Hi Whitecat, according to the entry in the Exotic Orchids of Asia this orchid does flower eight to eleven days after a thunderstorm.

Seeing i avoid going to hot places for hols. i have no idea what sort of a temperature drop a thunderstorm would bring.

It is a tropical lowland orchid so daily temps where it grows would be in the order of 20+C min to just over 30C+ max with very high humidity. YUK! According to the book the orchid has a wide distribution through the lowlands of South East Asia.

Perhaps you are not giving it enough of the tropical lowland treatment for it to initiate blooming. In other words maybe you have to grow it warmer so that the plant gets more of a cool down effect when you move it around in your growing spaces.

I think I remember a discussion about this one on the Orchid Source Forum. You might want to check it out.

K

Shoot! The grower said it took intermediate conditions, and those temps are definitely warm.

In the house, it's getting 16C to 27C, or 60F to 80F, and I just bumped up to the 80 from about 75, or 24C.

No way is that plant gonna get the warmer temps, even outside during the summer.

Just looked - Jay's says it's warm to hot. Usually I check a couple of sources before buying a plant, but this was an inexpensive, last-minute impulse buy when I was placing the order.

Do we ever learn??

Thanks, Whitecat8

Hey WC, I can only relay my experience with this plant. It has flowered at random times for me, always during warm weather (okay, that's about 10 months of the year). We probably do get a temperature drop in summer when it rains, but we're talking dropping from 95F to 88F, so that isn't "cool" by anybody's estimation.
It sure does grow like a weed; mine started out as a couple of stalks, now I have it on three different mounts. It gets a whole line of keikis along the inflorescence sometimes.
I'm pretty sure that it forms buds repeatedly from the same nodes, too. And it can hold those buds for months before blooming (whenever the stars align just right).
You might try flooding it with water for awhile, see if that will trigger it.
If anybody has some ideas that might work, I'm game!
Cheers - Nancy

Thanks, Kev - Over there, there's a mention of Irma helping someone who lives farther S. than FL but also mention of someone in Indianapolis having one that flowered.

Nancy - Most people who are flowering this live in very warm places like FL, so maybe it's not meant to be a Minnesota bloomer.

Thanks, y'all. WC8

I had mine in PA when i lived there and it bloomed fine.
They can be grown, and flowered intermediate through hot temps. The key factor isnt just after a thunderstorm, but rather after a thunderstorm with a drop in barometric pressure as in hurricanes/cyclones/typhoones of the tropics. mine always bloomed inside up north after a noreaster. They can produce buds and hold them for months until the proper cnditions, then they open and just for the day. But they smell SSOOOO fantastic. Key for more flowers then keikis is more sun, I grow mine outside, full sun all day, they can take less light, but you will get keikis too. Also, they can nloom from the same nodes repeatedly. Hope that helps...
John

John - great info! Thanks. Mine's in the 2nd row in the E/SE window under T8s. Next week, the Wonderlites go in, and from what I hear, everything will burst into bloom the next day! :)

This summer, it can have full sun outside.

The bit about barometric pressure makes sense. How would plants in the house know water was hitting the ground outside if nothing else changed?

This brings back good memories - my family used to track barometric pressure before a fishing trip.

Thanks again, WC8

sure thing
just remember, DONT move plants that are inside, to direct sun outside, acclimate them....
John

John, thanks for your thoughtfulness.

I'm mentoring a 16-year old cousin who's brand new to orchids, and it took me a year to think to ask her if they have softened water. Ack! Turns out they do, but she can use RO water from upstairs. Thank goodness, she's had only 1 Phal NOID.

Yes, I acclimate plants that go outside, probably too slowly. :)

Thanks again, WC8

I bought one of these last summer. At the time it had a couple spikes on it with what looked like the beginnings of buds, but for months they did absolutely nothing. Now for some reason two of those buds have started to develop. It's been growing in relatively constant conditions in a converted closet under a bank of t5s. Not sure what could have prompted this.

Hopefully I'm home from work during the magic few hours of bloom time.

Tyler

Hey Tyler, the flowers usually last a day, so you should be able to see them, chances are you'll smell them first.
Have you had any winter storms or front move through the area?

No storms, but the temperature has been fluctuating wildly over the past couple weeks. Some days a 15-20C temp difference from one day to the next. No temperature difference inside, but those temperature differences outside must come with quite a change in barometric pressure.

Tyler