So yeah...they're simply not flowering.

I dunno what else to try.

I've been putting one plant out at night - just to see if this will
encourage a flower spike to form - but so far no luck (I'm in fairly
temperate zone and was told this can help to encourage the plant to know
when it's night-time, and when it's day-time, as it were...)

Just recently one of the phals has started to 'cark' it...the leaves all
fell off, yet the 'heart' is still firm, green and healthy looking.


But neither variation (I have 3 plants - 2x of the Phal - sorry I can't
remember the variety; 1x of this Exotic ('Burrageara' - Cochlioda, Miltonia,
Odontoglossum, Oncidium cross)) is flowering!

The flowers dropped off about a month after I got home on both plants (I
bought two - have since split the Phal into two seperate plants - but that
was a while ago) - but no new spikes developed, or I think one did, but it
died fairly early on and quite immature.

I've had them for nearly a year, I think, and they've maintained their
health - large, thick, luscious leaves that don't stop growing it seems,
nice firm hearts, but NO FLOWERS!

I'm not a true Orchid fanatic, but I do love Phals...and after all I got the
things for the flowering aspect!!

They're in 'medium' orchid potting mix, in plastic pots with plenty of
drainage holes, which are then placed in larger ceramic, decorative pots
surrounded with sphagnum (again, big drainage holes at the bottom of the
pot).
I'll let the sphag dry out, then give them a good water - every few weeks
I'll soak the entire plant (well, the roots) in water and sometimes an
orchid fertiliser (made strictly according to instructions).

One of my conerns is, I have not allowed any of the roots/tubers to see the
sun - they're all covered by the sphag or the potting mix. Could this be a
source of the problem? I've noticed in nurseries that their healthy
(flowering!) orchids (phals et al.) have a few tubers open to the air, green
and healthy-looking.


Long post, I know, but oh please please please you extremely knowledgeable
Orchid lovers!!!!
*cry*
I just want my lovely orchid flowers!

Many, many, many TIA!


PS. Live in Melbourne, Australia.
I can post pics if absolutely necessary! But it takes a little fiddling
around...