I've done the keiki paste on cut stems of phals, and also (once) on a stem still attached to the mother plant. Stem still attached-- keiki formed, but the mother plant went downhill and the keiki followed. I wasn't sure whether trying to get a keiki caused this, but never tried again with an attached stem. Cut off stems in a vase of water. You get the best results with 1. Do it in spring. Keikis started under plant lights in winter did start, but never seemed to have as much strength and eventually died off under a barrage of experiments to stimulate growth. 2. Big thick strong spikes off a strong plant form bigger stronger keikis better. Thin mewling spikes off a small plant don't take. 3. Do the uppermost two undeveloped nodes on a stem, max. The bottom ones develop slower, weaker, and are lost to rot as the stem goes. Trying for more than two per stem probably robbed the top nodes of needed strength. 4. I covered the paste-node in a baggie, blew in it, and put the stem in a glass in a sunny west window. Every so often, I would blow in the baggie again to keep air in it. The top node forms the keiki first, even in a basement under lights, why I decided they need light. In the sunny window, strong little keikis formed pretty readily-- maybe six weeks. Even in a window with sun hitting the whole stem, the top node forms a keiki first. I took the baggie off when the keiki looked "strong"-- what can I say, the leaves are either turgid and tuff looking, or they're pathetic, or you're not sure yet. 5. You have to keep cutting the stem at the bottom as it starts to rot, just as you would a flower stem in water. Full disclosure: The keiikis made this way were strong and beautiful, and wonderful to see them form and grow. BUT I never got roots because... I had made up to four nodes per stem, leaving only a couple of inches untreated at the bottom. As I said, the bottom nodes had the weakest keikis. As the stem rotted up, and the bottom keikis formed, the growth of the top ones seemed to slow and turn glacial when the keikiswere about 1/2 to 3/4". There were no roots or root nubs. I began to trealize one sut stem, however thick and healthy has only so much nourishment in it, and can't get more. I decided the bottom keikis on the stem were inhibiting the growth of the others. I think I was right about that, but I made a fatal error trying to correct it-- I cut the stem into pieces, each piece with one keiki on it. I (wrongly) thought this would help the stronger ones along. Instead, the cut pieces were too small once the rot began at the bottom, and I had to throw out the whole experiment a few weeks later as the two-inch pieces rotted away. Putting the small pieces on a bed of damp sphag instead of in water didn't help either. If you try it, do it in a sunny window in spring, and do no more than two keikis per stem on a thick, strong spike. PS I also tried a technique I read about, cutting the stem into two inch pieces and laying flat on damp sphag. This did not work for me-- got only rot and mold, and that in a short while. Probably kept the sphag too wet, but not sure. I am thinking of trying again this March, with thick stems of a favorite, and one treated node per stem. If I get all the way to roots with it, I'll definitely post about it.

Lorieu, the commonest cause of wilty, droopy leaves in phals is rotted roots. Url for a method of rehydrating and reviving rootless phals is below. The title of it was "Don't give up!" There is also a thread below started by a poster named "bevo" about success she had reviving failing phals. If you do a search for that name, you will find the original post where the methods she used to save her dying phals are described. Finally, a few minutes spent reading culture notes for phals at the Canadian Orchid Congress, Big Leaf Orchids and Bedford Orchids will repay you handsomely in success with your phals. The yellow patch on the leaf-- I'm not sure what you mean about a lump, but if the yellow patch does not extend across the leaf, just cut out the yellow part (use a sterile razor blade). Dust the edges of the cut with cinnamon. That often will take care of the problem. If the yellow keeps spreading, you may not be able to save the leaf. The center leaf on a phal (called the crown) is the growing point, so you want to save that at all costs. Hope this helps Here is a link that might be useful: rehydrating and reviving rootless phals

The short answer is NO. The new leaf looks OK and the roots might have a green tinge if they were just watered. Of course, the plant does not look in optimum condition but it surely will pick up once spring arrives.

Not a lost cause at all. 1st NEVER use oil in the summer, only use it in the winter when temps are cool. Yes you can get rid of the scale. I would recommend a systemic, merit, or isotox or orthene once a week for 4 or 5 weeks should do it. The browned roots will not recover. I would suggest the next time you have it unpotted to cut off all brown and soggy roots. What do you have it potted in? How big is the plant and how big is the pot? I recommend potting phals in shagnum moss, but if it is potted in bark, you can speed up new root growth by placing some sphagnum close to the base of the plant in the bark mix. You may want to get some Dip and Grow and do an initial soaking for about 15 mins, then use a diluted mixture, made up each watering and use each watering until you see a flush of new roots.