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!

[lotis146]

My "collecting/growing hobby" got started this year even as I, like you, have had an Orchid or two for several years. That said I don't know that it's so much number of roots that will dictate when your plant will bloom but I would imagine it's going to want several at least. Healthy leaves and roots are going to be more important to the plant than reproductive efforts, i.e. flowers. I've got a mini Phal that I've managed to keep alive for about 5 years but it's never flowered again since it was given to me way back when. It's grown new leaves and recently a couple of roots but mostly it's had a root or two. The other Phal (full sized) I've had for three years almost had few roots when I repotted at the beginning of the year but still more than the mini. It grew a ton of new roots this summer and started growing a spike over a month ago.

If I were you just be patient and keep doing what you're doing, including asking questions and continuing to learn how to improve your care. Right now my issue is balancing water and raising humidity for the winter. I think if they're growing new leaves and roots then you're doing something right.

So my vote will be for next year, assuming all goes well. I would guess too that the underdeveloped leaves resulted in changes in care, the moldy bark...? Something along those lines?

Hope someone with more experience chimes in, but those are my amateur thoughts! Good luck.

[gngrhill]

They look very happy and healthy, so I would expect blooms will follow, maybe next season. Some Phals bloom very easily some not so much. I have some very healthy looking plants that have never flowered for me and some with questionable roots/leaves with spikes on them. Light is also a consideration once you get the water and media under control. The ones that are in spike for me are right in a window where they get either morning or afternoon sun. They seem to like the bright light, but I do keep watch for red edges on the leaves and move them back a little. Hope this helps

[astrid]

Originally Posted by lotis146

I would guess too that the underdeveloped leaves resulted in changes in care, the moldy bark...? Something along those lines?

Oh, the underdeveloped leaves are definitely due to dead roots. If you imagine maybe that the roots of the plants are like the intestines for an animal. When large segments of intestine are removed in a human, the human can't absorb nutrients and water anymore and they become malnourished.

So in a weird way it is similar to intestines in that the plant with dead roots also can't have enough moisture and nutrients, so its next leaves will suffer. As the plants grew more roots, their leaves have grown in much larger!

I just wonder when these guys will spike again– it's like waiting to open Christmas presents, but you don't know when Christmas is going to happen!
I don't know what the mini phal's flowers look like, so I am really anticipating that one!

[RJSquirrel]

how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll?

[Kari_Stein]

Astrid, I love the pots you're using! I've two of my five orchids in converted small vitamin water bottle bottoms. The holes you have are so neat, I wondered if you made them or they came that way. Mine always look like disasters, but the plants seem to like them.

I'm also waiting on a rescue to finally have decent roots. It's taking a while, but the ones it has (all five are less than ¾ of an inch long) are bright green and it's growing beautiful leaves. Yours seem quite happy so I'm sure flowers are in your future.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by Kari_Stein

Astrid, I love the pots you're using! I've two of my five orchids in converted small vitamin water bottle bottoms. The holes you have are so neat, I wondered if you made them or they came that way. Mine always look like disasters, but the plants seem to like them.

I'm also waiting on a rescue to finally have decent roots. It's taking a while, but the ones it has (all five are less than ¾ of an inch long) are bright green and it's growing beautiful leaves. Yours seem quite happy so I'm sure flowers are in your future.

Oh, thanks!!

I made the small one out of a Nero bottle (those overpriced drinks, but I like the sleepy one). I made the holes by repeatedly stabbing in needle-nosed tweezers through. I really would just love some power drills or something for that– it makes my hands tired.

The bigger phal is just in a plastic cup– talk about a CHEAP pot!! I held a lighter to the sides until the plastic got soft, then I stabbed a wooden skewer through. It took me a few hours to prepare a few cups like this, but it is worth it.

I also buy 32oz to-go soup containers on amazon for my bigger plants, and I melt holes into those, too. It's a pain in the butt, but it saves me a buck and gives me really really good control over what my pots are like!

[CPC2]

Astrid, hi! I'm getting ready to enter into my second season of orchid care. I have already noticed that the health of the root system determines how big the flowers are and whether or not the flower spikes.

Along the lines of your question, I would say that a healthy root system is necessary for spike and big flowers. I would define healthy root system as a tangle of green and white roots, supporting the plant. So, more than 3 with roots off-shooting.

Having said this, I want to add that healthy roots do not guarantee a spike. Right now, I have 6 phals, all with healthy root systems and placed in good light. Of those, 1 is spiking and growing 3 basal keikis and leaves, 3 are growing basal keikis and leaves, and 1 is growing a leaf and one isn't doing much of anything - resting I guess. Not sure why basal keikis are so prominent with my growing conditions but I can say the roots are healthy, there are no diseases or pests and there's no crown rot.

There are several other factors that induce spiking like temp and daylight. The phal that is spiking started to right at the beginning of fall when the days began to get shorter and colder. The 5 other phals were blooming until June which may be why they're producing leaves and keikis but no spikes. They may yet do this in winter or early spring- time of year being another factor.

One thing I can attest to is that I use Superthrive in the water I use for almost-daily misting and it made a difference in root development. I noticed the difference after about 2 weeks of use--abundant root development.

Don't forget that your plants go through a resting period after the blooms fade. When did the large phals last bloom?

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[astrid]

Originally Posted by CPC2

Don't forget that your plants go through a resting period after the blooms fade. When did the large phals last bloom?

Hey CPC2!
The bigger phal last bloomed in November of last year. That said, I put it through some abuse due to my ignorance on orchid care, and many of its roots died off. Since then its root system has really bounced back and flourished! It has 4-5 main roots, and most of those have offshoots.

As for the mini phal, I have no idea when it last bloomed. It was just given to me last summer in bad shape, and it's been improving slowly and quietly ever since.

[CPC2]

In that case, I second what lotis said, the plant is putting energy into become strong enough to produce flowers. All plants, not just orchids, will only go through a reproductive phase is they're healthy enough.