Phal questions
I have a NOID phal that I received as a Christmas gift and repotted from sphag to bark since sphag does not dry out fast enough in my environment. Sorry in advance for the long post. I'd rather give too much information than not enough in order to get proper advice. Thanks in advance for your help!
My growing conditions: low humidity, some air movement (air vent above window where orchids are but never strong enough that any of the leaves move), winter daytime temps (if sunny: 75-90 F, if cloudy: 65ish), winter night temps: 45-55 F. I keep the phal on a heating pad so temps will be higher. I unplug it during the day depending on if it's sunny or not.
I noticed that the top leaf looks more pleated. I've read that this generally means that it's not receiving enough water although the medium has been damp for close to 2 weeks now. I haven't watered or even misted since then. I have a skewer I use to check for moisture. I also included pictures of the roots. Some are green and some are not and there is certainly moisture inside.
On the underside of the non-pleated leaf, there is a part that appears sunken in with a red dot that protrudes a bit. What is this? I attached a photo of both sides so you can see that it's not visible unless I turn the leaf over.
On the bottom leaf, there are black sunken spots all over from accidentally getting water on it when I first watered. I have dabbed rubbing alcohol on it once and it doesn't seem to have spread.
Lastly, this has been in bloom since Christmas. The last flower is in bloom. I would rather have a healthy orchid that provides large, plentiful blooms rather than small blooms all year round. New spikes / buds (not sure of the terminology) that appeared while it was in bloom.
Questions:
1. Since the top leaf is pleated, does this mean that my orchid is not getting enough water although the medium is damp? What should I do?
2. What is that sunken part of the leaf with the red dot mean? Should I be concerned?
3. Given that I would rather have a healthy orchid that provides large, plentiful blooms rather than small blooms year round, should I cut the spike at the base when the last flower drops or leave it as is?
Susan
Last edited by scy; 05-16-2011 at 09:53 AM..
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