i have a
"Den.Kingianum alba" white
and a
"Sle Hsin Buu Lady"

i have no idea what that means, but its what is written on the tags. although, the Sle one looks like some letters are missing

Anyway, they both have lots of new growth but no flowers. I bought them both at the orchid show back in May? April? the one here in Sacramento.

any suggestions as to why they are not blooming would be appreciated.

thanks

Thanks for posting a question to the forum! Scott here, a member of the board of directors of the Sacramento Orchid Society.

It's always good to have as much information as possible - such as where you're growing your orchids such as in a window (and which window and how close) or in a greenhouse or under lights. What type of pot is it in and what type of medium (soil? - is it bark, how fine or sphagnum moss). How often you are watering and whether or not you are using a fertilizer and if so, what kind and how much, etc.

First, I'll respond in TWO SEPARATE posts - one for each plant.

We'll start with your Den. Kingianum alba white. This is a DENDROBIUM orchid (actually it has recently been reclassified, but you don't have to worry about that.) It is a species (found in the wild) native to Australia where it grows along rock faces at the edge of forests usually near streams. In fact, in Australia they commonly call it the rock orchid.

Some are more compact than others and some have been bred to be more heat tolerant and even to bloom more than once per year!

Kingianum is the species name and alba means white. This species can have many different flower colors - ranging from pinks and salmons, almost purples to white and even polka dot or striped!

It is a COOL GROWING species, but you should be able to bloom it here in Sacramento with a few easy steps.

You didn't specify if it was in bloom when you purchased it. Usually this orchid only blooms once per year - in the last winter or early spring. It can be VERY SHOWY and produce a lot of flowers IF grown properly! To grow it properly, you have to follow a few basic steps which I'll go into later.

Rapid growth during this time of year is normal - spring through fall. During this time, it should receive bright indirect light (not direct sun). A South Facing window if you're growing it in your home is ideal - with perhaps an East facing window just not giving enough light... and a West facing window perhaps TOO hot and bright. North facing windows will NOT produce enough light. The plant should be withing 1-2 feet of the window. Normal temperatures during Spring - Fall of what you keep your house is usually fine, however it will need cooler temperatures in winter.

If it get sunburned or at the hottest part of the day, if the leaves feel warm to the touch, pull the plant a little further away or put up a sheer curtain. Growing more than two feet from the window in the middle of the room may allow the plant to grow but it won't be able to store up the energy it will need to bloom.

You should be watering regularly during this time of year - allowing the plant to ALMOST dry out before watering thoroughly. The plant SHOULD NOT be kept always soggy or wet - allow it to almost dry out... if you're not sure, don't water!

You should be using an orchid fertilizer with MOST watering (we recommend using a 1/4th solution of fertilizer (1/4 of what the instructions say) and water EVERY watering 3/4 times. On the 4th watering, simply let room temperature water FLOW through the plant, to remove any buildup of fertilizers and salts. When you water, water sufficiently so that water pours out the bottom for at least thirty seconds. If in bark, repeat this once or twice. If in moss, once is enough. FERTILIZER is important in that in addition to sunlight, it helps the plant build up the "fat reserves" it takes to bloom.

It needs BRIGHT indirect sunlight to successfully grow. It will be growing all spring and summer and usually blooms once per year in late winter or early spring. In order to get it to bloom well, you MUST give it a cool winter rest period.

A rest period means that you STOP watering and fertilizing (depending on your humidity you may have to mist or lightly water your plant several times just enough to keep the canes from shriveling). You should essentially STOP watering your plant from Halloween until January or February or until you start seeing flower stalks or buds. Once you see flower stalks or buds, you can resume watering and lightly fertilizing. During this period, in addition to no water, you should cool the orchid.

So, NO WATER after Halloween and NO FERTILIZER until you see blooms. You may mist the plant or lightly water it if you see the canes or stalks begin to shrivel, but this only happens if its very warm and not humid enough.

If you water over the winter and continue to fertilize, it probably won't kill the plant - but it probably won't flower or won't flower well - and may produce a lot of keikeis (baby orchids).

This orchid prefers COOLER TEMPERATURES during the winter than most people keep their homes. It would prefer daytime temps to be no more than say 60 degrees with nighttime temperatures dropping to as low as 35 degrees. Do not let it go below 35 degrees or it will be killed. You can do this by placing it outdoors in a protected area (make sure rain won't water it!) or putting it in an unheated room with the windows open (you still must give it bright, indirect light). Without this winter rest period from water and warmer temperatures, it may continue to grow and may even produce a few flowers, but if you give it this rest cool period it will produce MANY blooms as long as the plant is being fertilized and receiving enough light during the summer growth times.

This plant also tends to produce MANY keikeis (Hawaiian for baby) from the canes. This is especially true if you water through what should be the winter rest period. You can leave these keikeis to produce a large specimen plant or you can remove them and pot them up (once they have 4-6 roots that are at least 2-3" long on each baby plant).

You should repot about every two years... most people pot these in shallow clay pots using fine fir orchid bark - but you can also use sphagnum orchid moss (its probably best to keep using what your plant is planted in). These Dendrobiums grow QUICKLY so you can probably divide it at least every two years!

I hope that answers your questions? Any others?
--Scott

"Sle Hsin Buu Lady"

Your second orchid is a cattleya-like orchid. Instead of SLE it should be SLC. which stands for Sophrolealiocattleya. Other than that, the spelling is correct and no characters are missing. Essentially, it is a cross between several types of orchids. But for the beginning grower, it has care essentially the same as a cattleya orchid. You can visit our website http://www.SacramentoOrchids.com and find a cattleya caresheet under "growing orchids"

Slc. Hsin Buu Lady is actually a beautiful, fuchsia deep red orchid that normally blooms with many flowers. There are several clones with different characteristics, but most of them are good. I believe it is a cross between Slc. Wendy's Valentine and L. anceps. Honestly, I LOVE this cross and have several and am always very happy when it blooms!

It is usually a compact growing cattleya and would be fine to grow and bloom in an east or south facing window. It can bloom twice per year!

Like all cattleya orchids, it wants to COMPLETELY dry out between waterings. DO NOT keep it evenly moist or allow it to get soggy. It should be completely dry for at least 2-3 days before you water thoroughly. Since I don't know if it is in orchid bark or sphagnum moss, I'll give directions for both:

If in bark, you should essentially water and fertilize ABOUT once per week - allowing water to flow through the medium and out the bottom of the pot for thirty seconds. Repeat this at least once or twice if the bark is "new". You should FERTILIZE with 3/4 waterings. Use a WEAK or diluted 1/4th strength orchid fertilizer and fertilize 3 weeks with this. On the fourth week, just use room temperature water to FLUSH out all the built up fertilizer and salts. You may have to adjust this watering to be slightly MORE frequent or less frequent - again, allowing the medium to dry out between waterings.

If in moss, the plant is probably in a clay pot. Allow the moss to dry out completely between waterings. Water as above, until the moss is damp wet but not soaking wet or soggy. Usually in moss one thirty second watering is enough.

During this time of year the pseudobulbs (the stems of the plant below the leaves) should be plump. If they are withered or dessicated you may be either OVER or UNDER watering. If you are OVER watering you may have killed the roots.

Misting usually does more harm than good but orchid do like humidity! Place companion house plants such as other orchids or ferns around the plant or place it on a humidity tray or try full of pebbles with water in it. Do not let hte bottom of the pot or the roots touch the water, however.

The plant should be CLOSE to an east facing window (within a foot or two) or about 2-3 feet from a south facing window. A little further back or with a sheet curtain a West facing window will also work - but not a north facing window which may give enough light to grow but not to bloom. Growing more than 2-3 feet from a window or in the middle of a rooom will not give enough light to bloom.

Repot every two years, or if the medium begins to break down or become mushy or if the plant is growing OUT of the pot. YOu can choose to move it to a bigger pot OR divide the plant if each "half" of the plant will have at least 3-5 pseudo bulbs. You should ONLY repot when you see short new bright green root tips.

So, let dry between waterings, make sure it receives bright indirect light and fertilize regularily. No special drops in temperature are needed - it will be happy at normal home conditions!

Good luck!