Phal in trouble?

[stillinkansas]

Hello all, I'm new.
I live in Kansas and I have my phal in less then ideal circumstances. That I know. I have it in a blind-shaded west facing window and I watch the leaves closely to see signs of too much light. From my guesses, I'd say it is not getting too much light. I have also been watering it roughly once every 8 days because once a week is too frequent, the bark is still cold to my finger on the 7th day. I err on underwatering it rather then over. The plant has one flowering spike and 5 flowers of different ages. Some are wilting naturally, as the plant has been flowering for about a month. I also water the plant very thoroughly then add fertilizer (jack's classic) at about 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, which according to Ray's calculator, gives me about 99ppm N every watering. This is delivered in purified grocery store water. Which is not as much as some on this board seem to advise but maybe good enough considering its frequency.
Ok, now to the issue. The bottom leaf shrived and fell off, so that was normal, well, then a second green and healthy looking leaf dropped away, and now, which two leaves remaining, the plant looks sad but the roots appear thick and green. What could the cause of this be? I suspect fungus or something but surely I haven't done anything to promote that?!
I would also like to add that I have never repotted, and have lost almost the buds from the other spikes to bud blast. None of them were big but they died before fully developing.

Any help please!

[jkofferdahl]

Your remaining leaves look, from the photos, to be healthy. Part of what you are experiencing may be from the plant moving from the grower's greenhouse into your conditions. That would certainly explain the bud blast and wilting flowers. It looks like it could stand a bit more light, too.

The pot the plant is in is quite small for the size of the plant. I would repot it, trimming off any dead or blackened roots.

[stillinkansas]

Thanks for the quick reply. Should I wait until I lose all the flowers naturally before repotting or do it soon? Also, when trimming the roots, I'm not clear on what to look for when the root is dead. Anything that isnt thick and green should be considered dead right? Thanks,
-alex

[RosieC]

Hi Alex,

When trimming the roots you want to trim any which are hollow or mushy. If they are firm then they are still good.

I would usually wait for the flowers to finish before repotting, but if you are worried about the roots it can be better to repot sooner rather than later. It's difficult to see from your picture whether the roots are OK or not.

I also think you could allow it a bit more light.