So here's my take. There could be something wrong or it could be just a freak occurrence. Like Andrea mentioned this could have been caused by a draft, or the opposite by being overexposed to heat (not sure what kind of heating you have in your house). If you fertilized recently that could also be the culprit, I've heard of early flower demise & bud blast from fertilizing during bloom, however I've never seen it myself. I don't know how much fertilizer you give the orchid when you water, but don't forget that orchids really do only need a minuscule amount. That said, there's also a chance that your orchid is slowly going downhill. You say that nothing has really changed over the course of the year, but you have to take into account the changing levels of light especially in winter. To give us a better idea of growing conditions, how close is the orchid to the window? How much light does the window really get? For reference, I grow my phals in a southern window in the winter. I imagine that in zone 4 in a northwest window your phal gets about 1 hr of sunlight per day, if that? That's probably not enough light to sustain 20-30 blooms for an extended period of time. There's also a chance that the medium that the orchid is growing in is breaking down (I assume you have never re-potted the orchid) and suffocating the roots that are inside. Once your plant is done blooming, it would probably recommend re-potting it, unless you already did so when you bought it. Fortunately, they days are getting longer and your plant should be getting more and more light. Overall it sounds like you're on the right track, so keep up the great work. If possible, I would consider moving the phal to a brighter window next winter so that it gets a little more light, that way it will be able to keep up it's wonderful display. Best of luck, ~Jem

Hmmm so i havnt done anything to it yet but the buds leaves and flowers seemed to have stopped dropping...it was originally in the shade and i put it out in a place that gets half a day of sun about a week ago and i think thats what seems to have helped it. The flowers have faded in the sun though and dont look as deep pink :( which is alittle disappointing i guess...The leaves still have that white furry stuff on them though so i might wipe them down again but it is looking alot healthier. The leaves with the dots on them that you guys though might be mites fell off and no more seem to look like that...maybe i am in the clear? will keep a eye on it still but...

thx for letting us know.. NINE years later,.. lol ... ken

It's an old argument, between those that don't see the point of bringing up old threads and those who don't have a problem with it. I am in the camp of not having a problem with it. Also I'd like to point out, that Houzz often places links to these old threads next to current threads and people click on them without realizing how old they are. That being said, I have to agree with GGal on the subject of natives. I was an organic garden 40 years ago, when few people knew what organic gardening was all about. Protecting, supporting and nurturing the ecology of your little garden corner of the world. And going along those lines, I also became very interested in growing native and started to buy a lot of them. 20 years Later, I still have many natives in my garden that have performed well, but I also have replaced or lost many others. Including two types of native trees that were expensive to lose. So my own personal experience supports each point that GGal made. It must be exciting to discover all the benefits that native plantings have in the wild and quite a project to devote yourself to replace everything in your garden with all natives. I would find it interesting to follow along with your progress and see how it all works out, so I hope you share your experiences in the forums. But… these statements that you made, provoke conflict. “…there is way better beneficial native shrubs that will offer pollen, nectar, sometimes fruits or seeds and can be a host plant for moths and butterflies which will feed baby birds.” Implying that non-native plants do not? “I could suggest some species but I need your state, it’s always better to plant for your region.” “Our pollinators and wildlife needs us, better add beneficial plants.” You sound like you are ready to set up your own seminar on natives right here in the forums and you are all ready to help us uninformed gardeners to get on board. Evidently you believe that you are doing the right thing for pollinators and wildlife and if we are not doing what you are doing then we are not. To say that ‘natives will ALWAYS be more beneficial in general’ That statement has been proven to be untrue by a number of people in these forum including myself. That’s a fact, not an opinion. We all want to support pollinators, but a native plant that won’t grow in your garden, does nothing for anyone. And there are many non native plants that provide what pollinators need. I’m always interested to hear about a new plant that someone is in love with and why. So any time you want to share how happy a plant is making you….do that. If you would just leave out the rest, it would be appreciated.