Phal questions

[scy]

I have a NOID phal that I received as a Christmas gift and repotted from sphag to bark since sphag does not dry out fast enough in my environment. Sorry in advance for the long post. I'd rather give too much information than not enough in order to get proper advice. Thanks in advance for your help!

My growing conditions: low humidity, some air movement (air vent above window where orchids are but never strong enough that any of the leaves move), winter daytime temps (if sunny: 75-90 F, if cloudy: 65ish), winter night temps: 45-55 F. I keep the phal on a heating pad so temps will be higher. I unplug it during the day depending on if it's sunny or not.

I noticed that the top leaf looks more pleated. I've read that this generally means that it's not receiving enough water although the medium has been damp for close to 2 weeks now. I haven't watered or even misted since then. I have a skewer I use to check for moisture. I also included pictures of the roots. Some are green and some are not and there is certainly moisture inside.

On the underside of the non-pleated leaf, there is a part that appears sunken in with a red dot that protrudes a bit. What is this? I attached a photo of both sides so you can see that it's not visible unless I turn the leaf over.

On the bottom leaf, there are black sunken spots all over from accidentally getting water on it when I first watered. I have dabbed rubbing alcohol on it once and it doesn't seem to have spread.

Lastly, this has been in bloom since Christmas. The last flower is in bloom. I would rather have a healthy orchid that provides large, plentiful blooms rather than small blooms all year round. New spikes / buds (not sure of the terminology) that appeared while it was in bloom.

Questions:
1. Since the top leaf is pleated, does this mean that my orchid is not getting enough water although the medium is damp? What should I do?
2. What is that sunken part of the leaf with the red dot mean? Should I be concerned?
3. Given that I would rather have a healthy orchid that provides large, plentiful blooms rather than small blooms year round, should I cut the spike at the base when the last flower drops or leave it as is?

Susan

[WhiteRabbit]

just giving a
hopefully someone can help you out - I'm not good with Phals

[Olivia]

Originally Posted by scy

Questions:
1. Since the top leaf is pleated, does this mean that my orchid is not getting enough water although the medium is damp? What should I do?

This is partly personal preference but I have found the medium of my one phal in a plastic container takes forever to dry out. Especially compared to the others. It's still moist long after the roots look like they want more water. I'm thinking of putting mine back in a more breathable ceramic pot.

Is this your normal potting method or a one off like mine?

Maybe this is just me but from the pleats in the picture I'm not sure that's a sign of current dehydration. When mine get too dry they go a little wrinkly. I haven't seen perfectly parallel pleats before.

[scy]

I don't necessarily have the same medium for my orchids, since people have given me different types. My dendrobium is in s/h, my cymbidium and miltoniopsis are in a terrestrial mix and I repotted my phal from sphag to bark mixture. The bark mixture was drying out quickly (within a week's time) originally after I repotted but it's taking longer to dry out now. I water the same way each time. I put the pot in a container, fill it with water about 2/3 full so the crown doesn't get wet and let it sit there for 10 minutes before I take it out and let the water drain out the bottom.

As for that pleated leaf, it's always looked a bit pleated from the start, but it's more noticeable now than before. I was hoping to switch my miltoniopsis and cymbidium to the bark mix with possibly some small chc when there were signs of new growth.

Does anyone have any ideas about the other questions?

[Paul Mc]

I'm not sure what the red dot means in the sunken part. However, I have noticed that when water (or mist) gets on a leaf and stays there it will occasionally get a sunken area. To be honest, the dark areas on pic #7 and the sunken area on pic #8 look alright to me, but I am no expert on diseases or other issues. However, mine have survived with that sort of thing.

I wish I could help you out further. Perhaps another person might be able to throw in their opinions to your questions.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Miltoniopsis are NOT terrestrials. Miltoniopsis are epiphytes. They should NOT be in a terrestrial mix. Small or medium grade bark with charcoal and perlite for a potting medium is fine.

Most Cymbidiums are usually semi-terrestrials. A terrestrial orchid mix for Cymbidiums is fine.




Regarding your Phalaenopsis:

The clear plastic pot your Phal is in is fine. Clear plastic pots dry out faster than opaque ones do.

The black spotting on the underside of the leaf may be temperature damage or past damage from a fungal infection.

The "red dot" may be the same as the black spots.

The pleated leaf on your Phal is a sign of a previous period of dehydration.

The major veins of a Phalaenopsis leaf naturally runs parallel to each other.

[scy]

I know they are not terrestrials from the other post; however, I wanted to wait for new growth before I repotted. I did look at the roots and they are pretty healthy.

Thanks for the other suggestions! What is your opinion about the spikes?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by scy

I know they are not terrestrials from the other post; however, I wanted to wait for new growth before I repotted. I did look at the roots and they are pretty healthy.

I honestly wouldn't wait.

Why?

1. It could take at least 1 more month for you to see any signs of vigorous new growth. Perhaps 2 months.

2. When potting an epiphyte in a terrestrial mix, serious damage can happen between now and the time you see new growth.


Plus...

The whole repotting when you see new signs of growth thing, should not be treated as a hard-fast rule. It is a flexible guideline. I have most certainly repotted certain orchids when they were not in growth and have not lost them.

Originally Posted by scy

Thanks for the other suggestions! What is your opinion about the spikes?

There's nothing wrong with the spikes. That's normal for certain types of hybrids. It's genetic.

[scy]

The miltoniopsis has been in bloom since Christmas. The last flower is in bloom. I would rather have a healthy orchid that provides a large, plentiful blooms rather than small blooms all year round. New spikes / buds (not sure of the terminology) appeared while it was in bloom. Should I cut the spike at the base when the last flower drops or leave it as is? There is a photo of the new / old spikes in the original post.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Mltnps blooming at that rate, to me, seems a little suspect.

It sounds like a bailout effort on the part of the plant, idk, I could be wrong...

Again - to me, it doesn't sound indicative of what I recognize as a proper blooming cycle for a Miltoniopsis. They seem like they're "hyper-blooming". Like I said...I could be wrong...idk...

You'd have to check the roots and all that stuff to make sure.