well the plant in question isn't in a chameleon cage nor does it have anything to do with chameleons but I figured I'd ask here cause I assume there must be some plant people or gardeners on the site.

so my gf bought 2 orchid hybrids, one for my mother, and the other for her own mother, when purchased they both had their flowers fully opened, since then flowers on both plants have fallen as well as the little 'side stem' where the flowers grow from. I made the cut as noted on the care tag, but since then, the stem has not grown whatsoever, there's just a little dried up piece where I cut it. Leaves at base of plant are green and healthy looking so I know the thing is still alive.

But my reason for posting is; the plant at gf's house has regrown it's flowers since they cut it, they're still in the 'closed' position but they look like they'll open soon. Both plants get pretty much the same care, near a window and watered about once a week when the moss is dry. So I'm kind of lost here wondering why ours has not grown an inch yet theirs is about to flower again... a 15$ plant that's pretty boring visually, all you can look at is a long green stem held up by a stick lol. So far I'm thinking I didn't cut it at the right place or the window where we've put it isn't getting enough light.


Any ideas? thanks in advance

You probably have a Phalaenopsis cultivar...sometimes they regrow flowers from the same flower stem but sometimes they don't. I think it is better to give the plant a rest time and let it prepare for the next flowering...how long did the flowers last? The can ususally last for months, if they faded away in a couple of weeks then you are doing something wrong. I would advice you to wait for the next flowring which will happen in 5-6 months (if there is nothing wrong with the care you are giving to your plant)...
Bye
F.

Agreed.
The theory of cutting above the third "knuckle" on the fower stem (3rd from bottom) to get a new flowering sooner often works but not always.
Make sure the light is somewhat filtered and that you feed at least twice a month at 1/2 the recommended dosage on the orchid food container.
The key to orchids is location! They can go quite awhile without water but if placed in the house where the temp, light, etc is not right they will not flourish.
It takes some trial and error and possibly the loss of a plant or two to find that perfect location but once you do...they're pretty worry-free.
By the way they all have different requirements, so if you decide to collect a few different varieties ...they won't all necessarily thrive in that one spot.

-Brad

Also to ad to what every one else has said most of the orchids you buy from stores are tressed into frowering so they can have them all flowering at the same time.many of these may take up to two years to recover from this. trust me the wait and effort is well worth it.I had one Phalaenopsis that flowered for 10 months then not for four then again for 8.

Are we sure it's not an Epidendrum vs a Phalaenopsis?
I mean they're $15 buck plants... I would automatically think "sun orchid" for that price.

granted, they're not usually planted with moss
but a pict would help greatly with the general species ID.

__________________
"In Target earlier today I learned there is really no good way to answer a 5-year-old asking you why you are looking at his mother's butt so much..."

if you want your orchids to flower, go buy a bottle of 13 dollar fox farm big bloom or if you like to go the cheap route you can do that as well with a bloom formula at home depot or such

simplyhydro.com
Big Bloom (0.1-0.3-0.7) is 100% organic. Biologically alive formula is an instant plant food. Dramatically enhances flavor and aroma. Promotes strong, extra large multiple blooms and will not burn plants. Can be used in combination with Grow Big Liquid Plant Food for a complete nutritional program.

a couple saturations from a misting bottle at 1/2 - 1 tsp a gallon water of this stuff and I garuntee you'll see a set of flowers within 2 weeks if not 1. its organically derived from some of natures best and most accesible nutrients such as earth worm castings and jamacian and peruvian bat guano!

normal strength is 1 tbl spoon a gallon and heavy feedings on larger plants get 2-4

at normal strength this is the heart of the fox farm 3 part nutrient system and in my 5 years of hydroponics, I wouldn't use anything but on anything I eat, including AN...orchids are for appearance and we want flowers damn it! no one wants a green plant with a measly brown stem with no flowers! when I had this problem I spray them and the organic products were just wat my orchids wanted, and I know nothing about orchids and I still don't and you don't even want to see how beautiful mine are cuz you'll be extremely jealous as well as my roses, and my hibiscus, and my mj which stands for michael jordan if your not cool

it can be used as a foliar feed as well for your chameleon plants! you'll just want to give your plants a week out of the cage so they can absorb it and cleanse themselves because there may be some ingriedients in it that aren't the best for your cham even though its organic, it still has to be blended in such a way that the ingriedients last and don't lose there composition in the time it sits in the bottle



you really can't judge two different plants on the same equation, because they are two different plants with two different homes...even the small parts per million differeence of the two watering sources could be the cause of why one plant is better than the others, there could be a thousand reasons...but orchids do extremely well when they are neglected, they hardly ever need water, I put mine in wood hanging baskets and they look super attractive, on the bottom I put a small piece of coco mat, and then between the baskets and the roots, you really don't need anything but its good to use orchid bark!


good luck, i'm telling for 13 bucks or whatever, that bottle will last a long time for small applications and its literally the best in the world, yes better than advanced nutrients

thanks for the replies people, it's one of these http://www.dkimages.com/discover/pre...851/851473.JPG

except the flowers are slightly more white/pink then purple like on this pic, the tag didn't have the latin name just hybrid orchid, and yes the flowers were open when it was purchased so I have no idea how long they had been present in the store, probably for a while which explains the 15$ price, I'm guessing they knew the flowers were about to go so they put them all on sale to get rid of them.

and yeah all that's in the pot is sphagnum moss and at the bottom there is some charcoal and a couple pieces of styrofoam (?)

Yup, Filip was correct
It's a phalaenopsis or "moth orchid"
here's a basic care sheet.
http://www.plant-care.com/phalaenopsis-orchid-care.html

__________________
"In Target earlier today I learned there is really no good way to answer a 5-year-old asking you why you are looking at his mother's butt so much..."