hi and thank you again for the reply!
[...below...]

J Fortuna wrote:

Tanya,
.

I am very surprised that you water on avg twice a week, and that by the time
you water again only the moss at the bottom of the pot is barely damp. I
guess your environment must be such that your plants dry out extremely
quickly. Have you considered getting a humidifier? It could be that your
home is a bit too dry for them.

we've had a REALLY bad winter...the humidifier can't keep up.
the ones whose photos i upLoaded live in a bathroom and benefit from the shower
humidity (at least once a day) but they need water at the same rate as the other
3.

If I were you I would be careful with a diagnosis of "underwatered" (while
it is possible to underwater them, few of us do), and be sure not to
overwater the Phals either (because that would be even worse). If you are
already watering twice a week, and you think that they dry out too much
between waterings, consider repotting them in plastic pots instead of clay
pots -- they should dry out more slowly in plastic pots.

i like the clay b/c i tend to overwater...
(all of them came in plastic in clay so wanted to change their environment)
i think i am going to keep watering at this rate for now -- none of their leaves
shrivel (yet) however i might give them a bit more each time although i cannot
predict the amount of water for ANY of my plants...
2 times per week is just an average.

You said that you think that they may not be getting enough light, but the
plant has grown a new spike in this place. I wonder whether if you had
decided to let it continue spiking it would have developped a keiki instead
of flowered. That's what happened with my first Phal, after growing in a
north window for a year.

i haven't cut it yet -- i need to repot them all and will cut it at that time
(wIn the next couple of days.)

I am not sure about the fertilizer, it might be too much Nitrogen after all,
30-10-10 seems like a rather extreme formula to me. But then again I don't
know much about the different fertilizers, so maybe I am the wrong person to
comment on this part of your post.

i have not used the miracid (30-10-10) for them at all. i'm going to start using
the 10-6-16 (the hydroponic) -- i've only used the orchid food with the HIGH P
for them...

Best,
Joanna

i need to repot them all and wonder what size pots to get since the 2 that i had
the photos of each have 1 root over a foot long (they may be longer b/c both
plants' roots ends are behind the shelf
[i don't know whether i should repost this question with a new subject?]
the current pots are all 5-6 inches diameter however i have not had a long root
before and don't know how to deal with it (they have other shorter roots too)

i THANK YOU very much again!
i really appreciate your advice and information!
sincerely
Tanya

hi and thank you again for the reply!
[...below...]

J Fortuna wrote:

Tanya,
.

I am very surprised that you water on avg twice a week, and that by the time
you water again only the moss at the bottom of the pot is barely damp. I
guess your environment must be such that your plants dry out extremely
quickly. Have you considered getting a humidifier? It could be that your
home is a bit too dry for them.

we've had a REALLY bad winter...the humidifier can't keep up.
the ones whose photos i upLoaded live in a bathroom and benefit from the shower
humidity (at least once a day) but they need water at the same rate as the other
3.

If I were you I would be careful with a diagnosis of "underwatered" (while
it is possible to underwater them, few of us do), and be sure not to
overwater the Phals either (because that would be even worse). If you are
already watering twice a week, and you think that they dry out too much
between waterings, consider repotting them in plastic pots instead of clay
pots -- they should dry out more slowly in plastic pots.

i like the clay b/c i tend to overwater...
(all of them came in plastic in clay so wanted to change their environment)
i think i am going to keep watering at this rate for now -- none of their leaves
shrivel (yet) however i might give them a bit more each time although i cannot
predict the amount of water for ANY of my plants...
2 times per week is just an average.

You said that you think that they may not be getting enough light, but the
plant has grown a new spike in this place. I wonder whether if you had
decided to let it continue spiking it would have developped a keiki instead
of flowered. That's what happened with my first Phal, after growing in a
north window for a year.

i haven't cut it yet -- i need to repot them all and will cut it at that time
(wIn the next couple of days.)

I am not sure about the fertilizer, it might be too much Nitrogen after all,
30-10-10 seems like a rather extreme formula to me. But then again I don't
know much about the different fertilizers, so maybe I am the wrong person to
comment on this part of your post.

i have not used the miracid (30-10-10) for them at all. i'm going to start using
the 10-6-16 (the hydroponic) -- i've only used the orchid food with the HIGH P
for them...

Best,
Joanna

i need to repot them all and wonder what size pots to get since the 2 that i had
the photos of each have 1 root over a foot long (they may be longer b/c both
plants' roots ends are behind the shelf
[i don't know whether i should repost this question with a new subject?]
the current pots are all 5-6 inches diameter however i have not had a long root
before and don't know how to deal with it (they have other shorter roots too)

i THANK YOU very much again!
i really appreciate your advice and information!
sincerely
Tanya