Leaf Problem and maybe a Keiki on phal?
 

Hi everyone!!

I just signed up for Orchid Board, though I've been lurking for a while. I have 3 little Phals, the oldest I've had for almost 4 years.

I have never had any of them bloom since they were purchased. I've had lots of root growth and new leaves, but never any spikes.. :( That said, I have never regularly fertilized, and the get water once a week(ish) with tap water.

After looking through the beginner thread, I decided it was time to repot. The oldest one had been repotted once, but the others never had. I ordered the Imperial Blend mix from rePotme.com, and I got clear containers so that I can observe the roots. I'm hoping they're happy in the new media.

Now, on to my questions. One of them has had a leaf that is barely hanging on. It's still green, but is mostly detached - it's been that way since I got it. I thought it would drop by itself, so I haven't helped it along, but now I'm wondering if I should just take it off? There's a picture of it attached.

One of the other phals has something growing attached to it. Again, it's been like that since I bought it (not quite a year I think..). After reading, I *think* it's a keiki, but I'm not sure. It really hasn't grown at all, but again it's still green so... I assume thats good. There's a picture of that one, also.

When I repotted, all of them had a decent root structure with very little that needed to be clipped. The phal with the partially detached leaf had the best roots - Lots of them, all very healthy.

I appreciate any help that you can give me with these guys. I hope to get them to bloom regularly, but I'm pretty happy that I've managed not to kill any :)

ETA: When you look at the picture with all 3 phals, you'll notice the one with the possible keiki has some very obvious leaf damage. My husband accidentally dropped that one, and the pot crushed the leaf. It seems to be ok other than it doesn't look pretty.

I'm not 100% sure which picture is which problem, but I'll try to address what I see in each pic.

The first picture looks like a really happy Phal with a very small base of an old spike, which looks like it was trimmed off at some point. Looks good, otherwise - you don't need to do anything to that base, as cutting it lower would risk damaging the plant (unless you're very deft with cutters).

The second picture looks like another happy Phal. The bottom left leaf looks to be the one with damage. Cutting off the damaged leaf is totally up to you - it does look a little wilted, so it might be for the better to cut it off. You've got plenty of other leaves to support the plant as it grows.

The third and fourth picture I'm assuming are of the same plant? The stem like thing growing from the base (if that's what I'm seeing) looks like an inflorescence (bloom stem) that has decided to become a keiki. I've seen this on my own Phals before, and it has been about 50/50 for whether it becomes a bloom spike or keiki. The damaged leaf on this one doesn't look too bad - again, your choice whether to cut it or not.

The final pic looks like a trio of happy Phals. Kudos to you, as I've never been able to keep more than 4 leaves on a Phal at any one time. I bloom them just fine, but 5 leaves or more? No, no, no, not in my house.

-Tim

I know the pictures are a bit confusing.. Sorry!

Picture 1 is the phal that has the detaching leaf. Its detaching right from the stem of the plant. That's what all that brown stuff is - not including the clipped spike.

Pictures 2, 3, and 4 are the same plant with the keiki. My question with that was, do I worry because it hasn't grown/changed in a year?? It does have leaf damage but it doesn't seem to bother the plant and it doesn't bother me :)

Thanks!

OK, that all makes sense now. The leaf in the first pic looks pretty wilted and detached - I'd say cutting it off is a good way to go.

The keiki/spike thingy I wouldn't worry about too much. I've had plants do some strange things over the years, to the point that it doesn't phase me now. Once the "thing" has decided what it wants to be, it'll get to growing.

Hopefully that helps :-)

-Tim

Sent from my A200 using Tapatalk HD

I wanted to post an update on my orchids! All of them are doing well, with new root growth! I have started fertilizing them, and about a week ago I noticed something spectacular:

A SPIKE! I'm so happy!!

Woo hoo! :wtg:

Those are some healthy phals that's for sure! Show us the blooms when you get them!

Its happy and now it will give you some nice blooms

I will definitely post pictures! I am so ecstatic! After 4 years of owning orchids, its so nice to get a spike! :bananaslide:

I want to join the previous post and say you've done an absolutely fantastic job keeping those Phals in such a perfect shape! And now there's definitely a spike growing!
:congrats: