Need tips for Phalaenopsis Care

[Jungeoma]

You living in Canada have a different sun angle than me in New Mexico. I have to be very careful it does not get too hot behind the window and heat up the pots too much. Phals dont like it too sunny ,their leaves burn easy.I'm thinking you get one of those dish stands from the hardware store, you know the ones that go into the cupboard to give more space. That would raise your plant high enough to give it more light. And the curtain would give it filtered light which it likes.
Some member who lives in the northern part of the country might be able to help better.

[bil]

I have read, don't use ice cubes....

[tarev]

When I used to live in Winnipeg, I remember our heating vents are just below the windows..I do not know where your heating vents are. So just make sure the plant is not in the direct path of that blowing dry heat by winter.

East facing window is good, hope you can find a way to put it there.

Here in my area in Cali, I grow my Phals by my west facing window, but the plants do get some dappled shade from the city trees, and if there is some hot sun that do manage to come in, I just pull a curtain so the leaves do not burn. And I know our windows have some tint too, so it helps the plant. After I water my plants, I also run the ceiling fan. The plants like it..lots of air circulation as the excess water dries out.

I find that my Phals are in more active growth when it is cooler. Late Fall, to Spring. If it is in bloom by Spring it manages to hold on to the blooms for about 4 to 6 months. Maybe it is our extreme dry and hot days here, it somehow has adapted to it. After blooming, it rests. The span of time for it to rest varies, sometimes a month, sometimes more. Then I adjust my watering depending on the seasons. More interval during winter..but come summer since it is just too hot and dry here, it can go more frequent.

[Jungeoma]

Originally Posted by bil

I have read, don't use ice cubes....

NEVAH....

[JanieM]

Herro!
Okay so I've moved my Phal again and this time, it's in a brighter area, just opposite from the original place I put it, except a bit more light, but less light than in front of the west facing window.
I'll put in a pic
Anywho, thank you to all of you, I really appreciate your advice

I was also wondering when exactly is the right time to water? Do you wait for all the roots to become silvery? Or do you only wait 7-10 days after you water?

[tarev]

As I have mentioned earlier, it will depend on the season..and also on the media you use. Some of my Phals are in bark mix, while the others I have moved to my hygrolon baggies. During our hot and dry summers, they can get watered even every 3 days. But when it is cooler, I can spread it further like 5 to 7 days. Those who use sphagnum moss really have to watch it when they water, it takes much longer for the center part to dry out.

In most instances, I find it better to approach dryness before I water again. Also, as much as possible I try to water early in the day, so there is time for the water to drain well, before nightfall. Try not to water the leaves dry it off with paper towel to avoid possibility of crown rot or other fungal infection. Of course in their natural habitat, these leaves can get wet anytime, but they have more constant airflow..at home, unless you run your ceiling fans or open your windows, there is not much air.

In time you will observe your plant will start leaning to one side, it likes it that way,having some roots in the media, and growing aerial roots as well.

[JanieM]

Thanks, tarev! I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind and I'll try to water in the morning as much as I can.

Oh and also, about temperature drop, would it be weird if I opened up the window and let in colder air during the day and shutting it during the night? I don't necessarily have a seperate room to put my orchid in for making it colder and, to be honest, I dont wanna be feeling cold air while I'm sleeping.
I was also thinking about putting my orchid outside in the morning as another option, but just how long should you put your orchid out for in the morning before bringing it back inside?
Also, do these colder temperatures have to be constant all the time to induce spiking/blooming?

(Gosh, I have so many questions >.<)

[My Green Pets]

Your plant may suffer from being forced to bloom again after just finishing. It may not bloom anyway, in spite of cooler temps. It needs a short rest followed by a growth cycle before re-entering the bloom cycle.

I bought my first phal in bloom in July a couple years ago. It stayed in bloom until November, then the spikes died back. The plant did nothing until the following spring. When temps rose, it began to grow leaves. In October it began sending out a new spike.

Allow it to rest now and resynchronize its growth cycle to the seasons. It will bloom when it is ready, possibly not until a year from now.

[JanieM]

Originally Posted by CambriaWhat

Allow it to rest now and resynchronize its growth cycle to the seasons. It will bloom when it is ready, possibly not until a year from now.

After some (okay maybe a lot) of re-thinking (because I'm super bad with time intervals) I realized I actually got my Phal in January. I remeber because it's blooms all fell off when it got really warm in the summer and, during that summer, it grew a new leaf and it looks like the roots grew too.
Since it's just the start of october and things are probably going to cool down a lot, I'm hoping something will happen but I'm scared something won't ahah. (Talk about obsessive, eh?)
I'm thinking I should repot my Phal, but I don't know. There are quite a bit of dead roots coming out of the bottom of the plastic pot it's in, and I'm not sure if something bad is going on.. Hmmm.. It's only the top roots that have these spots , also, and I don't know what it is. (pic was taken the day before I watered)

[tarev]

I do not know which part of Canada you are in, but looking at some prevailing temps on your environment canada website the overnight to early morning temps outside are getting way too cold for Phals.

I would just put it by a window to get some cool temps and close the window before your sleep.

Hey, if you have not repotted yet, you can certainly do it now. A chance to check the entire condition of the roots. So far what you are seeing on top, the velamen, the outer cover of the roots is like partly drying out. Not too bad yet, it happens, it is just the outer cover. Checking the rest of your roots below will be important.

Sometimes it may have a delayed spike season..maybe it will still rest this whole Fall to early winter..and will just go for it in Spring. On your side, you do have longer cool times..so lots of leeway for the Phal to go into its wake up mode later or a year after. Patience will be your friend.