Weird Yellow Phal
 

I've got this NOID Phal a couple years ago as a gift. It was gorgeous.
With time passing, it proved to be a very slower grower but still bloomed last year.
I've been checking on it regularly - is there something it needs or lacks? Light? Nutrition? Roots health?
It gets the same care if not more than the rest of the bunch except it grows only one leaf per year and is very pale. If anything, that's what is the most weird about it -its yellow leaves, even though they are firm, not wrinkly. The roots seem to be ok, not mushy, some new green tips but then again, not exploding like others.

I heard that yellow Phals are difficult to grow. There's not much info to be found on the Internet. Just another day though I came across this blog entry (excuse its occasionally strong language, please.) It talks about some generic modifciations done by breeders.

After a lengthy read - yawn.... - the bottom line seems to be, there are no true yellow and red Phals, while those that exist - may not thrive in the long term.

Plants are the Strangest People: Geneticist (Phalaenopsis cvv.), Part I

What do others think?

My phal leaves turn yellow right before they fall off. I wonder if they mean yellow phal flowres, not leaves?

What do the roots look like?

This guy has flowers that are similar to my phal Fullers Gold Strips. So far I haven't had any problems with mine but I've only had it for a few months. It isn't a slow grower for me but there are a lot of variables.

What is it planted in? What are you feeding it? How often do you water?

Well, like I said earlier, this one gets regular orchid culture and even more pumpering because of being a gift.
So, roots are ok but slow, it's potted in bark with lots of air pockets, sits near the east window to get adequate light plus artificial growth light for the rainy days, gets fertizlied together with its buddies, etc.... It's bloomed but grows one leaf per year.

I have almost all my orchids spiking and blooming at the moment, so I'm not new to basics. I just can't figure out this one. :roll:

Thanks for reading.

Wow. As far as I can see (in my limited experience) your doing everything right. It might just be slower then the others.

I've never seen an orchid with yellow leaves like that before.

Interesting. I've never seen healthy phals with yellow leaves.

Could it be getting too much light, and instead of turning purple it turned yellow?

Well, it's sitting together with all other orchids, so probably not. Besides, we're in Vancouver, not California.... I wish! :biggrin:

I am really hoping this turns out to be a really neat genetic freak!

So all these pictures show the same plant?

Then, it was all green as in the first picture, then it gradually went yellow?

That really sounds very interesting.
I see there are only three leaves left though, maybe something is wrong.

The only yellow phals I've seen were litereally yellow, like bright lemony yellow with just hint of some green stripes along the leaf length.