Good evening. In my opinion this is normal for a phal. If your saying ou had this plant for about three months, and depending on conditions of your home; flowers can last as little as one month to 6 months. Now please remember this is just personal opinion. I've benn growing phal orchids for about 8 years. I have around 10 phal orchids myself. I've tried many other types and have not had any luck. Just because the flowers are dying doesn't mean the plant is dying. It's just the spike is dying for the season and as long as you take good care ofte plant, a new spike will for next year or perhaps in the fall depending on your growing conditions.

pritbeters7, I purchased the same potting mix from HD and I also purchased the spray fertilizer. I thought the mix was going to be great for my orchid but I soon found out that the mix started to deteriorate. On top of that I noticed a lot of tiny black flies around my orchid and little worms in the potting mix. I'm guessing the pests came from the potting mix since they weren't there when I first got rid of the moss medium my orchid came in. I dumped the orchid mix and switched to hydroton I bought at this local hydroponic store. Since then no pests. The orchid mix also led to root rot since the potting mix basically suffocated the roots and held much more water than a bark mix should. It says it is a coarse potting mix but it looks more like soil. It didn't work out for me and I hope it works out for you.

You are not watering this baby enough. There are new buds on the inflorescences with wilted flowers. I am presuming you have roots left on the plant. I would cut off the flower stalks, dump the plant out of the ceramic pot, check the root system to see how dry it is and if all the roots are dried up and dead. Hopefully not. But if some good roots, get some potting mix for Phallys or Cattleyas and repot into a 1 gallon plastic pot (repot by holding the plant inside the pot and pouring the mix into the pot and around the roots, then tap the pot on the floor to settle the mix, do not push the mix down with your hands or a tamper as you could damage the roots), sitting the plant down inside the pot with the base of the leaves around an inch below the rim of the pot. Then water heavy and let drain thoroughly. Sit in a warm and humid spot. No drying heat on this plant as it looks exhausted already. Lift up or weigh the potted plant to get the feel of how it is when it has been watered heavily. Probably water in a couple of days. If the air is really dry and humidity is below 50% then I would water every other day as fresh mix tends not to hold much moisture until it starts to decompose. Hope this helps.

Sean, a belated welcome, A couple of my earlier messages to you haven't posted here. You have my sympathy and empathy with your orchid loss, especially because it was a thoughtful and special gift for your GF, and she's loved it so. You've gone to great lengths to save this plant. Not many folks would have done that. Kudos to you. Dunno if this will help ease the loss for the two of you, but the beloved Phal could have been doomed before you got it because of the no drainage factor. The only retailers who raise orchids to last beyond that one (unnatural) flowering are the smaller commercial orchid growers, and some of those mistreat their plants, so you end up with poor quality too. You're in good company: virtually every orchid hobbyist lost at least a few of their first orchids. After you and your GF have had a chance to talk, & if you decide to get another orchid, I have two suggestions that will increase chances the new orchid will thrive and bloom again (no guarantees, unfortunately - we're talking orchids. :)). First, as Jane said, get Ortho's All About Orchids by Elvin McDonald; Meredith Books, 1999. It's a paperback, and Amazon's got them new for $2.79! Then there's shipping from their vendor, but the book was about $20 @ Home Depot a couple of years ago. The Ortho book's only 96 pages long and has guided tons of folks to success. After the two of you have skimmed through the book... Second suggestion - order a Phal from a grower who sells online. Picking out the new Phal together could help brighten your moods. There are lots of good growers who sell online, and folks here will suggest solid growers, if you decide to go that route. We can also tell you which Phals might be easier than others. One drawback is a new plant may not arrive in spike (have a "stem" maybe long enough to have buds on it already), or in bloom (flowers open). That's because the orchid's environment hasn't been messed with to force it to bloom way out of its natural cycle, like orchids you find in stores, even garden centers. This process could have compromised your orchid's health, too. But, you're in luck - this is the time of year lots of Phals are in spike. I live in Minneapolis, MN and see you're in SE Nebraska. We're geographically challenged in the orchid world. There may be small commercial growers kinda near you or your GF's school, but none that sell online as far as I know. Also, the only show around here where you can buy orchids is in conjunction with the St. Paul Winter Carnival in January, and only a few vendors attend. It's the absolute worst time to buy an orchid cuz of its exposure to cold temps. People in Chicago, S CA, FL, and farther up the E coast live in paradise re: lots of good growers and big shows throughout the year. I'll be thinking about you two. Please let us know how it's going. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Ortho's All About Orchids, Amazon.com