Phaelenopsis 1.5 years, no luck with new stem. New leaves, new roots, what do?

[gliss]

I've had this baby for almost 1.5 years. The only flowers it had was when I got gifted it and it was gorgeous! I cut it to the inch node when the flowers fell off, re-pot, and have been watering every two weeks and giving it food monthly. Since then, new leaves and new roots have popped up but no sign of a new stem. The brown stem is the old one that I cut back then. Not quite sure what else to do

Climate is usually moist warm, 12-25C indoors through year. Indirect sunlight on kitchen sill ~3m from closest window. Unless there's something that I'm completely missing, I'm considering re-potting this baby Any advice appreciated!!

[marcmaubert]

Water every 2 weeks may be too little during warm season. And 12°C might be a little too cold for Phals. They are warm growing orchids. And you didn't say where the light comes from. 3 m from a north-facing window would be too little. Your orchid looks fine, you can try making some little adjustments and you'll get flowers in no time!

[Ray]

I agree with Marc's cultural advice, and will add that the plant may not be getting the temperature treatment it needs.

Phalaenopsis, as Marc said, are hot growers, and they will thrive in heat and humidity, but many need about two weeks with an average growing temperature drop of about 7-8C in order to initiate a flower spike.

That can typically happen with a plant grown near a window, when the autumn temperatures drop.

[jkofferdahl]

I have a few questions. How well drained is the pot? What is the humidity level where the plant grows? How broken down is the bark?

I doubt you need to repot. It appears that you have a plastic pot sitting in a decorative pot, so drainage should be OK if you remove the plastic pot when watering. The plant appears dry, and the roots show classic signs of low humidity.

Finally, often growers push plants to bloom, causing them to bloom at a time not necessarily natural for them. It can take these plants 18-24 months to rebloom. Overall your plant looks to be in fairly good health so I think you just need to tweak the care a bit.

[Roberta]

Relating to the light that it may (or may not) be getting... you are quit far north, and even with the best of window position, the plant is not likely to be getting more than 5-6 hours of good light for half the year. My own experience - living much farther south - was that windows still didn't give enough hours of good light - maybe 4 hours strong and then the sun shifted and it became indirect. I found that if I supplemented the natural light with the cheapest fluorescents I could find (LEDs weren't available at that time, they would work even better, certainly for less cost,I think) on a timer 12 hours per day I went from almost no rebloomng to something like 80% reblooming. Phals are relatively low-light plants, but my experience suggests that they need more duration than they often get, especially at northern latitudes. Worth a try...

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

. . . . . .Finally, often growers push plants to bloom, causing them to bloom at a time not necessarily natural for them. It can take these plants 18-24 months to rebloom. . . . . .

I think this is an important consideration. Your first rebloom may take a little longer than normal. I bought a Phal. in bloom at an orchid show almost two years ago, and it finally, about a month ago, rebloomed for me for the first time. So don't give up!

You say that the temp is 12C - 25C. I'm not sure if you mean that's how much your indoor temperature fluctuates from day to night, or if that is the average temperature fluctuation from winter to summer. The 12C low (54F) does sound a bit on the chilly side.

My Phals are getting watered about twice a week, plus I mist the aerial roots. My indoor humidity is very low in the wintertime, with the furnace on every day, and they seem very thirsty. They are in very well-drained plastic pots with no outer container.

You also say the plant is about 3 meters from the nearest window (about 10 feet), and that sounds pretty far away if that is the only light source, but in the photos, it appears to be right next to a window.

[Optimist]

I can't add any more, but to encourage you. Your plant looks good, just a little setback. When you have the balance of light humidity and water correct, it will grow. It came from a greenhouse filled with professional growers, and scientific equipment. They did such a great job because they had all this wonderful knowledge. You are now in a great place to pick up this great knowledge.

[camille1585]

I agree with everything said above. If you can get the temperature and light right, there's no reason for it to not grow a spike in the fall. A important thing to remember about light is that it follows the inverse-square law: for each doubling of the distance between plant and window/light source, the amount of light is 4 times less. 3m from a window may still seem bright to the eye, but it's not.

I don't know where you are in Canada, but here in the Netherlands I'm at a very northernly latitude and Phals can take full winter sun quite easily (but need to be adapted to it over a few weeks)