Hello, from a complete Newbie in New York

[lucRiv]

Originally Posted by Daethen

Please, be a pest. It is the best way to learn. They are VERY addictive and there is no known cure for the addiction. No 12 step either. Don't fuss with them too much, that seems to be when I have the most problems. I am teaching myself to look but leave alone and am now starting to get better results.

I think you're right! I think that's part of the reason why my Mom had such great success! She didn't fuss with them - she just let them do their thing!! Now me... I'm a "fusser" by nature. I pray that's not going to be my downfall. I have already done SO much fussing with this ONE plant that I have that I hope that it's not the reason it's in distress.

Where is the line between "fussing" and stepping in to help? Like, for instance, my current dilemma is someone said that my leaves on my Phal looked a little dehydrated. So should I leave the plant alone, or should I start misting it? Or water it? NOW I know why I am starting out with a Phal instead of a more difficult variety. I feel like I'm never going to get the right "chemistry" going with this.

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[Jennyfleur]

Hi, I tend to mist my Phals anyway as I don't have a great humidity level in my house. Watering to cure suspected dehydration can get you into trouble as you *really don't* want to over water and get root rot - a good watering schedule will plump up the leaves in time and, if not, the plant'll grow nice new healthy leaves while the older ones die off. You could always try having little water trays around the plants to help with humidity if you think that's the problem.

However, if the leaves are thinning down and becoming 'ridgy' it could be due to root trouble - have you had an inspection to see what they're liike?

Don't worry about the lack of chemistry - it might be that you're stressing yourself out by trying get everything perfect, try to relax and you'll get the feel for them as you go along