Hi, George.

First of all, can you post a photo of that plant to the
alt.binaries.pictures.orchids newsgroup? I'd love to see a phal with that
many leaves!

There are four factors that may commonly result in a non-blooming
phalaenopsis:

Insufficient light
Insufficient nutrition
Improper nutrition
Lack of day/night temperature drop

Insufficient light is usually not a major problem, as phals are usually
happy with lower levels, and a northeast window is probably OK most of the
year, but the lighting may be a bit slim in the winter.

We'll need more info on the feeding regimen to address the nutritional
aspects. What is the formula of fertilizer you use and at what
concentration do you mix it? Also, please describe the color of the leaves.
If they are a bright emerald green, it is usually an indicator that the
plant is being overfed with nitrogen, which can be a reason for the plant to
not bloom.

Many phals need to be exposed to a day/night temperature drop of 10°-15° for
a couple of weeks in order to initiate the growth of inflorescences (flower
spikes). We typically see that in the autumn, and if the plant is close to
a window, that's usually all it takes. If your windows are of the
energy-efficient type, that "chill" may later in the year, when it gets
really cold outside. In any case, you really don't want the plant to be
exposed to anything lower that 50°-55°F.

The American Orchid Society publishes some short guides to growing orchids
in the home and about phalaenopsis culture specifically, among others. I
have them available - along with all sorts of other stuff - at my website
(URL below). You'll find them via the "Free Information" link under the
"Basic Culture" heading.

--

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


"George Weber" wrote in message
...
Hi, I need some advice. I live in mid-Michigan. I have a couple of
Phalaenopsis orchids. One I bought about 3 years ago, the other I bought
last winter. Both of them were in bloom when I bought them. The newer
one seems to be resting, which is understandable. The older one seems to
be very healthy, putting on new growth, lots of new growth.
Unfortunately, that is all it does is new leaves. I keep it in the
kitchen in a northeast facing window next to the sink. It gets misted
every morning and watered every Friday morning. I give it fertilizer
every two weeks. It is set in bark mix that that was changed two years
ago. The house is cooled to about 77 degrees in the summer and heated to
70 degrees in the winter. It only gets the light it receives thru the
window which is direct sunlight for about 2 hours in the early morning and
then just diffused lighting for the rest of the day. The air from the
duct work cannot blow directly on the plant. I will sometimes set it
outside over night if I know the temperatures will not drop too low and
the humidity will be high. Some of the oldest leaves look a bit worse for
the wear (cat), with broken off ends. A couple of the older leaves have a
couple of dark brown circular spots about a quarter inch in diameter. Two
other older leaves also have what looks to be a split down the center of
the leaf that is very dark. The plant currently has about 40 leaves on
it, about half of them new the last couple of months. HELP! Does anyone
have advice and is there a book for growing orchids indoors in northern
climates?

Thanks,
George Weber