When should my orchid start growing shoots and bloom?
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Phals. VERY slow. VERY stubborn to give blooms sometimes. The way they grow is, after blooming they grow a leaf or two [can take anywhere between 10-14 months] before giving blooms, often when there's a drop in nighttime temperatures to below 20°C [68°F]. And during the time, you gotta fertilise high nitrogen during leaf growth and high potash during flowering, but half the dose as orchids are sensitive to ferts
Depends on how long you've been waiting and how healthy your orchid is. As @Araceae said, they are very slow growers. And they only bloom when their needs are met. As long as it's overall healthy and not at back, they should be blooming at least once a year for several weeks/ months. If they don't, the two most likely suspects at fault are light and temperature. As @Araceae said, most phals need a slight drop in temperature as a signal that is time to bloom. Especially in climate controlled apartments or in warmer regions, that might be an issue. They might not even need a drop beneath 20°/68° . Some only require a relative drop by a few degrees over night for a few weeks, that might be achieved by placing it in a slightly cooler room or closer to the window pane as long as it doesn't get direct light in the day there.
As far as I can see from your oasis picture miley looks happy, but a bit dark. This might point to light being the issue. They are sold as low light orchids, but all that means is that they can survive in low light and do not need absolutely high light like other orchid genera. They will grow slower and possibly not bloom in too dark of a spot. Indirect bright light is where it's at. Don't place it too warm/ bright, but look for a brighter spot without it setting the sun directly (to much and the leaves will burn). I'm a pinch artificial light from a normal desk lamp might help.
You also seem to have repotted recently of I understand you correctly. If so, how long ago was this, how were the roots, how much did you disturb them/ how different is the repot me medium from the one it was in?
Good luck for now. I'm sure it will bloom soon.
As far as I can see from your oasis picture miley looks happy, but a bit dark. This might point to light being the issue. They are sold as low light orchids, but all that means is that they can survive in low light and do not need absolutely high light like other orchid genera. They will grow slower and possibly not bloom in too dark of a spot. Indirect bright light is where it's at. Don't place it too warm/ bright, but look for a brighter spot without it setting the sun directly (to much and the leaves will burn). I'm a pinch artificial light from a normal desk lamp might help.
You also seem to have repotted recently of I understand you correctly. If so, how long ago was this, how were the roots, how much did you disturb them/ how different is the repot me medium from the one it was in?
Good luck for now. I'm sure it will bloom soon.
@MusicalRedmint I got her for a birthday gift in September. So I haven’t had her for to long. She is by a window so I think she gets enough light.
Those are great pictures. It seems just a tad dehydrated but nothing major. In that case, I wouldn't worry too much. Basically, most phals in our homes follow the same yearly cycle (if nothing bad happens to disrupt it): after the bloom has finished, it enters a vegetative growth phase focusing on leaves and roots. This phase is the most important one for healthy orchids. The better the vegetative structures, the more energy it can expand on blooms, giving you bigger and better shows. Of course, it also makes your orchid healthier and more resilient. When the temperatures drop in your home it takes that as a signal to focus on blooms. Leaf and root growth (almost) comes to a halt and it stays growing the spike. Depending on the orchid's, general conditions and health that spike takes some weeks, maybe months to grow until it opens its buds (if your home conditions follow the seasons in mid to late winter). The bloom, again, in most cases can last for a very long time as well. Most bloom several months - provided it isn't stressed to much - until the flowers drop and it starts with vegetative growth again.
That is why we don't like to repot our move then when they are in bloom, because the blooms might be shortened.. it's also the reason why we should cut the spikes, when the orchid is stressed or we notice it blooming "too much". Longer blooms means more "useless" energy is put into the blooms that is needed elsewhere. It also means the orchid doesn't really grow the structures needed for its recovery.
If you got your plant last year in September, it probably means the spike was artificially induced by lowering greenhouse temperatures for sale. In my area at least, the cool down has happened several weeks back and since then they have been growing spikes. Only few already have flowers. In any case your orchid was a bit "out of sync" with the seasons, which means it would take longer than a year to bloom. The rest really depends on the conditions in your home. If your house has ac and the temperature doesn't vary, try to find a space where it's about 5°C/10°F cooler and see what happens. Good luck
That is why we don't like to repot our move then when they are in bloom, because the blooms might be shortened.. it's also the reason why we should cut the spikes, when the orchid is stressed or we notice it blooming "too much". Longer blooms means more "useless" energy is put into the blooms that is needed elsewhere. It also means the orchid doesn't really grow the structures needed for its recovery.
If you got your plant last year in September, it probably means the spike was artificially induced by lowering greenhouse temperatures for sale. In my area at least, the cool down has happened several weeks back and since then they have been growing spikes. Only few already have flowers. In any case your orchid was a bit "out of sync" with the seasons, which means it would take longer than a year to bloom. The rest really depends on the conditions in your home. If your house has ac and the temperature doesn't vary, try to find a space where it's about 5°C/10°F cooler and see what happens. Good luck
@MusicalRedmint I moved her to another window with more light and cooler. So will the spikes start to grow again?
Maybe. But i wouldn't advise it, so close after a bloom. I think i misread the first post as "last September". However, if it just bloomed a few months ago, I would advise against forcing it to rebloom so soon. In the long term, you will damage the orchid. Also, you will have fewer and fewer blooms. Until it can no longer support blooms.
The leaf it is growing at the very least will allow down. Many times it will not pick up growing it after the bloom bit start a new one, which also really doesn't look great. And as I stated before: it does need those leaves and roots to keep healthy and to be able to bloom in the first place.
I know many people induce blooms two times a year, but even they leave more time in between.
If you want to try anyway, take care not to place it into direct light in it's new place. Phal leaves can burn very easily.
As for watering: I would never go solely by a schedule but watch the plant. One of the leaves in the picture appears ever so slightly droopy. Which might (only might) be a sign of too little water over time. It's always better to water too little than too much, especially with orchids, so I wouldn't do anything but watch for now.
A good rule for watering orchids to watch the roots inside the pot, should they be visible: are they silver/ gray? Then you can water. Do they look green or reddish? You can hold off.
Of you look at the roots a few times, you can learn quite quickly what schedule your orchid needs
The leaf it is growing at the very least will allow down. Many times it will not pick up growing it after the bloom bit start a new one, which also really doesn't look great. And as I stated before: it does need those leaves and roots to keep healthy and to be able to bloom in the first place.
I know many people induce blooms two times a year, but even they leave more time in between.
If you want to try anyway, take care not to place it into direct light in it's new place. Phal leaves can burn very easily.
As for watering: I would never go solely by a schedule but watch the plant. One of the leaves in the picture appears ever so slightly droopy. Which might (only might) be a sign of too little water over time. It's always better to water too little than too much, especially with orchids, so I wouldn't do anything but watch for now.
A good rule for watering orchids to watch the roots inside the pot, should they be visible: are they silver/ gray? Then you can water. Do they look green or reddish? You can hold off.
Of you look at the roots a few times, you can learn quite quickly what schedule your orchid needs
Then it's normal that it doesn't bloom now. That leaf it is growing, which is a great sign. Your plant probably would bloom in about a year from now, if left to itself.
If you really want to enjoy a second bloom because you feel you haven't gotten enough out of the first one, which I can sympathize with, then cooling it down is an option. It looks overall healthy and has five leaves, so you could give it a go. Even so, I would wait a bit. Maybe for that leaf to grow a lot bigger, but at the very least 1-2 months. Just imagine, if it blooms for months afterward, there will be little rest - again - before the next bloom and less time to grow leaves, which are vital structures.
I would say, it's fine to do so once or twice, but generally the phalaenopses we buy nowadays already are cultivated in a way that they tend to overbloom (bloom more easily, longer and with way more flowers than is healthy for the plant). So even without inducing extra blooms, we might end up with plants that literally bloom themselves to death. Warning signs of that are that the new leaves are getting smaller and smaller. For healthy phals, each new leaf should be at least as big as the one before it. If you see good leaf growth, and your orchid looks healthy, I guess you can safely treat yourself to a second bloom every other year. Still overall, phals, as already said, need lots of patience. They are very slow growers. Even more so, when you are a bloom person 🤷♀️
If you really want to enjoy a second bloom because you feel you haven't gotten enough out of the first one, which I can sympathize with, then cooling it down is an option. It looks overall healthy and has five leaves, so you could give it a go. Even so, I would wait a bit. Maybe for that leaf to grow a lot bigger, but at the very least 1-2 months. Just imagine, if it blooms for months afterward, there will be little rest - again - before the next bloom and less time to grow leaves, which are vital structures.
I would say, it's fine to do so once or twice, but generally the phalaenopses we buy nowadays already are cultivated in a way that they tend to overbloom (bloom more easily, longer and with way more flowers than is healthy for the plant). So even without inducing extra blooms, we might end up with plants that literally bloom themselves to death. Warning signs of that are that the new leaves are getting smaller and smaller. For healthy phals, each new leaf should be at least as big as the one before it. If you see good leaf growth, and your orchid looks healthy, I guess you can safely treat yourself to a second bloom every other year. Still overall, phals, as already said, need lots of patience. They are very slow growers. Even more so, when you are a bloom person 🤷♀️