Phalaenopsis not growing leaves

[AlexK]

My orchid is only growing one new leaf a year (and one old one dies off). It does grow a new stalk and flowers every year, but the flowers are understandably small.

I've tried everything to keep this orchid happy, and I'm at my wit's end at this point.

It's growing in bark, there's plenty of air circulation (there's plenty of space between the inner and outer pot), the temp is 70-73 F, I give it a weak dose of fertilizer weekly.

I've tried watering less often, more often, I've placed it in various locations in the house. Still no progress. I do wait about half a year between new strategies, to prevent "confusing" it.

The leaves are thin and droop down, but they are firm to the touch and green. But they are just not growing. The roots, although healthy, are also growing fairly slowly.

Meanwhile, my parents have a bunch of orchids that they keep in the same plotting mix that they bought them in, they water them using the much-maligned icecube method, and yet of course they're flourishing.

Any ideas?

[SouthPark]

Just monitor the temperature and temperature range all year around, as well as lighting level and lighting duration. And also check humidity levels..

If at some times of the year the temperature gets relatively cold ----- then cold and wet roots can be an issue. And that is where a good reliable temperature controlled heating mat could help. The roots on the surface are all dried and probably not alive ----- so could either be a cold/wet issue, or a low humidity issue ..... or something else.

The nice thing is ------ the orchid has 3 leaves. Also - aside from weak fertiliser, could also apply weak mag-cal too.

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Just monitor the temperature and temperature range all year around, as well as lighting level and lighting duration. And also check humidity levels..

If at some times of the year the temperature gets relatively cold ----- then cold and wet roots can be an issue. And that is where a good reliable temperature controlled heating mat could help. The roots on the surface are all dried and probably not alive ----- so could either be a cold/wet issue, or a low humidity issue ..... or something else.

The nice thing is ------ the orchid has 3 leaves. Also - aside from weak fertiliser, could also apply weak mag-cal too.

The roots that are above the surface are all green below the surface (as in one of the pics attached). I would imagine green roots wouldn't continue growing from dead roots.

[SouthPark]

If most or all of those roots are alive (on the surface) - then that's good news. The other good news mentioned before is that you have three good leaves - and that is good.

As long as the roots remain alive - and the orchid keeps growing leaves, and nice conditions are provided (good temperature for the orchid and humidity, good lighting level and duration, and some natural air movement in the growing area - and some occasional weak mag-cal and occasional weak fertiliser, and keeping an eye out for attacking organisms like scale/mites/fungus etc) ------- then your orchid will have a good chance to grow well.

The thing to do is to assess the environmental conditions - including assessing the environment down in the depths of the media ----- such as ----- does it get very wet for long periods of time. Not just wet ----- but cold and wet ----- at any times of the year. And assess lighting and humidity conditions.

Make notes of those quantities (temperature, lighting levels and duration, humidity, etc) all year around.

[aliceinwl]

In general it looks to be in good shape. In general this is what works for mine:
Consistent watering, as soon as the roots start to turn silver, water; extended periods of total dryness can really set a plant back

Give it as much light as it can take without burning

Keep it warm, try to avoid exposure to temperatures below 70

Fertilize at least monthly with an orchid fertilizer

Yours may be slightly overpotted. If you find the pot staying moist for more than 7 days after watering and the pot is not full of roots, you can get a coarser media or move it to a smaller pot.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Do you have flower photos? Some kinds of Phals need higher temperatures. Understand they grow really well at 85+ F / 32C and high humidity all year.

It's possible to keep Phals alive in the 70-72 F / 20-22C range but they're not very happy. It would be like making you live in a room at 55 F / 12C barefoot and wearing only shorts. You would survive but your owners would be asking on Human Board why you don't look right and growl all the time.

[camille1585]

That looks like a rather healthy Phal to me.
For now I would not worry about the number of leaves, some Phals can't keep more than 3-4 leaves no matter how otherwise healthy they are. This may be genetic, or a way for the plants to deal with the lowish humidity in homes. I have several like that, but it doesn't stop them from producing large spikes with many blooms.

How are your conditions otherwise? Ideally it would be best to not use a cache pot, the roots do photosynthesize and contribute to producing sugars for the plant. Find a spot next to a bright window, out of direct sunlight

Do you know what type of Phal it is or have a photo of the blooms? It doesn't look like a standard run of the mill hybrid to me, and there are a lot of phals which naturally don't produce many flowers at once. This may explain the 'limp' leaves as well some Phals are also naturally like that.

Originally Posted by estación seca

It's possible to keep Phals alive in the 70-72 F / 20-22C range but they're not very happy. It would be like making you live in a room at 55 F / 12C barefoot and wearing only shorts. You would survive but your owners would be asking on Human Board why you don't look right and growl all the time.

I have to disagree with this rather broad statement. While optimal growth for Phals does occur at higher temperatures, most hybrid Phals and quite a few species will do very well in the temperature range you indicate. Is it optimal growth? No. But it's still pretty darn good, and more than good enough for the majority of growers. I would not go as far as saying that the plants are suffering.

I grow mostly Phals; a mix of complex hybrids, primary hybrids and species. The temps in my growing area fall in the 20-22C range half the year. I have found that low light in the cooler fall to early spring period to be far more of a limiting factor for growth than the temperature. I would not keep them at 20-22C year round however, they do benefit from the warmer temps the rest of the year, and the situation would be similar for most people in temperate climates.

[Leafmite]

My Phal bellina was doing this for the first two years...one leaf lost, one leaf gained per year. Now that I have hung it near the lights, it gets very warm during the day (still cold at night) and it is getting its second leaf in the past six months and hasn't lost any. It probably helps that it is right next to the Theobroma cacao, a rainforest tree that makes its own humidity.