Not 1 but 2....

[charlie7494]

So there not blooming, but I still wanted to share. The one has done this before and I now have it making another and a second one doing so as well. Noticed it today when I watered.

[Silje]

Great that you have basal keikis growing!

That phal in the first picture is in a waaaaaay too big pot! If I were you I'd re-pot it into something much smaller. It's obviously a survivor and in active growth, and phals are normally fine with re-potting.

Orchids in general like to be in as small pots as possible.

[RosieC]

I wonder if both are actually struggling and are doing this in an attempt to survive.

I agree with Silje that the first looks to be in too big a pot, it also looks like the medium is very dense. The second looks to be dehydrated and lost a lot of lower leaves. Is the medium similar to the first.

[charlie7494]

I'll be re-potting the first one soon as I get a new pot for it, it was given to me and that's what it was in. The second on had a rough summer but is pulling out of it ok so far. Hopefully it continues to get stronger, I moved both to my room so I can keep a better eye on them. I'm not sure if both are in the same medium because I didn't put the first one in the pot it is currently in. I tend to use miracle grow orchid mix normally. They seem to like it and it's fairly easy to find out by me.

[Silje]

Hmmmm...I don't know Miracle Grow Orchid Mix myself, but I remember someone here on the forum said it looked more like soil than the more porous, chunky mixes most of us prefer to use.

Here is a link to a thread regarding that mix.

[Ordphien]

I would ditch the miracle grow... it's too dense for phals.
They now sell a coarse mix that's a little better. But if still go with another brand

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[Chatbud]

The media in the 1st pic made me flinch!

[charlie7494]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

I would ditch the miracle grow... it's too dense for phals.
They now sell a coarse mix that's a little better. But if still go with another brand

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I'll have to see if I can find something else at our feed store. Until then I think I'm stuck with the miracle grow. Both plants are continuing to do well though, and I have another plant that is starting a spike

[GardenTheater]

If you're an online shopper, you can get better growing media at orchid specialty sites like Repotme.com.

[tucker85]

I agree with the previous posts, the pot is way too big and the mix is too fine. Remember, in nature, phals grow attached to a tree with the roots fully exposed to the air. I would choose the smallest pot that you can comfortably fit the roots into and I would use a chunkier mix that allows air to get to the roots.