Phal. spike just... stopped growing?

[Salixx]

Hi all,

I've never really had this problem before... usually things go just dandy if I get a spike - the spike grows to blooms and all is good... or, things go terribly... the spike dies and/or buds blast...

However, I have a NoID phal that my mom gave me a couple years ago and it's typically been a very prolific bloomer. However, I moved to my new place in November when it had just started to spike. I think I may have made a mistake in that I put it in a light that received very low light - almost no direct sun and heavily shaded with nearby cedars. It had previously been in a southern window (and I mean IN it... I'm surprised it didn't burn) and got direct sun for 6+ hours a day. The spikes just... stopped growing after the move. They look healthy and green, the plant looks happy, etc, but they've both maybe grown 1/4'' in the last 6 months.

So, about a month ago, I moved it to a different window that gets a good amount of morning/early afternoon sun and probably 2 hours of direct late morning sun. I do plan on setting up a shelf soon in that window (it's one of my best windows for growing) and moving it to where it can get up to 4hrs a day of direct sun...

Anyway... what can be done? I am tempted to re-pot it since it is due for new media but I don't want to screw things up further. I give it fert (Miracle Grow Orchid) once every other week at the recommended dosage and water when the top 2-3'' of media feels dry (usually every other week currently). What do you guys think? Am I missing something?

[cjm3fl]

Changing that amount of light it's getting can be the main problem.
If you plant hasn't grown but a tiny bit in all that time, go with 1/2 the recommended amount of fertilizer (I do this ALL the time as 1/2 is just fine. Using the "recommended" amount is a sales-pitch, so we have to buy more--more often).

Re-potting might stimulate it to grow again, but my Phals get a really good amount of light...either direct or heavily reflected, so I tend not to re-pot when they're in bloom. But this season I have too re-pot all of them while they're blooming.

Is there any place you can put it where it might receive more light?
And moving an orchid can cause the plant to use energy it's using to grow...by moving I mean turning it all the time when the plant faces it's blooms toward a window. Some folks will constantly turn the plant so the bloom is faces inward toward the room they have it.

That last part is just for future reference.
I never move an orchid or turn them once they start to bloom...actually once the spike gets 8 or 12 inches long (for my big bloomers).

Sorry...coffee and med's kicking in, causing me to type a lot

[No-Pro-mwa]

Yep I'd say re-pot sense it's not doing anything anyway. Then just wait and see.

[snowflake311]

When growth stops it can be caused by Stress or root loss. Re pot it is the only way to really get an idea as to why it stopped growing. The roots will answer your questions most of the time.

[Salixx]

Alright, it's time for a repot! Hopefully I'll get out of work early enough tomorrow to get it done. All the air roots are good, but you're right in that I have no idea what's going on underneath. Is it odd that it's new leaf is growing just fine?

[Ray]

...and plants do require an adjustment period if the conditions change.

[Salixx]

Originally Posted by Ray

...and plants do require an adjustment period if the conditions change.

That is a good point. I guess I had hoped that it would adapt faster.

I repotted it, and it's good I did. It had a couple roots getting mushy and there was still standing water in the bottom of the pot from a week ago . The pot was too big for it anyway.

I did repot it into the same pot, but filled the bottom half with packing peanuts to increase drainage and decrease the amount of stuff that could rot. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will be happy and bounce back quick.

Thank you everyone for weighing in and hopefully I will see blooms at some points. They are very pretty, dainty little (for phals) yellow blooms.

[estación seca]

Why was there water standing in the pot? Unless you're growing with the semi-hydroponic technique, there should be drain holes on the bottom and no standing water.

[Salixx]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Why was there water standing in the pot? Unless you're growing with the semi-hydroponic technique, there should be drain holes on the bottom and no standing water.

I should clarify that there was not a lot of standing water (a thin layer of water at the bottom). There was still water left even though it had been a week since watering. The pot does have drainage holes, however, the media was very broken down at the bottom of the pot and it could have clogged some of the drainage. All in all, it was a very soggy mess at the bottom of the pot which is why I opted for the packing peanuts... hopefully they will help to prevent that from happening again.

[snowflake311]

It should do much better now that you re-potted it maybe water less and you have stopped the rotting.