Yeah, ticks you off, don't it? You'd think that medium would work. Plastic
pot? or clay? If clay slip it into a plastic pot and see if that changes
anything. (Don't repot, why disturb it? All you want to change is moisture
retention, and slippping it into a plastic pot will rule that idea in or
out.)

The retention of the small leaves is what brought me in to this discussion.
IMHO its pretty typical for plants that have the will to live but something
in the culture just ain't *quite* right. Something just needs a tweak, not a
whole going over.

I have several phals that like my usual mix, and then I have a group that
keeps getting smaller and smaller, no matter what. Of course these are the
ones a friend named for me, so I gotta keep them alive! (Would that be
'suicide' if I killed plants named after me?) So I too am searching for the
right balance of air and moisture retention in the pot for these particular
phals.

At least you have good roots. They say that's half the battle.

K Barrett

"gal" wrote in message
m...
Hi Barrett,

The medium is a "salad" of sphagnum moss, charcoal, medium size bark
and some Styrofoam. I tend to keep the plants on the moist side. I
check the moisture level around 2cm deep and if it starts to feel dry
I water the plant.
As I said there are other phals under the same conditions that are
doing great, but on the other hand this plant was not happy since I
got it a year ago.
Strangely enough it has not lost any of the small leaves only the big
ones.

Regards

Gal