This subject was discussed in a lot of detail in two long threads. Happy reading!
Your phalaenopsis has lovely colours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blooming Phalaenopsis

Yes Arthur, you're right. The image of orchid shared here really is beautiful. This âÂÂPhalaenopsis' orchid has lovely colors and it's really pretty.

Thank you very much for the kind words about my Phal. She is once again in full bloom with 1 fully opened and 2 more sprouting. I can't wait to see them all open and how many I get this time around.

As long as you are getting healthy and big new leaves, your plant is happy regardless of how much it is flowering.

I get new leaves every time a new set of blooms come.

New Blooms!

New Leaves and New Roots!

That looks plenty healthy to me! If the new leaves seem thin and not vigorous then maybe think about cutting the blooms down. With that many leaves the plant has a lot of reserve and could keep going for a long time. A phal in a green house near me has been in bloom for 12 years.

Thanks! WOW 12 Years! That's Amazing! All the leaves are thick and strong except the 2 on the very bottom, they are a little bit on the yellow-ish side and one is looking a little wrinkled. I was thinking about removing them when and if they start to go more yellow. They have been like that since I bought it. When I first brought it in my office it had Mealy Bugs. I removed reach bug by hand as I found them and now there are none left. This Little Phal is my baby.

It is normal for lower leaves to die off. I would go by if it's yellow let is mellow if it's brown cut it down. The orchid will pull the moisture and nutrients out of the leaves before it browns and is ready to let it go.

Great Thanks! I Like the little Poem! I also have her in direct sunlight for the most part of the day and she seems to love it. I herd it's not good to put orchids in direct sunlight, is this true?

You didn't mention the name or ask for an ID, so you may not be interested in a possible name. But your orchid sure looks a lot like Phal. Brother Sara Gold.

wuness

Great, Thanks Wuness!

I am soooo envious of your great success and beautiful ever blooming phal!

I have 4 that the leaves look good, but I can't get a spike/bloom. They are the just add ice ones. I do not water with ice I use distilled water and a very tiny amount of dyna grow 7-9-5. They are all in plastic pots with newish bark. I water once per week. I set the entire pot up to the orchids neck in a large container for 15 min or so, then I let the excess water drain out. The roots look ok, green though some have turned whitish, which I do cut that part off when necessary.
I do not keep close to a window but they do get quite a few hours of sun, when we have it in Pennsylvania.
I have to wonder what I am doing wrong?
What medium is yours in? Does your window get a chill at nite? Is your office space extremely warm? How often do you fertilize? What do you use?

Thanks for any suggestions, I o want a few blooms soon!

I don't pretend to be an expert on orchids yet, but I've grown plants for years. I'm mostly testing my new knowledge about orchids and am waiting to be corrected. That's okay because it's just one of the ways to learn more :)

It sounds to me like you are overwatering. Orchids "in the wild" don't sit in floods or puddles, they get rained on. If you don't want to waste distilled water because you are buying it, put something under it to catch the extra water, and and water till it runs out the hole in the pot, then run some more through. Letting it drain until it stops dripping is good. I don't put mine (a rescue plant) back on its saucer for probably 1/2 hour or so, just because I'm busy and I do it the next time I go through the kitchen. The dish/pot/whatever can catch what runs out and be used again. Depending on how warm or cool it is where the orchid is kept, once a week might be too often, as well.

Like I said, I'm waiting for more info from the "real" orchid growers here to see if I'm getting the hang of this thing. LOL!

Lynn

I Keep my Phal right next to a widow in my office and I water it Monday and Friday, very little from a water bottle at room temp. but when I do water it, it's never enough to drain out the bottom. Just enough to moisten the roots and moss. I don't do the ice cube watering because I think it would be a shock to the roots being so cold. I always keep my Phal in a warm climate of 25c - 77f. My office never gets cold at night because the heat is always on but less warm at night due to no sunlight. I wouldn't suggest cutting any of the roots off, I let my Phal do what it wants. I don't use any fertilizers or growers nor do I cut the spike off. I do remove the leaves if and when they turn yellow. I believe if it keeps blooming or sprouting new leaves then it's happy and I'm not going to interrupt what it wants to do.

@jeannie01

P.S I have attached photos of where it stays in my office, the roots and new blooms that have just opened. I hope this helps.

By The Window

The Roots

Brand New Blooms

Just An Update!
My Phal has a new leaf sprouting out the top and with the 3 blooms she just grew 2 months ago plus more coming again. I still can't believe how well she is doing. A total of 9 months of blooms. :)

Martina, wow, is your phal ever a beauty! I've rescued 3 orchids, 2 of which were damaged from being out in the snow & later died, & my current phal which I just repotted & snipped the flower stems back on. Mine is growing similar to yours, just not quite as magnificent yet! I'm immensely jealous & hopeful at the same time...hopefully, this phal I have now will one day bloom for 9 months for me & thrive in the same way. Congrats on such a beautiful plant! :)

Martina, if your pretty bloomer is growing a leaf out of the top, it is probably a keiki--a baby plant, identical to the momma plant. How exciting!

@ faerybutterflye

Thank you very much. I wish you all the best in your growing of your rescued Orchids.

Martina :)

@ sweetcicely

Oh My! I Hope So, That would be great!

Martina :)