The color of phals leaves will vary a bit based upon the species in the
background.

The diagnosis of malnourishment - maybe I should have simply said "too much
nitrogen" which MAY be accompanied by undernourishment of other nutrients
and is often associated with no blooming - comes from seeing lots of leaves
that are BRIGHT green, often having not much structural integrity, so flop
over. Yours doesn't show the slightest indication of that, in my opinion.

Dark green does not necessarily mean too little light, either. In the time
that I have been growing orchids, I had long believed that the maximum light
possible without burning was the best, but it ain't necessecarily so! Some
phals actually bloom much better in deep shade than they do if grown bright.
In that situation, dark green indicates more chlorophyll, densely packed.

I look at it this way: with proper nutrition, a plant will produce the
correct amount of chlorophyll for the lighting conditions. That has limits
of course - in really low light there cannot possibly be enough to keep the
plant happy and healthy, and if too bright, the chlorophyll can actually be
damaged. If the nutrition is not correct, it is possible for the plant to
grow a substantial mechanical structure ("lush growth"), but not be able to
produce the components that go along with it to be truly healthy. I suspect
that the bright green coloration of a nitrogen overdose coupled with
insufficient other nutrients is due in part to the plants inability to "fill
up the available volume" with chlorophyll and other needed components.

A further comment on flopping leaves: in nature, phals tend to live in
trees, with roots ranging all over the bark and with the plants pretty much
hanging out and down. They really aren't built to be grown upright in a
pot, which is of course, how we all do it! Notice that Joanna's plants are
growing out over the side of the pot - a PITA for keeping the pots upright,
and harder to keep on shelves, but probably the most appropriate for pot
culture.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:fzD0d.1085$bj2.90@trnddc08...
Ray,

You mentioned that Sean's lush bright green leaves look malnurished and
that
if this is the case "pretty much guaranteeing that the thing won't bloom".
Is it the combination of "lush" and "bright" green only that is an
indication of malnurishment? I thought that lush and dark green means too
little light, is that correct?

I posted a photo of one of my Phal Noid's leaves on abpo for comparison.
Does this plant look malnurished as well? It's one of my most reliable
bloomers: most recently I can rely on it to rebloom about twice a year.
It's
got tons of roots, many of them aerial. But the foliage is lush
medium-dark
green. I know that this does not guarantee the thing won't bloom in this
case at least. :-)

I am trying to learn to "read" leaves better. So any feedback on what to
look for and how to interpret are appreciated.

Thanks, Joanna

"Ray" wrote in message
...
The photo of the plant shows it to have quite lush foliage that is a
bright
green in color. If that is not simply a remnant of the photo and its
appearance on my monitor, it may suggest that you have been overdoing the
nitrogen and the plant may be malnourished - stressing the plant into the
formation of keikis and pretty much guaranteeing that the thing won't
bloom.

If you can provide details, we can see if my guess has any validity!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!