Will this Phal spike produce blossoms?

[Just1MoreOrchid]

My husband bought me my first orchid after I announced I wanted to grow orchids a year and a half ago. It was a grocery store bought Phalaenopsis that had two full spikes of dark red blossoms. This orchid bloomed for 16 months straight with both spikes full of blossoms. Finally it needed a rest, but it didn't take but a month early this winter before it was producing a new spike. This time it's under the 4th leaf where there hadn't been a spike before. I thought the Phals sent out new spikes under the 3rd leaf. Is the "under the third leaf spike" just a general rule of thumb for Phals? Or won't the little buds on the spike produce blossoms?

[fishmom]

Phals will spike where they want, so there is no reason your spike won't produce blooms with good care. Actually, I had never heard the "3rd leaf" rule, myself.

I hope you have repotted the plant in the meantime. It is probably ready for some new medium. Good luck!

[jkofferdahl]

Yeah, that "third leaf" rule is a new one to me as well, and I've been growing Phals for about 40 years. Phals can have any number of leaves - I've seen blooming plants with as few as 2 leaves - and the spikes grow from the plant's "stem" just below a leaf and on the mid-line, but it may be below any leaf.

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[Just1MoreOrchid]

Thank you for your input on the theory I heard that the Phal spikes always come under the 3rd leaf. I didn't repot this Phal because I'd intended to do that about the time it surprised me with another spike. Looking through the clear plant pot, the potting medium appears to be in good shape.