Phal won't grow new leaves

[Ray]

You're feeding your plants almost 800 ppm N alone. Echoing comments above, that's about 10x what I'd recommend.

[Aubs86]

Originally Posted by Ray

You're feeding your plants almost 800 ppm N alone. Echoing comments above, that's about 10x what I'd recommend.

How often and how much do you recommend? What happens when they get to much? Thanks again for all of your help everyone!

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Aubs86

How often and how much do you recommend? What happens when they get to much? Thanks again for all of your help everyone!

Did you ever see the movie Idiocracy? They watered their crops with Gatorade because "it's got electrolytes!" The world was starving because of crop failure.

Epiphytic orchids aren't adapted to water with a high mineral content. It causes leaf browning and root dieback. People have varying opinions on how to fertilize Phals. My previous message mentions some possibilities. You can read a lot about fertilizing on Ray's web site. I can't do cut-and-paste with my phone, but look up First Ray's and click on Free Information.

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by Aubs86

Well, our house is about 76 degrees, we don't run the ac very often at all. I will try to find a way to get it more light and see what happens. Do you think the fact that it only gives me one flower is a clue that something is wrong? When I first bought it it had a nice long spike with lots of blooms. Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

I have that same fertilizer and it says teaspoon not tablespoon per gallon!!!

[jmmehler]

I was under the impression that Phals only spiked above (or is it below?) a new leaf. If you had a particularly good growth year and developed three new leaves, you could hope to get three spikes. If they only spike on new leaves, then the fact that this one blooms, must mean that new leaves are developing.

[Aubs86]

Originally Posted by Irielicious

I have that same fertilizer and it say TEASPOON not tablespoon per GALLON!!!

Well, I fertalize every 14 to 21 days, EVERY OTHER watering. According to the bag I have it says ONE TABLESPOON to one gallon.
The one teaspoon per gallon is if you want to fertalize once a week, or with every watering.

[Aubs86]

Originally Posted by jmmehler

I was under the impression that Phals only spiked above (or is it below?) a new leaf. If you had a particularly good growth year and developed three new leaves, you could hope to get three spikes. If they only spike on new leaves, then the fact that this one blooms, must mean that new leaves are developing.

Here is a photo. See how last years spike is actually higher up then the current spike?

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by Aubs86

Well, I fertalize every 14 to 21 days, EVERY OTHER watering. According to the bag I have it says ONE TABLESPOON to one gallon.
The one teaspoon per gallon is if you want to fertalize once a week, or with every watering.

How odd that yours says that...I've looked on my bag several times to make sure I didn't read it wrong or missed some other set of directions, but my bag for sure is one teaspoon/gallon. Nevertheless, if you've had success with it good for you . I just bought mine so they might have changed the formula a bit from your batch to mine or vice versa. Either way good luck, hope it works out and you get the leaf you are looking for!!!

[Ray]

First we all have to recognize that manufacturers are trying to sell you fertilizer, not have you grow better plants.

I try to take cues from nature whenever possible. In a forest environment, they plants get fed a minuscule amount of food (measured as 15-25 ppm total dissolved solids in several places), every time it rains, which can be daily, or more often. That suggests to me - as it has others posting earlier - that the plants have evolved to expect such low doses, and not the much higher levels that are more common for terrestrial plants.

At a tablespoon per gallon, the N-P-K alone of that formula is almost 1500 ppm, and if we include whatever other minerals are in it, and what's already dissolved in your water, you're probably pushing 2000 ppm, or 100x what they'd see in nature.

Also, if you consider their metabolic processes, for an orchid to gain one pound of mass, it must actually absorb and process about 25 gallons of water, but less than a teaspoon of fertilizer nutrients.

I would bet that if it was in a very open medium, and was watered more frequently, with only a little bit of fertilizer, it would grow and bloom much better.

[Cym Ladye]

I have always said if you ask 10 different people an orchid related question, you get at least 12 different answers, all with possible merit as it relates to your situation!

So, not to be left out, here is my recommendation: Repot it in something different-new pot and different mix. Firstly, it will rid the existing media of stored salts and secondly, as what you are currently doing is not working, even though your fertilizer is waaay off, I suspect those roots are not as firm as you think they are in looking at it in the photo. When was the last time you repotted it? If you said when, I lost it in all the posts. Looking though a clear plastic pot at roots is not the best way to judge root condition or the condition of the media.

I have always found the best solution to most orchids is to plant them in fresh mix, sometimes the same type media appropriate for the genera, and sometimes a blend of several. Shocks them into growth every time for me.