Is my Phal dying or just done blooming?

[floranewb206]

Only two flowers are left, the rest wilted off. As you can see the stem is turning yellow. But roots and leaves look ok. Water with light fert when the roots turn silver (once/week or every other week)

What should I do? Is it time to change the medium to the Phal bark, or is it dying?

[Silje]

If the roots and leaves are ok then it's probably just done flowering.

[Bud]

I suggest cutting the spike an inch from the base. This will trigger the plant to grow more roots and leaves to gain energy for the next blooming cycle.
Continue the watering and fertilizer regimen.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Silje

If the roots and leaves are ok then it's probably just done flowering.

[floranewb206]

Thank you, I trimmed it down as suggested : ) should the second stem that still has two flowers be trimmed down that far as well when it turns yellow? It's still green.

Is this the best time to dump the original "bark" from the store and replace with the Phal bark mix?

[RosieC]

I always cut the spikes right down. If the spike stays green you can leave it if you like, it's a matter of personal preference whether to cut those (I cut). It's possible for a still green spike to have more flowers, but it can often be a long time and it's not guaranteed. If you cut them off they will grow a new spike when they are ready and usually that will have more flowers than the few that grow on an existing spike.

If the flowers are starting to fade then it may be a good time to re-pot.

[floranewb206]

Which bark should I use and where to buy? There was one at Homedepot but I just read it is peat which I think isn't the best right

And I'd like a basic bark for it, nothing expensive.

[RosieC]

I'm not sure in the USA, apart from repotme.com but then you get postage costs. Not sure what ones you have that can be bought in standard stores which are any good. Hopefully someone else can chime in on that.

[WhiteRabbit]

The Home Depot near me carries Gubler's orchid mix. The coarser (medium bark) mix is great for Phals. They also have Better Gro orchid bark and mixes. The medium bark (or mix) would be my choice for Phals. I have also gotten just bark for orchids at a hardware store and a retail nursery (Summer Winds). Just some added perlite makes a good mix.

Soak new bark several hours before using. Even after a good soak, new bark will dry fairly quickly, so needs more frequent watering the first few weeks. As the bark ages, it will begin to retain moisture longer.

[AnonYMouse]

Have you gone to Seattle Orchids. They have a brick n mortar location. Seattle Orchid