis became a symbol for me of not being able to care for plants.
Many years later, I walked through a shop, saw a calathea and instantly fell in love. Without a second thought, I got several of them (despite the shop assistant´s horrified look when I happily proclaimed I never kept a house plant alive before). I decided that for that beauty to survive in my home, I will do anything. I had a very stressful first year learning, but majority of them not only survived me and pests, but seem quite happy and easy going now.
So now a few years and many more house plants later, I think that your video finally convinced me to give Phalaenopsis another try 🙂
I do hope that I won´t kill any more of them
Some of the Phala do have interesting foliage. Phal schilleriana and its hybrids is the first that come in mind. I just got myself a schilleriana not long ago and it’s mounted in a 3D printed fixtures. It’s pushing out new leaf and roots now, I think it would give me some bloom next winter (and it should be very pleasingly scented). I am very excited about this orchid.
I also got a Phal japonica, which suppose to have pretty nice scent as well. It haven’t bloom yet, but I think it would need a strong temp drop for it to bloom.
Phal belina is also known for its scent and it’s a summer flowering Phalaenopsis which don’t need a drop in temperature to bloom.
For Keiki paste, you should do it in the summer once the flower is faded, it’s very easy to get a new spike if the temperature is on the lower side. Propagation time is pretty long, so it might not be worth doing it.
For grow Phal from seed, you basically need to TC it, as Phal seeds are super tiny and have no endosperm to provide nutrients for the seed embryo to germinate. In nature they steal energy from fungi, and in vitro you need a TC set up for it. Check out “Here But Not”, he has some pretty in depth video about the process for orchid seed propagation!
I have a North facing window in South UK in a barely heated room. Only place where I have room for my 4 gifted Phalaenopsis. One bloomed a year after receiving it, the others never have, but grow a lot of leaves and are healthy. However, last year, 2 of them made Keiki's, even though the plants seemed happy and healthy. One has grown enough for me to remove it, and although it's not thriving, it's alive. The other one is still attached. I will remove it come late Spring and will move them both near my small South facing window to see if they grow. Not a plant that I'm passionate about, but I adore experimenting :)
Thanks Memo! I have had orchids starting around 12-13 years ago. I have 11 Phalaenopsis (three from pups) ( four in bloom right now!) , only bought two at regular price (USA), I ALWAYS check out the clearance rack for the ones near death as a challenge. and, we almost have the same care. I use plastic orchid pots, orchid bark, and powder fertilizer. Watering (99% of the time just every 7 days) I use those smaller plastic paint buckets that the pots fit in nicely. In winter I fill the buckets (half of them in two rounds), set the stove timer for 33min (easier?) then drain the pots numerous times. Probably soon now I set the timer for 44min (you might guess that this is also how I warm stuff up in the microwave). The biggest pest problem I have is me. I hate it when the plant falls over and breaks a leaf in half! I bought a dendrobium years ago that I need suggestion on how to get it to bloom, never has? four keikies, two of which I'm trying in self watering with the PON I got myself for Christmas. Lastly I will research what E.P. just commented on those orchids for the scents. Not really sure I want more though?
Mine always bloom at the same time, late winter early spring, no matter when I buy them. I think they need a nighttime dip in temperature, because the flower spikes always first appear in October.
I have a similar experience of pests as you. Since phals are non toxic, I keep them where my cats can get at the aerial roots and fresh new flower spikes. So my blooms are always slightly gnawed off 😂
I think I read somewhere that the loss of scent was not on purpose, but a side effect of hybridising them for showier blooms
Hi Memo. Didn’t realise that they needed watering that often have been watering my mini one a lot less than that😮
However saying that it’s been blooming pretty much continuously since I was gifted it by a friend nearly a year ago. Going to have to up my game, poor mite not sure if I have ever fertilised her either, always terrified I’m going to kill it lol.
Nice video. Darling lizard😃
Hi, I also love orchids and I do have some phalaenopsis - but most of them are botanical phalaenopsis or primary hybrids . So to your questiom about the scent of the blooms - yes they have a scent and besides one of the botanical phalaenopsis the scent is wonderful, not very intensiv, rather pleasantly unobtrusive. Those phalenopsis are much more sensitive in care than the multi hybridss. I think the scent got lost by hybridization which was surely done to get a plant which van easier live in our houses and which has bigger and more blooms. The fact that a phalaenopsis multi hybrid doesn‘t bloom for a rather long time after we baught it blooming is that the young phalaenopsis normally needed about five years to become adult and being alble to bloom. The laboratories where they are grown cannot afford waiting such a long time. Therefore the young phalaenopsis are treated with hormons to bloom afrer about one up to two years. (Otherwise they would cost a lot more money) after bringing them into our houses they „fall back“ in their normal age without being pushed and need time to recover. I have some phalaenopsis babies growing that are now about four years old from the time that I took them out of the bottle with fertile soil. Up to this time it took already about two years from the pollination . None of them bloomed up to now which is quiet normal. 😉 phalanopsis have a different time window - the oldest known phalaenopsis is about 200 years old … (I hope I could write this without too many mistakes, it‘s a long time ago that I learned your language. 🙈) Wish you all the best and am looking forward to your next video. Marie,
I have 7 that I have acquired over the years from big box stores. Regular and mini. Right now, they are all blooming together. I think it has to do with the longer day length of spring. I didnt do anything different as far as light and temp. They are on a grow shelf in front of an east facing window.
Regarding mealy bugs - I had a diefenbachia with a mealy bug problem (no longer as I've finally sold the bloody thing!) and the mealy bugs got onto one of my orchids (it sat next door to the dief). Only one or two got onto the orchid but where they sucked sap out of the leaves, the leaves wept and died and the whole plant went in the end and I had to bin it. (I did manage to kill off all the mealys before I sold the dief so I've not passed them on!) So I don't think they'd usually get mealys but if they happen to get visitors they seem quite hard hit by them.
Ohhh nooo I am sorry you went through that, but good to know thanks for sharing with everyone, yeah dieffenbachia I find are very attractive to mealybugs 😔😔😔💚🌿
I like orchids, although I usually prefer "weird" ones (oncidiums, ...) but I already bought a few phalaenopsis orchids when the patterns on their blooms is pretty enough for me.
I also got around 10 from Ebay from someone who needed space in her home and would have otherwise thrown them away (I couldn't let that happen, could I? :D )
I don't struggle to get phalaenopsis blooming again, they basically start sprouting flower spikes at the same time, after the temperature got down, so end of Autumn or beginning of winter. Some are still flowering now.
But I struggle to get the not phalaenopsis to bloom, though. I don't give up on them, I'll probably have to look for information about that, but we'll see. I love these flowers so much and don't manage to get them again :D
I'll have a look if missorchidgirl has tips for these other orchids :)
I’ve actually just gotten into orchids after sticking to tropical house plants for many many years.
No. You don’t have too many Phals. You can NEVER have too many Phals 😂
There are mottled leaf Phals out there, much like the mottled leaves of the slipper orchids you mention. I have the Shilleriana, but I also have a couple of hydrids that are mottled leaf.
You won’t find them at the supermarket, but you’ll find them at specialist orchid suppliers.
The main pest I’ve had on my Phals are mealy bugs. But I’ll generally find them on the stem or within the blooms. A cotton bud & 70% isopropyl alcohol will take care of them.
I think the main myth is that it needs a resting period. This orchid genre does not rest. Once it finishes blooming, it goes into root production & then starts working on new leaves.
I fertilise with an orchid fert all year, and in the non-winter months I give them 200ppm of CalMag & 40ppm seaweed as supplement each month.
My media is super simple. Good quality Pine Bark and some perlite.
Not sure if you touched on whether to cut off a spike after it has bloomed. Does a spent spike need to be cut before the phal produces another one? Or will it bloom on an old spike that's still green? Thanks for all the info. Enjoy your channel so much!
Mealybugs have been a major issue for my phals. Even a small number causes significant damage.
Primero de todo diré que yo no tengo ni idea de orquídeas , pero en la tienda de mi barrio de plantas , me regalaron unas cuantas porque ya las tenían sin flores y así no las podían vender ( se fueron de vacaciones y estaban así ) , yo no les hice ni hago nada , salvo que están en la zona de más luz brillante pero ojo ! sin sol directo , las riego de vez en cuando si si es así ! no tengo un orden en esto 😅 y siempre que las riego pongo un poquito de fertilizante para orquídeas , con estos cuidados seguro que horrorosos , mis orquídeas no paran de crecer y de florecer ...... Y para colmo y como no corto las varas florales , normalmente me salen keijis , doy mi palabra que esto lo hacen mis orquídeas por ellas mismas ; en conclusión creo que sí las dejas estar a ellas tranquilas y las das un poquito de cuidados , van a estar genial y van a florecer mucho también . Un saludo 👍💌
I love the leaves. Flower not a necessary for me😊
I get mealybugs on mine