Phalaenopsis stunted growth

[gul]

Hello, orchidboarders.
I have an orchid which I am not able to keep growing. It has been 4 years since I bought it. It was not in a very good condition when I bought it and my tendency to overwater caused further problems - root rotting. It had a few flowers when I bought it but it hasn't given any spikes or flowers since then. With the aim of triggering new growth I keep its roots in water in open air at the start of summer for a few weeks and then repot it and continue to keep it in the open air until the end of September. During the water treatment it grows new roots and last summer it even started a keiki. It continued to grow roots in the pot, too. After taking it indoors I saw some small flies around my orchid so I repotted and cleaned some small beginnings of rotting during the process. I got rid of flies but I suspect that some of the roots I had cleansed continued rotting inside the pot. The trouble is that there is no new growth in my orchid since I took it indoors. The keiki has been staying almost as it is for months now and there is no new leaf or spike formation. I manage to get it growing new roots and leaves in spring- summer through water treatment but throughout winter the growth stops. Have you got any recommendations about how to get this orchid growing?

[Ray]

For one, it appears you are growing it too dry. Water is the true driving force for growth, so try keeping the bark moist.

Water does not cause root rot. If the potting medium is too fine, water can fill the voids and suffocate the roots, killing them, and then they rot. As coarse as that bark appears, I doubt that would be an issue.

Secondly, phalaenopsis like it very warm and shady.

How about feeding? What formula, concentration and frequency have you been applying?

[rbarata]

I agree with...too dry, it seems.

[Dalachin]

I agree, more water! With orchids in pure bark, I water every 1-3 days, but it depends a lot on your conditions. Do you keep it pretty warm (I can’t see where you are from)? Lots of indirect light? Do you fertilize?

[gul]

Thanks for the replies. Until the appearance of flies I used to soak the orchid's pot in water and keep it in water for half an hour once a week. After repotting I have had a tendency to underwater this time. I pour half a litre of water to the roots and bark from the top once a week. I fertilize once in two weeks with liquid fertilizer. I use half the amount of what the product recommends to avoid root burn issues. All in all I haven't been able to find the balance concerning watering. My orchid is indoors about a meter away from the window, so it gets indirect day light. During the day there is heating on, and it doesn't get too cool at nights either. I live on the Black Sea coast of Türkiye so the climate is humid and not too cold even in winter. It is a kind of challenge for me to get this orchid flower once again. I hope I will manage it eventually thanks to your suggestions.

[Dalachin]

I would try a little more water… once a week with bark may not be enough, especially if the pot is smaller. I like to give bark a good soaking once a week also. It sounds like you may have had fungus gnats which like decaying medium, so they may be less of a problem after repotting. You might also try giving it a little more light, as long as there is no direct sun on the leaves. Also, I’ve noticed that some of my phals slow down in winter, so maybe it will pick up again when it is ready.

[Toadwally]

Watch the roots. Water till green. Water when white.

[LizB88]

For the longest time my problem orchids were phals. When I managed to keep them alive they would not grow, when they grew, no flowers. Finely I ended having only one as I was turn off by them, and I mounted it, them I decided that I would bring it out side on my balcony in the summer until late fall (I am in the San Francisco bay area). To my surprised it need it more light then being on my east window and it put a lot of roots, leaves and a spike after 5 year of no progress, so I would say try giving it a bit more light and make sure that it has a 10 degrees temp drop night so you get a spike. Right now I have my phal under a grow light as is in my bathroom for the winter and the spike has continue to grow and now it has form buds. So try increasing the light it may be that it is what it needs at this point since it sounds that you are doing ok with watering and fertilizer.

[gul]

I changed to a small pot on purpose because despite the rapid root growth in summer the orchid does still not have enough roots to fill in a pot. And the roots it has are not so long either. All in all the bottom 3-4 cms of the pot was left with only bark which in my experience encourages root rot. As some of you have suggested I'm also anxious that it doesn't get enough light and fresh air indoors but to provide more of them I would have to move it to the window sill or balcony from time to time and I don't always have time for that. Besides I don't know if the plant would would like to be dragged here and there continually.
The only period I have seen any signs of growth on this orchid is during the summer months when it gets light, fresh air and water plentifully. My other phals with good root systems I keep totally indoors and they keep giving new roots, leaves, spikes and flowers during the fall, winter months. I'm watering this orchid more often now keeping an eye on the roots since there are signs of browning on some of the roots I can observe.