How many roots does a phal need to flower?

[astrid]

Hey everyone!

That question seems pretty silly, but qualitative answers like "probably more than three" will be helpful, and so will "you dingus it's all about the leaves" or "just be patient and love them."

You see, as we all once did, I did not know how to care for orchids when I got my first one. My first phal is long gone, and my second phal is making a comeback.

As of now, I have two "rescue" phals. One is the one I nearly killed, and the other is a rescued mini phal from a hoarder house. The bigger phal has grown in some great roots in the last year now that I've started giving it proper care, with roots growing off roots and spreading to the bottom of its container.The mini phal has one loooooong root growing to the bottom of its container, and a few shorter roots, but nothing too amazing.

Additionally, both have gone through a phase of growing very small leaves due to their lack of roots. Now they are both growing leaves a bit more than half as big as their older big leaves.

So what do you guys think? How long do I have to wait before I can have flowers again from these rescues? Maybe this year- or next year?

EDIT: Please ignore that the bigger phal is in pure sphagnum. I had a repotting disaster (bark got moldy on me, next mix I bought in the store was infested with flies) and am waiting for my new mix to arrive from a nursery! Fear not!