Debbie,

You might be interested in a sequential bloomer. I have a P. equestris that just finished a year long blooming cycle, took a month off to grow another spike and just yesterday started the sequential blooming cycle again. There are a lot like that but usually have small blooms. It's still on my top ten list !!! There's a 2006 pix of it on the "top 10 doers" post. I'll put a pix here from today with perspective on bloom size.

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Here's Dtps. Little Bluebird that is also sequential, almost the same size as equestris, and you can see by the date that it's a fall bloomer.

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Hope that helps !!

Chryss

No, Phals are available year round, and most of those hybrids (maybe almost all) are winter bloomers. They are forced to bloom out of season in greenhouses.

You need summer bloomers that will still be blooming in the fall. Phals with Doritis, violacea and bellina in them will continue to bloom while you wait on your winter bloomers to kick in.

I have many phals blooming all year, just different ones.

Brooke

Debbie, it's not a hybrid, but I have a cornu-cervi that is a reliable fall bloomer and the flowers are very interesting.

Mike

Hi, Debbie. Well, I agree with everyone here:

As richard said, most phals that you see a lot of locally are called "Standards". These were the earliest hybridized, and are winter bloomers. The Standards are the big pinks, whites and stripes. They have a soft, papery texture, tall spikes and big flowers.

However, as Brooke said, there are several summer- and even all-year blooming species that are being used more and more to hybridize. These hybrids are called "novelty" phals. They often have shorter spikes and smaller flowers, and fewer flowers on one spike. Even so, they put on a nice show, and they keep opening new buds on the old spikes. They often have a heavy or waxy texture, and the flowers last a long time. I love them. The colors are glorious.

Equestris (the first bloom in Chryss' photos) is a fall and spring bloomer. The multifloras with multitudes of small flowers usually have equestris parentage. Lots of these are really beautiful and easy bloomers. Gold Tris is a nice one, but there are many, many really lovely ones.

Venosa (used to produce yellows) is also a fall bloomer. It produces multiple spikes, so again, a nice show. You can spot hybrids with a lot of venosa in them by the white center spot.

Doritis hybrids look like Chryss' Little Bluebird, tall spikes with lots of smaller flowers, often a radiant magenta. Flowers keep opening on the same spike, so bloom last a long time. Doritis hybrids are summer bloomers. Hausermann has some nice ones.

Violacea hybrids often have a dark pink or red triangle in the center of the flower. An example of this would be Brother Sara Gold. Also Orchid World (on sale at Hausermanns). You will see other examples of this "vio triangle" at Normans. These are gorgeous, and often fragrant.

To find summer bloomers, I'd suggest you go to Norman's at orchids.com, and look at all the phals. Especially, read the descriptions where available. All the dark, waxy "reds", all the waxy spotted and barred, and many of the yellows will be summer-fall or all-year bloomers. Also, any that are described as "waxy" or "heavy substance". Norman's has a large variety of these.

Or call someone like Oak Hill, and ask them for suggestions for summer-fall bloomers, or "novelty" phals. Sogo Grape is one of these waxy "reds" that is available all over right now.

Good luck. You will love these. They are really beautiful and unique.

awesome. thanks for all the info. I'll certainly look into this.