New Leaves Not Growing on Phalaenopsis

[Caroline_81]

I'm new to this board and new to orchids as well. I received my first phalaenopsis orchid in January and the flowers unfortunately fell in late February. I cut the spikes in March since they were brown and would probably not produce any more flowers.

Since then, my poor plant even went through a period when I wasn't watering it properly. Still, the leaves are a healthy green and firm. There doesn't seem to be any rotting or mould. And the roots are thriving in the bark.

My concern is that, despite the plant's heathly appearance, it's still not growing any new leaves. How long does it usually take?

Is there anything I'm missing? I really want to save this plant.

Thank you!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Hi, welcome!

Phalaenopsis are slow growing, but being that it is summer, growth should be very noticeable and it should've been established to some degree by now.

I don't know how likely you are to be able to post pictures, but this is ideal to find out what else may be happening.

You also do not mention anything about lighting. How much light is it getting? They grow in bright shade.

Not watering for a period of time that is outside of the orchid's range of tolerance is considered a significant amount of stress to it. Severe stress to an orchid can cause some setbacks.

If the old leaves are still alive, then the plant should be ok to recover.

More importantly, do you see root growth on your plant? Are there green or reddish brown root tips growing?

[Bulbopedilum]

Phalaenopsis in my experience grow slowly. If the current leaves are green then it's pretty much OK. Phals are very tough orchids. You can even grow phals that don't have roots/leaves/roots and leaves! Do you have a pic of your phal (In bloom and now)? I would like to see

[nogreenthumbs]

As the king alluded to, there are lots of factors and lots of things going on. You could have circumstances right enough for the plant to be just hanging in there, but not growing. You could actually have a problem somewhere that you don't realize. Is the pot that it's in clear?

As previously stated, pics are worth 1000 words, especially when trying to diagnose something that can't speak. Pics of the plant, and if it's in a clear pot, showing the roots would be great.

Fortunately, for you as you've already been told, these things can be quite hardy. Just check out this thread.
Is it really still alive and not dead?!! Pics

[Caroline_81]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Hi, welcome!

Phalaenopsis are slow growing, but being that it is summer, growth should be very noticeable and it should've been established to some degree by now.

I don't know how likely you are to be able to post pictures, but this is ideal to find out what else may be happening.

You also do not mention anything about lighting. How much light is it getting? They grow in bright shade.

Not watering for a period of time that is outside of the orchid's range of tolerance is considered a significant amount of stress to it. Severe stress to an orchid can cause some setbacks.

If the old leaves are still alive, then the plant should be ok to recover.

More importantly, do you see root growth on your plant? Are there green or reddish brown root tips growing?

_______

Hi, thank you very much for your reply. Unfortunately, I tried to insert pictures several different ways and I keep getting a message saying that I have too many URLs and the post is denied. I even tried posting the URL location and it doesn't work. Is there another way to post pictures?

As far as lighting, the plant is in bright shade. It's never been in direct sunlight. It does have plenty of light.

The old leaves are still green and firm, not leathery or wrinkled at all. In fact, there hasn't been much of a change in the leaves since I got it. Maybe it didn't really require that much water.

The roots look good. The ones at the top are dry, but green. And there are lots of green leaves in the pot, which is filled with bark.

I'm just confused as to why it's not growing new leaves from the top. Maybe it will start to grow this summer.

Thanks!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Try posting 3 more random posts and then "go advanced" and use the "manage attachment" feature.

[Caroline_81]

[QUOTE=nogreenthumbs;846038]As the king alluded to, there are lots of factors and lots of things going on. You could have circumstances right enough for the plant to be just hanging in there, but not growing. You could actually have a problem somewhere that you don't realize. Is the pot that it's in clear?

As previously stated, pics are worth 1000 words, especially when trying to diagnose something that can't speak. Pics of the plant, and if it's in a clear pot, showing the roots would be great.

Fortunately, for you as you've already been told, these things can be quite hardy. Just check out this thread.



Hi! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post pictures. I tried inserting pictures and URL links, but my post keeps getting denied. I've never had this problem before. I know it would definitely help with the diagnosis! Thanks for the advice.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Post 2 more posts.

[Caroline_81]

Originally Posted by Bulbopedilum

Phalaenopsis in my experience grow slowly. If the current leaves are green then it's pretty much OK. Phals are very tough orchids. You can even grow phals that don't have roots/leaves/roots and leaves! Do you have a pic of your phal (In bloom and now)? I would like to see

Hi! I hope it's just very slow and will start to come back to life this summer. I would love to post pictures, but I'm having some problems posting them. Once I figure it out, I will! Thanks!

[Caroline_81]

I think I finally figured out how to post pictures...

As you can see, it's in a plastic container with holes at the bottom. It used to be in a decorative pot, but I took it out a few weeks ago. I read that they do best with lots of ventilation.

I hope this helps!

Thank you!