Phals with few and small flowers

[JerseyGirlBecky]

I have a dozen phals that seem to be healthy and doing well. the leaves are nice and lots of new roots. They are in the orchiata and I fertilize with the Shultz orchid fertilizer. two have spiked and bloomed recently, but they only have small flowers. One had four and they did not last long. the new one looks like it has only two and they are not open yet. what am I doing wrong? the all bloomed nicely last year but are doing terrible this year. They are in an eastern window and I mist a couple of times a day. They are not put outside and the air conditioner is running a lot on these hot days. Anyone have this problem. Wish I could send pictures but no camera. Sorry
Becky

[Val]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirlBecky

They are not put outside and the air conditioner is running a lot on these hot days.

This could be the cause.
The AC usually dries the air. Misting the orchids only has a temporary effect.
Also: does the AC blow (cold) air in their direction?

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[Paul Mc]

If they are just now blooming, this could be an issue as well. Most species (and hybrids) should be loosing their flowers at this time of year. It may be that they produced late as they were stunted for some reason. This is usually due to either the health of the plant (which doesn't seem to be your case from your description) or environmental issues.

To cover environmental issues, not everyone's east window is the same. Some people have direct heavy light while others have shaded light. If the leaves on your phals are a lime green then they may not be getting enough light. You also might need to increase the number of times you water. Don't really know. There are many things you can do to help.

The best way to increase humidity (albeit it doesn't help much unless you have a lot of these) is to use a tray with water under your orchid, lifting the pot over the top of the water by means of rocks or something).

[JerseyGirlBecky]

You know thinking about it, a couple of months ago I found a few mealy bugs on them. I treated with the Bayer twice. Had to take them outside one at a time to spray them and let them dry. I wonder if this could have set them back. Bet the mealys were part of the problem. Also this window is shaded but they have been there for three years and leaf color is good and blooms have always been normal before.

[tucker85]

I agree with the previous posts that some kind of humidty tray would help. Phals love humidity. The most important element in blooming is usually light. An east window sounds perfect but if there's any way to situate the plant where it receives more light from the window it may help. If you have mealy bugs you could have mites as well and both will steal some of the plants energy. I would spray all the leaves, top and bottom, and the top of the medium with your insecticide and then repeat that again in one week. If you don't want to use an insecticide, Safer insecticide soap is not as toxic and works well. You may also want to add a vitamin/enzyme suppliment to your fertilizer. Superthrive is one that's available almost everywhere. Phals are also sensitive to fertilizer salt buildup in the potting medium. Flush the medium with plenty of water once a month and repot the orchid if the medium is breaking down at all. Good luck.