Teeny Tiny Mini Phals!

[jen.kirsten]

Hi everyone! I recently picked up two itty bitty phals and have some questions.

1) On both plants the top leaves are larger than the bottom leaves and the bottom leaves are starting to turn yellow. Any cause for concern?

2) Do mini Phals produce more blooms? These two plants both have a single spike but the spikes have three branches a piece on them and my white one is now showing growth on another node which makes four branches on one plant!

3) Any ideas on how often to fertilize or just keep it the same as my big Phals? (I currently fertilize for three weeks then skip a week and have had excellent results with this schedule).

[Paul Mc]

Hey there!!!

Lets see if I can help!

How much mini's bloom depend upon several factors, but basically boils down to their ancestry and care basics through the year. Some may have more blooms than others based upon what is in their gene's, but usually it is just a matter of how well they were care for in the past year (adequate light, feeding, cooling time, etc...) that determines the spike ability.

Phals shed their bottom leaves through time as they produce new ones from the top. If your roots are ok, then I wouldn't personally worry about the bottom leaves. It is natural.

Care for them just as you would any Phal, standard sized or mini. Sounds like you've got it right from what you wrote! Congrats!

[jen.kirsten]

Thank you! Good to know about the leaves, the roots are in good shape. Thanks again!

[james mickelso]

If you take good care of them they will flower a couple times a year. Good light, warmth, very good water, and the proper amount of food. I use a coarser media than most because I want to water mine more than most. This gets more food to the rootsn and gives a healthier plant. The coarser media allows the roots to dry adequately so the dreaded root rot is avoided. My phals are all sending up new spikes and they just finished a couple months ago. It is around 40 degrees at night in an unheated greenhouse/shade house and around 60-65 during the day. My light is modified by visqueen only.