It doesn't look like it is underwatered. The leaves will become leathery and rinkly if it isn't getting enough water. Check if there enough roots in the medium and if the medium is still good (sorry if you already mentioned that). I have also struggled with phalenopsis. I get healthy plants and then mess with them enough that they deteriorate within months. I have found that overwatering and bad medium are the primary culprits for decline in pharmaceutical health. Lack of flowering is relatively benign condition caused by lack of day night temperature difference, easily corrected by giving it colder night temperature exposure outdoors or on a windowsill left at least partly open during fall/winter/spring.

I rescued the plant when it was nearly dead with roots rotted away. It had enough of a root left to sustain itself and so I trimmed it back and gave it a bark medium. Since then it has grown roots like crazy. About a year ago I learned that roots like sunlight so I took the plastic insert out of the ceramic pot. Roots started growing through the medium after that. Still, most of the roots are on the outside. Is it possible that his variety only has two or three leaves normally?

IMHO, it is unlikely that any truly happy, mature hybrid phal would only have 2-3 leaves at a time. Shedding a leaf every time a new one emerges is usually a sign of nitrogen deficiency, potassium deficiency, or both.

When you say you had only “weakly” fertilized it, what does that mean?

Not sure if the link works, but check out the great cultural articles for phalaenopsis on the St Augustine Orchid Society website (you will need to scroll down to the proper section):

https://www.staugorchidsociety.org/culture-basic-genus.htm

There are lots of interesting and useful articles on this website. Reading them, sometimes multiple times each till I really understood them, has really helped take my orchid hobby to the next level. Specifically the articles about water quality and nutrition.

It is harder to fertilize if the roots are not in the medium. Perhaps you can spray the roots with the fertilizer periodically. They all can have multiple leaves. At least two sets of leaves is satisfactory. It can bloom without many leaves but that does drain the plant's energy further making it susceptible to decline.

That's what I was doing, mostly. Spraying the roots.

It got down to 43 last night here in NJ. Is it a good idea to bring the phal in from outside now, or let it spend some time in the cooler weather?

It's going to get warmer in a couple of days. Move it to a place closer to the house for a couple of nights when it is going to be colder. I have mine indoors because I need them to keep growing those leaves and not set spikes yet. They had a rough time with roots and aren't in the best shape to be able to bloom again without dying thereafter.

I just looked at the last picture you posted. I think you should bring it indoors and give it an east or north facing window. It needs warmth to recover and grow those leaves.

Thanks, get. I'll bring it in today.

I think you should look into putting it under artificial light.

@aviolet. yeah I hear you. Thing is that it's really the only plant I have right now. I used to grow african violets for awhile but have not been into the plant hobby for quite awhile, except for this one little guy. Maybe I could put it under a grow light in the basement for awhile to see what happens, but I wanted to keep it simple. I'm hoping that winter indoors and summer outdoors with getting back to plant food will do the trick.

It should help that you had it outdoors with more light and cooler temperatures but I’m not sure how the dark winter will do. Even just a small fluorescent or LED light like what you might put over the kitchen sink would probably help. I’m also an African violet fan. I recently moved into a house with lots of windows but not enough adequate light for most of any of my plants so I’m having to go to the artificial light route. It is difficult to get it right with some plants.

I've had this orchid for several years and all it does is grow roots. It did fine over the winters. Maybe even better because of more light with snow on the ground. The only problem I had with it outside was not realizing how much late day sun it was getting, hence the burn spot. Next year I'll get it outside in the spring with some plant food.

African violets are incredible when they get enough artificial light. Every petal sprouts a flower!

give them the proper source of light...try putting them outdoors

here's your original thread

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4492428/trying-not-to-kill-a-phalaenopsis

Thanks Donna! I thought that thread was gone! My phal is going nuts since I brought it back inside in the fall. It just sprouted four more roots! I'm hoping on of them turns out to be a flower spike, but I don't think so. All it does is grow roots but this year I'll keep it outside away from the sun all spring and summer and then something HAS to happen! I go to the store and see all these incredible orchids for sale at like $10 and I laugh at what I'm going through with this Charlie Brown Xmas tree looking thing.

You're welcome ! It was always there, but the "new and improved" site makes it harder to find. Go to your page and click on "posts"...then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on " view more posts", and you can find your old posts.

As for your orchid not blooming...I saw a you tube video a long time ago, where a woman pointed out that a Phal. needs to have 2 leaves on a side (they grow with their leaves kind of right side and left side,as opposed to other plants that will grow leaves all around the base}....the need at least 2 leaves and then they can put out a spike under the side with 2 leaves. I have been watching my Phals closely ever since, and she seems to be right...there are exceptions..keikis,species ,and hybrids with a strong percentage of species, but for my hybrid phals,that does seem to be the way it goes !

So.....your plant looks very healthy...just give it one more year ! In a year it will have put another leaf, and you'll know right where to watch for a spike !

Thanks again, Donna. Unfortunately, the trend so far is it grows a new, third leaf but then one of the other ones dies. That happened twice so the two leaves now are not the original ones. I have to think the new environment next year will help.

I'm in upstate NY...so you're bit warmer than I am here...I never put my plants outside..too many problems with bugs, and the temps can vary here wildly from even one day to the next. I have much more control just keeping them in the house. I grow them in a West window all year ...in the summer I use sheer curtains to filter the sun, but they stay put. They will adapt. North will not be enough light, but the other 3 will be fine..just put them where you want them, then adjust your growing conditions..move them closer or farther from the window, use curtains, humidity trays,etc....I see a lot of people trying things in rapid succession to "fix" a phal...it takes months with each new thing to see if your phal. is reacting in a good or bad way, but by then, they've already moved on, so they can't get a good read on what the plant needs.

The only suggestion I would make, is that your phal, for whatever reason, has grown a lot of aerial roots...so work with it...get a tray and lay the roots in it with an inch or so of sphagnum, keep it moist, and it'll probably reward you...just know that it most likely won't put out a lot of new growth in the winter..no matter what you do, but when spring comes, you'll see new leaves.

Beings I'm the featured answer on original thread, I'd say more light. west window with sheer is fine as long as you 'ease' it into that light, Be sure to ease it in, even with sheer it's a huge change from a north window.

Good luck,

Bob

This time of year, it won't be huge shock! It's very gloomy in the northeast.

As long as it is gloomy for 1-2 weeks. One bright sunny day and...

Bob

All I can say is that mine can handle the sunny days...I have one phal with 4 spikes, one with 3, and several with 2....as I said, you need to use your judgement and adjust the distance from the window, adjust humidity, and use some kind of sheer or blinds...everyone has their own method...I was just pointing out that (IMO), the OP should find a spot and work with it.

Believe it or not, I really do not have west windows that have the right sunlight, plus it would be a bit awkward to have a plant stand there. Donna are you saying I should bury the roots in spagnum moss even if just the bottoms? How about repotting into a large pot full of wood chips or moss so I can get all the roots in?

If it's been more than a year since you've repotted, you can, but you have aerial roots...they can adjust to being stuck into the medium, but that's just one more thing for the plant to have to deal with...if it were my plant, I would set the whole pot on tray with a couple inches of moist(not wet), sphagnum moss,and just let the roots lay there. As for a West window,it doesn't have to be, you can use East or South,too...North just won't have enough light.

For the record, this is what things look like now. One leaf was burned from too much sun. Lesson learned. Four new roots coming out now.

I would repot to bury all the longer air roots into the medium letting the newer shorter roots at the top decide whether they want to go in the medium or in the air. Do you have a picture of the roots that are in the medium? Just wondering if the root system is largely outside rather than inside the medium.

There are several roots in the medium but most are in the air. I learned that roots need light so I removed the original pot that the plastic insert was held in. After that more roots grew in the medium including on that came out through the bottom hole and had to be cut off eventually.

I'm a little afraid that I might break the roots if I repot them in something reasonably sized (ie, not too big).

I see that you are using chunky bark. Repotting would not be that stressful in such a medium. I would empty the container, lower the roots and try to contain all the longer roots in the container by using a spiral motion while trying to lower the plant to fit in. Add the bark once the roots are arranged to satisfaction, knock the container to let the bark find the gaps and fit snugly with minimal shoving of the bark into the roots. Frankly, the phal roots are pretty tough and not easily damaged. The only reason the plant isn't flourishing if the roots are healthy is not getting enough nutrition. They tend to grow more floppy and greener leaves if they aren't getting enough light. Since that is not the case with your plants, the culprit appears to be not getting enough food. The only other reason would be if the potting mix has deteriorated and the roots in the medium are rotting, which is not the case here I presume. Good luck with whatever you do. PS- the roots in the medium do not need light. They would be happy to have light but not necessary or detrimental.

Daniel,

You mentioned above you use a dilute fertilizer and water weekly, that should be fine as far as fert. needs.

I think your initial inclination that it needs more light is right on, but ease it into that brighter light.

What size pot is it in currently? The medium looks fresh enough, the aerial roots could be a genetic thing. My experience is that if you try to bury phal aerial roots, they usually die back and I wouldn't take that chance until the plant is stronger and more established. Or as a last resort.

Good luck,

Bob

It's about a 4 inch diameter pot. I have fert for orchids and used it for a short time but didn't keep up with it. I'll get back to using it again. Will keeping the solution in the fridge damage the roots when I spray them with cold water?

Bob, I know you are a veteran orchid grower and I am a relative newbie but consider this-the plant has a large leaf burn from exposure to sun. Even if we presume that the burn was caused by sudden exposure to the sun rather than constant too much sun and high temperature exposure without the capacity to withstand it, consider the color, shape and stiffness of the other leaf. By the looks of it, that leaf hardly looks like it is getting too little light, which would make it darker green, more floppy, thinner and more elongated.

Daniel, I would keep the solution at room temperature or at least bring it to room temperature before using it.

Just for background, the leaf with the bug bite in it did not exist before I brought it outside last summer. After just a few weeks the leaf sprouted and quickly grew, at which time a mature leaf shriveled and died. The phal was getting late afternoon full sun on the deck where I thought it would be bright shade all day. I just have to move it back about a foot and it should be OK. I was going to put it back out in the spring when nite temps are at least in the 50's if that sounds OK. I am a bit hesitant to bury the roots that seem happy in the air.

Well, 5 years after my first post on this orchid and it still looks exactly the same! lol. Each year a new leaf grows and one of the two existing ones dies. In reviewing the posts in this thread I see that I probably should have kept up on fertilization, which I did not do. I have put it outside for the last two years and this year no burn. I am posting today because I have seen new roots growing since the fall, and one of them is going upward like it forgot where to go. It is also segmented, which I don't see on the other roots. Is it possible, finally, that this is a flower spike, or would 1 flower in 5 years be too much to ask? lol

Sorry, that is a root not a flower spike. Usually, two sets of healthy leaves make a phal happy enough to send out a spike. I would get a healthy phal to keep me happy while I worked to get this guy healthier. Are the roots in the medium healthy. If not, get rid of any rotten root and stem parts. If the mis is breaking down, put it new bark+ sphagnum moss mix. If not enough roots in the media, bury the green ones that are poking out, they will eventually take to the mix. Once a phal has a set back, it can take long to get back on track. Some are just too weak to get going in reasonable time and some just st have bad genes and are always going to be laggards once the artificially pumped up chemicals it was grown in are gone from the system. Good luck.

Thanks for the thorough reply. Bill! I will do as you recommend but I have a couple of questions:

1. Will the following orchid mix do well? It has coarse perlite and charcoal, and is cheap.

https://a.co/d/2QPmWbx

2. The clay orchid pots seem expensive. I'll look around some more but would a slotted plastic pot be OK?

Just FYI I am well versed on fertilizers having used them for many years, plus being a chemical engineer. I have a fertilizer I got from the orchid society in my area but do not use it regularly.

Thanks for any comments.

Daniel, Hope you had a pleasant Thanksgiving, We had most of the family, and lots to be thankful for.

As for the Better Grow mix, I use that, and have good results. As for the slotted clay pots I agree with the price, so I use plastic almost all the time for orchids, and most other plants, and have for many years. To be honest, I don't think I have ever seen a slotted plastic pot. The Azalea pots are not as tall as standards, so make it easier to get them to dry out between waterings. I have two problems with the plastic pots, they don't dry out as well (fast) as slotted clay, and they will get top heavy with a tall plant. Some of the time I put rocks in the bottom of the plastic pots. Whenever I'm out shopping, I am constantly on the lookout for pots I can use at a price I can afford.

I yield on the topic of fertilizers. That's part of the fun of a forum like this, at times you find yourself preaching to the resident expert.

I think you are well on the way to having a happy healthy blooming Phal. Keep us posted on progress.

Bill

Yes, I had a nice Thanksgiving, thanks. Last question: Would it be a bad idea to drill holes or slots in the plastic pot?

Hummmmmm, I have an extensive history of treating my potted plants pretty rough. I had a small greenhouse packed with plants that I took apart and moved with us during my Navy career. transfers were usually about every three years, so the plants got packed and moved by U-haul from location to location. The disassembled greenhouse was packed inside our mobile home, and moved by a professional hauler. I never considered drilling holes in the side of my plastic pots, because I would think that would weaken the strength of the sidewalls of the pots, and I might be faced with a monumental repotting job on arrival if the pots decided to crack around the holes. I would certainly try holes rather than slots at first.

Now, if you are not faced with moving your plants around the country from time to time, and wanted to experiment with drilling your plastic pots, it might increase airflow and speed up drying time. I would be interested in hearing the pros and cons of such an experiment. I can not imagine it would cause any harm to normal orchid culture.

Bill

OK I'll give it a try and will post some photos.

For making holes in plastic pots, I have found that a flame heated knife or screw driver (depending on the shape of holes you want to make) is a super quick and efficient way with lesser risk of the pots cracking in the process.

So I found an azalea pot 6" at Home Depot for $4 so I bought it. I took a 1/4" tile/glass bit and drilled some holes in the pot. Do you think there are enough, or should I keep going? It only takes a minute or two to drill a hole so it's not a big deal. I'm thinking I need one more row, but what do y'all think?

Daniel, Yes, I think you have enough holes in the pot, but I might suggest you make them a bit larger, or perhaps ovals. Right now the holes appear to be about the size of a nice healthy orchid root, and being the adventuresome things they are, I can see an orchid root finding one of those holes and trying to escape through it and plugging the entire hole. That won't hurt the orchid one bit, but its going to make watering, handling, and eventually repotting the plant difficult, with all those roots sticking out the side of the pot. With larger holes you can keep the roots from attaching to the side of the holes, and pull them out to repot.

It looks like your engineering skills are showing. That's a nice looking job of drilling--I'd probably have broken that pot half a dozen times trying to get that many holes in it. ;-)

Wet your bark mix well before potting, put a bit of wet bark mix in the bottom of the pot, place the bare root plant in the pot and get the roots situated as deep in the pot as you can and start filling the pot with the mix. Be sure to fill any cavities in the pot, by hand, or taping on the side of the pot. Get as many roots covered as you can, put the plant in its new growing space and don't water it for 4-7 days to be sure it is dry, and give the roots a chance to begin to heal. I water on the light side, and like to be really sure the plant gets good and dry between the first two or three waterings. -Just trying to stay ahead of root rot.

Thanks, Bill! The holes are 1/4" diameter. Maybe I'll stick a root through the hole to see how it fares, size-wise. I'll tackle this little project this weekend so I can take my time.

Thanks, Bill. I repotted the plant a few weeks ago but have been busy with work. I did enlarge the holes a little and I think they'll be OK now. I'll have to see if I have to water more than once a week now that it is in a larger clay pot with holes. I tried to get the roots under the bark but a couple of them wouldn't cooperate. One of the leaves just touches the bark as this was the best angle to get the roots submerged. It doesn't get wet when I water. I'll wait and see what happens.

danielj, Sounds like you are off to a good start. Just remember, with every orchid you deal with, its best to be constantly aware of just where the plant in question really wants to be growing. In the case of Phals., it would much prefer to be growing high up in the jungle canopy attached to the trunk, or limb of a large tree. Its roots would be attached to the bark of the tree, and growing among the other plants that are growing on these limbs also. Orchid roots might be covered with several inches of plants and roots that belong to a multitude of other plants--Bromeliads, ferns, lichens, and many many others. When it rains, everything gets soaked. When the rain stops, everything drips dry, and the air in motion keeps drying things until it rains again. The spongy make up of the roots allows the plants to absorb airborn humidity from the moist tropical air that surrounds them in dry periods so the orchids don't suffer from dry periods between rains. The orchid leaves are up there competing for growing room with every other plant nearby, not to mention the bugs and animals that use the tree limbs as highways. Be reasonably careful with your orchids, treating them in a manner close to what they expect growing in the wild, and they will reward you. I find that if I pamper and coddle my plants too much, they don't seem to appreciate it. I have grown my orchids in some tough situations, and have always been happy overall with the results. They really are tough and adaptable.

Bill

I don't have a jungle canopy handy so hopefully my kitchen counter will do! :o)

I just wrote you a lengthy post, but lost it unfortunately.

I have grown phals for several years now. I get about 80 to 90% of them to bloom again. I never take them outside. I don't want to risk bringing any bugs or diseases. It sounds like I have more light than you do.

I would give the orchid supplemental lighting. It doesn't have to be something expensive or fancy. Maybe just a lamp or reading lamp that is on several hours in the day.

I don't think there is a photo posted of the actual roots that were in the pot when you repotted. That would be good to see. The roots are a key to the plant!

When repotting, make sure to thoroughly water your plant day before. That makes the roots softer which helps to not damage them when repotting.

What you pot your phal in is really important. To me, I believe that your bark is too chunky for the size of the phal. Use smaller bark for smaller phals, bigger bark for larger orchids. What kind of bark is it? Where did you get it?

You talk about a fertilizer that an orchid lady suggested. What fertilizer is that?

Have you ever flush out your media with water? Too much fertilizer salts can accumulate in the media.

Try to repot when new roots just begin to grow. That is the best time.

Aerial roots can be put into media when repotting. But they don't all have to go into the pot if the root is not cooperating.

Soaking the pot when watering is OK. 1 hour is too long. Try to get it down to 15 mins at most.

I admire your perseverance.

Phals generally need 3 sets of leaves before they will flower.