Phal with new leaf on mother and basal keiki are narrow (kinda) pics included

[SiohWenoeht]

Hello! I'm new to the forum but have had my phal for 2 years. It has been re potted and has a new root growth but I'm concerned about the new foliage. I've read that narrower new foliage can be a result of too little light. I've included pictures to help. Also, is there a reliable way to guess the true age of the plant? It had two spikes with 8 flowers each this last bloom and a single spike the year before that. I only ask because of the slow growing nature of orchids and that the foliage spread on this plant is already 18 inches. Thank you in advance!

[PaphMadMan]

There is no way to be certain of the age, but with a leaf spread of 18" it is definitely a mature plant, and it appears basically healthy.

Narrow leaves are most likely a sign of less than optimal light, as you already know, but it could simply be a period of weak growth following repotting. I would gradually give it brighter light, and if the next leaves continue the pattern then consider other possibilities. I see some signs of long term moisture deficit, but if you have repotted and have new root growth there should be no problem going forward if you water appropriately. How do you fertilize?

[SiohWenoeht]

I've been fertilizing once per month but was thinking of switching to weekly. It began life as a "just add ice orchid" and until I read a little more about phals I was still adding just 3 cubes per week which is probably where the moisture deficit came from.

[Ray]

Orchids are not particularly demanding of nutrition, and more nutrition does not necessarily equal more growth, and if overdone, actually has the opposite impact.

If you feed more frequently, cut the concentration drastically. For weekly feeding, I recommend that you divide 6 by the %N on the fertilizer label. The result is the teaspoons per gallon for about 75 ppm N. Flood the potting medium well whenever you water. Fertilizer is cheap; mineral buildup is costly.

[SiohWenoeht]

Good to know! Thank you both! It was my first attempt at re potting and it took about an hour to untangle the roots and remove the old medium. How root bound do phals like to be? This one had cracked the inner plastic pot. I had to end up cutting the container down the side!

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

The pot size, medium used, medium particle size and your watering habits are related. Phal roots rot when they don't get enough air. A largish pot with smallish medium, in the hands of a keeper who waters heavily, causes trouble. People who tend to water too much, and prefer using media that stay wet longer, usually get better survival in small pots. In large particle bark they need more frequent watering, and pot size doesn't matter as much. The plant doesn't care one way or the other about pot size. It needs to be big enough to hold the roots. Aerial roots do not need to be stuffed under the new medium when repotting.

[SiohWenoeht]

That makes sense. I am using large bark for the medium and have noticed that it dries out in 3-4 days instead of 7-8 as before. I've been trying to increase the humidity as we've had to use the furnace already and have other houseplants nearby. I've also read elsewhere that phals don't like to be completely dry but the consistent info here seems to be they benefit from dry/moist alternating conditions. Is this a grower preference issue or is one better than another?

[estación seca]

Phalaenopsis do best with roots constantly both moist and exposed to air flow. Most people can't manage one or the other of those. A quick way to kill a Phal is to keep roots wet and with poor air circulation - very easy to do with fine bark or sphagnum moss as medium. Note that most come in sphagnum moss.

Letting them dry completely between waterings - so long as they don't stay dry very long - is a way to keep them alive, and grow pretty well. But you get better growth and flowering if they are constantly moist, with good air flow to the roots. Most people use the wet/dry watering method because it doesn't kill Phals.

As others here note, if you use quite large bark you can water every day. You don't need to if your plants stay moist for 3-4 days, but you could.

[SiohWenoeht]

Thank you for that explanation! As I am quickly learning, growing orchids is quite nuanced; just as my bonsai hobby!

[jkofferdahl]

I think I'm going to be the Blue Meanie here and suggest that your orchid may have some problems. My belief is that your plant's root system is suffereing.

I see a couple of potential issues here. First, you've potted the orchid in what appears to be relatively small-chink bark. The smaller the chunk the more densely it's going to fill into the pot, and the more densely it fills then the less air can circulate through the roots. Second, you've then packed the pot into a larger pot with a thick layer of moss between the two pots, further blocking air flow. Finally, the leaf to the left - under the tip of the tape measure - has a somewhat dessicated appearance when compared to the other leaves. This indicates that the plant is either being underwatered or has an issue with the roots.

I'm not sure if I'd suggest repotting again into a larger-chunk medium but I WOULD suggest immediately removing the main pot from the insulating pot. Yesterday would be a good time. Then carefully monitor your watering so that your orchid media becomes virtually dry before the next watering. You can measure it by sinking a wooden kitchen skewer deep into the media and leaving it for about 15 minutes. If you feel moisture on it when you pull it out, don't water.