I have a phal. It has five leaves. The bottom two are getting a
little wrinkled and one is starting to turn yellow.

The plant is currently growing a flower spike for the second time.
The spike has three branches with a total of 16 buds. None have
opened yet, but you can imagine how excited I am about the success of
this second blooming. It's been about 9 months since it last bloomed.

What should I do about the leaves? I am very careful not to over
water. I always stick my finger way down and if it feels even
slightly damp I wait. I use orchid fertilizer every time I water, as
recommended on the bottle. I never let it sit in water.

I also have five other phals in the same place, all doing great. Some
are blooming for the second time and several are also growing new
leaves. This is my one problem child at the moment.

If something happens before all those buds open I'll cry.

What should I do?

It could simply be normal leaf senescence, but as it's two at once and
they're wrinkled, I'd still vote for issues with the root system.

When was it last repotted, and into what kind of medium?

Most root issues are due to suffocation - sometimes caused by overwatering
and clogging up the pathways for air to reach the roots - but time and
decomposition can also lead to the compacting of the medium, which does the
same.

At first I was going to question you about the fertilizer formula and
concentration at which you use it, but if the other plants are OK, that's
not the likely culprit.

One last thought - are you "forcing" the plants to rebloom in order to get
more flowers? If so, you might have simply weakened the plant.

--

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


"Jane" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a phal. It has five leaves. The bottom two are getting a
little wrinkled and one is starting to turn yellow.

The plant is currently growing a flower spike for the second time.
The spike has three branches with a total of 16 buds. None have
opened yet, but you can imagine how excited I am about the success of
this second blooming. It's been about 9 months since it last bloomed.

What should I do about the leaves? I am very careful not to over
water. I always stick my finger way down and if it feels even
slightly damp I wait. I use orchid fertilizer every time I water, as
recommended on the bottle. I never let it sit in water.

I also have five other phals in the same place, all doing great. Some
are blooming for the second time and several are also growing new
leaves. This is my one problem child at the moment.

If something happens before all those buds open I'll cry.

What should I do?

On Jun 1, 5:58 am, "Ray B" wrote:
It could simply be normal leaf senescence, but as it's two at once and
they're wrinkled, I'd still vote for issues with the root system.

When was it last repotted, and into what kind of medium?

Most root issues are due to suffocation - sometimes caused by overwatering
and clogging up the pathways for air to reach the roots - but time and
decomposition can also lead to the compacting of the medium, which does the
same.

At first I was going to question you about the fertilizer formula and
concentration at which you use it, but if the other plants are OK, that's
not the likely culprit.

One last thought - are you "forcing" the plants to rebloom in order to get
more flowers? If so, you might have simply weakened the plant.

--

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

"Jane" wrote in message

oups.com...

I have a phal. It has five leaves. The bottom two are getting a
little wrinkled and one is starting to turn yellow.

The plant is currently growing a flower spike for the second time.
The spike has three branches with a total of 16 buds. None have
opened yet, but you can imagine how excited I am about the success of
this second blooming. It's been about 9 months since it last bloomed.

What should I do about the leaves? I am very careful not to over
water. I always stick my finger way down and if it feels even
slightly damp I wait. I use orchid fertilizer every time I water, as
recommended on the bottle. I never let it sit in water.

I also have five other phals in the same place, all doing great. Some
are blooming for the second time and several are also growing new
leaves. This is my one problem child at the moment.

If something happens before all those buds open I'll cry.

What should I do?

No, I'm not forcing the plant to bloom. I don't even know how,
although I suppose if it's pot bound that would do it.

In any case, I am not doing anything different with this phal than my
others. The medium appears to be some moss and decomposed bark. It
does not look like it needs to be repotted. There are very few roots
on top and when I put my finger in to check the moisture it feels like
there is plenty of soil. However I have never repotted it and I've
had it about a year and a half. Should I repot it now when it's on
the verge of blooming so profusely? Can I wait? Should I remove the
bad leaves?

Don't know if this helps, but it is growing a new root on top of the
soil. At first I thought it was another flower spike but it's a root.

Thanks for the help.

Jane

"Jane" wrote in message
ups.com...
Don't know if this helps, but it is growing a new root on top of the
soil. At first I thought it was another flower spike but it's a root.

I'm in a similar predicament with a fairly new Phal from Lowe's. When I
checked carefully I found the roots going into the spagum (sp?) moss were
black, dry and dead - but not rotten and mushy. They look like they just
dried up and died. The few healthy ones on the surface don't seem to be
drawing water and the plant is obviously dehydrating. It just finished
flowering. The other Phal I bought around the same time is doing fine.

Jane, repot. As always, Ray is spot on, and if your plant is in spaghnum
moss and bark the stuff is overdue to be changed. Be careful with the spike
and it should be okay. If not, better to lose a few flowers than the whole
plant.

My guess is that the roots in the pot are pretty much shot. Trim away what
is dead, using a fresh razor blade or sterilized clipper. The center "stem"
in the pot may have some rot. If so, trim it back to clean tissue and seal
the cut with a paste made from cinnamon and Elmer's glue.

The root growing above the potting medium may turn out to be an aerial root
that won't go into the pot. If it goes in, fine, but if not simply make sure
to give it a good soaking when you water. I'd let the leaves fall off on
their own, personally.

Diana

"Manelli Family" wrote in message
...

"Jane" wrote in message
ups.com...
Don't know if this helps, but it is growing a new root on top of the
soil. At first I thought it was another flower spike but it's a root.

I'm in a similar predicament with a fairly new Phal from Lowe's. When I
checked carefully I found the roots going into the spagum (sp?) moss were
black, dry and dead - but not rotten and mushy. They look like they just
dried up and died. The few healthy ones on the surface don't seem to be
drawing water and the plant is obviously dehydrating. It just finished
flowering. The other Phal I bought around the same time is doing fine.

I decided to remove as much of the old moss as possible and replace it
with a mix of bark and moss for now. When it's done blooming I'll
repot it more thoroughly.

Thanks for the help.