This time of year I usually feed them for growth. Then starting around late August I switch to a food that encorages blooming. They start their spikes in late October. I've found that they really don't need a cooling down period as it's still pretty warm here in NYC when they start to spike. I think mine respond more to the change in daylight hours.

Just about all of the flowering houseplants available at retail (including Phalaenopsis) have been 'forced' which allows them to bloom out of season... once. You will go crazy trying to duplicate the process by which the plants were forced so in a while the plants will revert to a more natural bloom cycle, one based upon light and temperature cycles prevailing in the area they are being grown. Even indoors the cycle of seasons can be felt and responded to by plants. So it is more important IMO to give as much light and warmth as possible right now and through the summer for all the phals and when fall comes there will be a natural cool down for all of them. A minority of them will not respond well to a program that subtle and these may have to be coerced. The best way I think to do that is put them outside in very early fall and simply leave them out, day and night until night temps get too cool ~60F.

H

I agree with Howard but instead of putting mine outside, I put them in a second junk/bed room, open the window and close the heat vent AND the door to the rest of the house. I have them under flo lights and keep it up until they spike or the temp gets down to 50 F. I have two P. equestris, a P. violacea, a P. Penang Girl 'Ching Ruey', a P. Shenandoah Fire 'Ember', and a Dtps. Little Blue Bird that don't need the cooling to bloom as they all are sequential bloomers. The other 23 do.

Chryss

In theory it is possible to have a "Phal". collection of hybrids and species that will have blooms at all times of the year because some initiate flowering by being warmed up rather than being cooled down.

I never put mine outside (death zone anytime of year) but i do have two climate zones inside.
1) Normal Sydney, Australia house temps. No central heating. Low about 10C. mid winter, cold nights outside.
2) Warmer with direct filtered sunlight. Low 18C. conditions as in 1

What to grow, seeing i am a "Novice" Phal. grower someone might suggest a list of easy to grow and flower "Phals" .

Emphasis on the easy. Some grow nice leaves and are beasts to flower, but that is another story.

Baldan's 'Kaleidoscope' is very nice phal, with a stripey flower. It's also the most durable one in my collection and the easiest to bloom.

Concentrate on growing your phals as well as you can, and they will set spikes when they are ready. A repot might be welcomed if it's been 9 mo to a year. There is usually a nice burst of growth for a couple of months after a repot.

I would also suggest you get a couple of summer-blooming phals when you get a chance. These bloom fewer flowers on shorter spikes for a long, long time, often putting up flowers continuously for a year or so.

There was a thread here about summer bloomers a few weeks ago. Look for waxy reds and magentas, also waxy yellows, especially darker yellows with short spikes. These have a large proportion of summer-bloomers in their ancestry.

I agree Baldan's is an easy bloomer. So is Newberry Parfait, a big white with thick substance and a clear pink edge and pink lip. Very lovely-- it said to be the most-purchased phals in France. Said to bloom constantly-- and mine has been in spike or bloom for over a year. A sure winner for yourself or a gift.

Thanks to all for your helpful advice. Seeing that most of my phals are noids, I'll let them decide for themselves when they want to spike.
Is it possible that one of these noids is a Baldan's Kaleidoscope?? When I looked up this phal's photo I had a distinct case of deja vu:

Here is mine

{{gwi:172271}}

My husband chose it when we visited the Bahan Orchid Park in April. It was on special at $20 (!) and listed as "orchids -various genera -sale" (would you believe it?) So I decided to regard it as a really unknown noid whose colour, shape and markings we both enjoy. This is how it looked when we got it. If it is 'Kaleidoscope' or a similar hybrid, do you think it is a summer bloomer?

Judy

Looks like Baldan's K to me. Very likely, too-- there have been a lot of them offered this year. I don't know if it's a summer bloomer, (I don't think so) but it's a lotsa bloomer, so you'll get many flowers out of it over a long period.

Think like this: big whites, pinks, and stripes = "Standards" or older-type phals. Non-standards are often summer bloomers. In general, tall spikes are more likely to be standards, or have a lot of the winter-blooming species in them. Shorter spikes are more likely to be summer bloomers or have lots of summer blooming species in them. (Not always, of course).

Sogo Grape 'Fireball' (short spikes of waxy, intense red) being offered all over this year is a non-standard, aka "novelty" phal, and has a large percentage summer bloomers in the ancestry.

Thanks for the info, Mehitabel. I'll add the new name to its tag. As for possible summer bloomers, I haven't seen anything here like those beautiful, waxy, intensely hued phals that are posted so often on the forum (and that always cause me sharp and repeated pangs of jealousy). However, there's another meeting of the IOS in a few weeks' time. There was a stand of phals last time that looked enticing from a distance, but I didn't get closer because by that time I'd run out of cash! I really would like one (or two) summer bloomers if I can find some. I'll let you know.
Judy

Hey, Judy. I definitely share the passion for the intensely colored waxies. They are just gorgeous, and certainly not common. They are starting to show up more and more frequently, so people must love them.

I also love the shiny/silkies harlequins -- I know you have one of these. Also yellows, and multifloras. Also pink stripes, french dots, and whites.

In other words, I love them all :D

As Miss Piggy says in the Figgy Pudding Song "Just put some right here" LOL

Arthurm,

You said easy, I have 2 that are both easy. Small blooms, sequential, and in its 3rd year with me went sequential for an entire year, took a month off while growing a new spike and is now off on another sequential journey of blooming !!! It's a P. equestris 'Riverbend' and my other one is, again, small blooms, sequential and EASY = Dtps. Little Blue Bird, got it from Arbec Orchids, and equestris from Seagrove.

P. equestris 'Riverbend'
{{gwi:164069}}

Dtps. Little Blue Bird (Dtps. Kenneth Schubert x P. pulcherrima)
{{gwi:172272}}

The blooms on both are 1+3/8", just measured, and need I add that EASY just happens to be what they are in MY environment !!??!!

HTH, Chryss