So 9-10 months ago I bought a beautiful phalaenopsis and a month or so after the blooms died as I was told they would. I snipped the stem at couple nodes up as I was instructed and hoped that my plant would rebloom. It did not. Today I notice that a new leaf is emerging from the plant but I'm not sure what to do to encourage growth now. I'm attaching a couple pics. The stem looks almost completely dead. Where will the plant grow from? Should I fertilize it?
I leave the stems on mine uncut, and often a new stalk will grow from the old. When the old stalk has dried and shriveled up---THEN I clip it. Your plant looks good. It IS growing! It may well be in a leaf-producing mode, so be patient. If you keep it healthy it will produce another flower spike when it is ready to do so. Some of mine flower twice a year, some once. Assume that the red outer pot visible in photos provides good drainage...?
the Phal. itself is growing inside a clear plastic pot of sorts with vertical slits all up and down the side of it and it was set inside the red pot and any water I was suppose drains out of the moss and into the bttm of the pot. my only concern I would think would be whether its getting enough oxygen I suppose. the plastic pot fits quite snuggly into the red pot about half way down and there are no holes on the bttm of the red pot itself.
Be sure that your orchid does NOT sit in a puddle!!! Phals are epiphytes and gotta have air to the roots. If submerged/soggy, they will suffocate. Advise removing plant from red pot. The combination of no drainage and snug fit bodes ill. When you water take the plant out of the red pot, give it a good spray in the sink with tepid water, and let it drain COMPLETELY. Moss holds moisture longer than bark does. Remember: no sogginess!!!
so upon investigating the fit of the plastic planter inside the pot the air slits aren't obstructed by the red pot and below the the clear plastic planter is several inches of space. The only snug part of the fit is simply the top rim of the plastic planter. I mean how much air do they need. Should the air be circulating freely around the edges of the plastic planter not obstructed by the snug fitting rim?
