Thank you, Tanie and Jane! > The more difficult the more rewarding you'd feel! Yeah, that's for sure. I wish that for the next 18 years I could go "I was in labor with you for 14 months, and THIS is how you repay me!?!?!" lol > You are a great gardener! Thank you, Jane, for these kind words and others! I am totally humble-bragging about these spikes to everybody I know. :-) > You had some things going for you when you bought the plants. Good points! I would have had a much more difficult time resuscitating them in the winter. I grow under lights, but there are still environmental clues for them to slow down and be lazy. > When we lived in NYC, the most problems came up over winter. [...] They did better when grown under lights over the winter. Yeah, I had an expectation last winter (which was my first winter growing lots of plants under lights) that everything will basically stand still, but some of them did grow. Slower than in the summer, of course, but they did. Lights add a lot of goodness - especially considering that my windows are really dark. Exposure does not even matter when you are on the first floor surrounded by trees and 23-story buildings. > Phals red/purple tinting to the spikes and leaves are most likely purple/ red flowers. Oh, I thought that was just because of the good light! Some culture guides say to give Phals enough light to just turn the leaf undersides slightly purple tinged, but not much more, so that was the look I was going for. There is a comparative photo a few screens above - I experimented putting one twin closer to the lights and the other farther. Maybe the purple spike is the indication of flower color? I have no idea about that - but I did read about purple leaves being light-related. By the way, I have no clue what the flower colors are going to be, but I am DYING to know, of course, so I appreciate your mentioning this indicator. > Now its time to get some healthy ones. They will naturally spike during this period so the stores should be filled with fresh, healthy plants. Yeah, the stores here are indeed full of them - not that they are a deficit at other times... I think I narrowed down the color combo I particularly like, and now it's a matter of catching a good one. > Also, look for a local orchid club near you. I am past that stage. I joined Manhattan Orchid Society 6-7 months ago. Then completely by accident I found out the President of Staten Island OS lives in my building in Brooklyn! (How's that for a coincidence in a 12 million population city?!?!) I joined that Society as well - he and his wife drive every month, and I do not have a car, so this was really convenient. They've become good friends, actually. There is also a third OS in NYC (can you believe that!? Three in one city!), but that one meets in the Bronx, which is just too far for where I live. I've become a huge fan of an idea of plant societies and these Societies in particular (and there's another "Indoor Gardening" one that I belong to, but that one is general, not just for orchids). Just like you said, Jane, they are an absolutely indispensable source of good LOCAL growing info and cheap or even free plants. Highly recommended for anyone interested in plants. > Be aware, orchids are addictive. You might have 2 now [...] Oh, I am WELL past that also. :-) Going to these Society meetings, having access to plants raffled, auctioned, sold or simply given away, making new plant nut friends - there was no chance I would stay with just those 2 Phals. I have 3-4 Oncidium types (one with a spike with 50+ buds, going to start opening any day now), a Dendrobium, a Miltoniopsis (that is also in spike! in my care!), 2-3 Cattleyas (my most favorite flower genus!), an Aerangis, a Tolumnia, a Ludisia, a Bryobium (ugh, that thing is a major Princess!) and a couple of Paphs. So, yeah, addictive they definitely ARE! :-) That is a great picture of your orchids! Many people here are an inspiration and a lot of help, so THANK YOU!

Hi Linda Thanks for your reply! I've just created my PhotoBucket account and uploaded three photos; first one shows what it looked like about a month into getting the plant(as u see it looked pretty healthy), and the other two showing what it looks like now - one showing the overall droopy leaves and the other showing close up of the spots. Photos are at this link: http://s1052.photobucket.com/albums/s450/Happy_Tomato/ I'm only using potting soil with no mix of perilite or what not that i see from most posts..i know it's probably not good for the AVs but i'm still finding it hard to get anything other than potting mix near where i live.. :( I'm not sure what the spots are.. i place the plant by the window but it is mostly in-direct sun it's getting.. As for watering, i place the plant onto a saucer of water (no wick).. the top of soil was very dry for the first week or so right after repotting because i remembered trying to sit the plant in the saucer for half hour maybe an hour tops but the top of the soil still seems very very dry. I did the saucer trick maybe every second night for that first week (because it was SO DRY and the droopy leaves made me think maybe it's because i'm underwatering) and still the soil was super dry. Until around 3 nights ago i sat the plant in the saucer for almost 2 hours and the top of soil finally feels a bit moist. I have not watered since. I do have a side track question - as you see in my photos, the plant is giving out completely different flowers in the second bloom (first bloom was almost white with hints of purple and many petals.. second one is full purple with 5 petals joined at the end).. why is that? is this normal? (sorry if this is a stupid question..) Thanks again and do let me know if you need any more info! :) Bonita

Looks like mechanical damage from here, I'd forget it. Sounds like a lot of water, even for gritty mix. A lot of fertilizer too (I'd suggest too much, that's why it's so fat & plump as you said). Personally, if it were mine, I'd use a smaller pot. Unless the roots are huge, it's not good to have so much empty mix (assuming that's what's under the rocks). Some succulent growers use little to no fertilizer, feeling it's both unnecessary & makes for overly lush growth. Tho' I grow indoors only, my Aloes are in West window & I only fertilize them once or twice a year, in Summer only. Anyway, back to the damage, it looks like maybe it was bent against the edge of the pot, or a nearby one, looks mechanical (& not spreading) to me. I'd only be concerned if it somehow spreads.

great stuff, propagation is so rewarding, and theres no way to run out of thing/ways to propagate. I havent heard succulents mentioned here in detail, anyone interested in propagation should invest in some succulents! Ive only been growing plants seriously for a little over 10 years now, theres I dont know, but ive also been selling those plants in one way or another basically the entire time. That make propagation profitable as well as all the great things already mentioned. One of my favorites is good ole jade tree, most any crassula really, many other leafy succulents aswell. When I had all my jades I would defoliate them pretty hard a few times a year, the old leaves would eventually drop any way, it also gave them a nice tree shape. Well id dry em out and lay em on top of the soil, not buried and wait a few weeks. Little pink and white roots would come squirting right out and find their way to the soil. It also providd numerous unique shaped multi stemmed trees that couldnt be made with a typical cutting. Great bonsai material! it would take a few years for em to get up to size, but they did, consistently, and sold, consistently. It was alot of fun to see 100s of tiny plants popin out of severed leaves. it goes on and on with too, the reason they are work so well for it is their ability to retain water, it lets them just sit there until they form new roots. Most plants arent so lucky, neither are most plant owners! A bit off topic but this post has steered a bit towards grafting too, if you havent heard of Axel Erlandson, PLEASE do yourself a favor and check this guys work out! Amazing suff, so long ago.