This is my first phal I got from Trade Joes, it's a NoID mini phal. I abused it when I first got it, overwatered, over dried it, and then there's the crown rot. It lost almost all the leaves but two, luckily it had a pretty decent root system, so when I realized it had crown rot, I was able to rescue it with some powdered cinnamon I had in the kitchen. Anyway, I repotted in bark in a pint size 4 inch wide plastic takeout container, it's been two months since the repot,
lots of root growth, root system probably doubled in size,
but absolutely no signs of new leaves.
I kept it on a north window originally but then I moved it to a west facing window that gets some afternoon sun. It gets probably 2-3 hours of direct sun, the rest of the time it stays in bright shade. I gradually moved it towards the window, so it never received any major sunburn. it's sibling TJ phal (a doritaenopsis) in the same position has grew two new leaves, and the other sibling TJ phal is also enjoying the same condition, putting out many new roots. Since I check my orchids everyday, I water it when the bark looks like it's approaching dryness, it never really complete dry out nor has it ever sat in a puddle of water. I also fertilized it with half strength Miracle-Gro all purpose fertilizer 24-8-16 every few weeks.
I heard that potting orchids in a large pot would force the orchid to put all its energy into filling up the pot and not grow leaves, is my 4 inch pot too big for this orchid? Oh, it also got accidentally knocked over by my dad recently, the orchid fell out of the pot, no root damage, but I think I might have disturbed some of the root growth, as I see through the plastic pot. but some of the root tips are still actively growing. Anyway, I was just worried that it couldn't stand another repot if I had to repot it again.
What am I doing wrong here? Is there anything I can do to encourage the growth of a basal keiki on this poor baby? it got abused so many times since I brought it home, I feel incredibly sorry for it
Here's what the flower looks like:
orchid by
dipoledipole, on Flickr
here are some pictures of it now: