Is it OK to have your Phalaenopsis facing the room just for the look of it?

[MateoinLosAngeles]

In my experience, both the spikes and the leaves will grow in the direction of the light. If you turn your plant while a leaf is growing it might grow in the opposite direction, creating a sort of "zig-zag" effect. Same goes for flower spikes, if you move the plant while the spike is growing it will tend to bend and curve as it keeps finding the light.

What I do is grow on shelves and I make sure there's always more light coming from the front of the shelf, otherwise, you will be rewarded with flowers facing the wall! (Talking from experience)

This is, perhaps, different for Cattleyas and other plants. When I get a Cattleya to bloom, I turn it to face the room so I can enjoy the flower. Once the flower is done, I just turn it back so the front of the plant receives the most light. This doesn't seem to affect the shape of the plant or create twisted leaves like it does for Phalaenopsis.

[Roberta]

We're used to looking at sideways photos... it's a "feature" of the old software of the Orchid Board, photos direct from camera do that.

I don't think you have to worry about "twisted leaves" on Phals... Leaves grow very slowly so changes of direction don't particularly make a difference. It's the spikes (which grow fast and chase the light) where changing the direction of the plant can mess up the presentation. The plant does maybe one or two pairs of new leaves a year, by contrast a spike may develop in a month or so. Big difference!

[tmoney]

howdy, and welcome to the ob!

i know what you mean, as we pot most of our phals on their side and they have a clear growing direction. we have found that during the summer and high growing season the plants like it more when the leaf tops, or the "front" is facing the main light source (i.e., the window). we ran into some twisting leaf issues with a couple of our plants when we turned them away from the window this summer. one leaf is growing weirdly and is clearly confused, the other one had wrapped around a stake with spike for a couple weeks, but then after turning the plant back to face the window we were able to gently move the leaf into a more normal position and it is flattening out slowly and looking more normal again.

in winter, we grow a couple of our phals in direct light with the back of the plant facing the window. they seem to like this and i like to think it reduces leaf burn since they are in full southern exposure. this thought could be total hogwash tho!!!

my , grow them facing the window until right before and flowers open, then it is fine to turn em around for a couple weeks to enjoy the blooms! best of luck!

[Arizona Jeanie]

kimg,
I position my phals so that the top surface of the leaf gets maximum light exposure. That means the leaning ones will be facing the window.
Oh, and they pretty much all lean, that's their natural preference.
Don't rotate the plant once flower spikes have started. When the buds open, it's then ok to turn the plant so the flowers are more visible.
I suppose, since the bottom surface of the leaf is green, it photosynthesizes too, so there would be some benefit if this side is turned toward the light.
One of the factors limiting blooms is a lack of light.
I think facing plants toward the light is probably best on several counts, even if they survive when turned the other way.

[WaterWitchin]

I pot phals so they almost tip out of the pot and face more downward, like they grow in nature. I move them around all the time when attempting to crowd one more orchid into a growing space. If having them face toward you is more aesthetically pleasing, I'd face them toward you. When I grow a phal on a mount, it's always facing toward me. Why look at the back of a mount? They really aren't that picky in my opinion.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by Roberta

We're used to looking at sideways photos... it's a "feature" of the old software of the Orchid Board, photos direct from camera do that.

I don't think you have to worry about "twisted leaves" on Phals... Leaves grow very slowly so changes of direction don't particularly make a difference. It's the spikes (which grow fast and chase the light) where changing the direction of the plant can mess up the presentation. The plant does maybe one or two pairs of new leaves a year, by contrast a spike may develop in a month or so. Big difference!

To clarify, I didn’t mean that this twisting would be dramatic, but I believe Phal leaves grow at an angle, over time the stem tends to “curve” towards the light. Most photos of Phals in nature show them drooping down at about a 45° angle from the center of the stem. I don’t think they “pursue” the light as much as they grow “away” from the tree, letting their leaf weight hang down like basset hound ears. I suspect the base of the leaf grows positioned into this angle, and if it’s turned while in growth (say 2/5 of the way in) then that’s where I’ve seen the middle of the leaf sort of facing away from the angle that the base had formed. Once the new tissue hardens it doesn’t seem to redirect, so I think it’s better to just have the plant grow in the direction you want it to begin with if you want a plant as symmetrical as possible. If you don’t care or are willing to watch it, then once buds open it’s perfectly fine to rotate since all tissue is “hardened” (but I personally wouldn’t if a new leaf is initiated). Neither is necessarily good or bad for the plant, but I personally like having all the leaves face in the same direction so there’s a clear gap behind the plant to water without trying to fit my watering can in between leaves.

[estación seca]

Phals. in nature grow on trees. The plants hang sideways or down, with the crown away from the tree, towards the source of light.

Over time most try to grow this way in pots, with all the leaves dangling to one side. They lean in the direction of the light. Some people don't mind this look. Others want the plants more upright. The second group will rotate their plants 180 degrees after each leaf is mostly formed, in the hope the overall growth remains upright. It works a lot of the time.

The person whose photo you saw probably turned all of them for the photo. If they're near windows they will again try to grow towards the light when they are turned.

[kimg]

That makes perfect sense. Thank you ALL of you so very much