Thank you Bob. I like the "crunchy" reference. It kind of fits in with the way I check on all my plants. Not meaning that I wait for them to get that way, it's just if you look for them to tell you what they need, they will, right? The limp leaf - I slid the whole thing out of the pot yesterday, and the moss was pretty dry all the way down, so I watered it really well, not in the pot but through the moss, let it sit till there was no more water dripping, then slid it back into the pot, and this afternoon when I got home from work, it has plumped up, not a lot, but noticeably more than it has since I brought it home. I donâÂÂt have wrinkles and the signs are good! Jane, this is also kudos to your advice, about the roots. I also have a different spot for it, and just need to move some stuff to make room. I understand the temperature needs, and IâÂÂm working on it. The one thing I wonâÂÂt have a problem doing, when the time comes, is getting the nighttime difference. New England is awesome at day/night swings! I know I could go find a nice, identified, healthy orchid hand-picked for my conditions. But there is something satisfying in bringing this neglected plant home and watching it respond! This is really nice watching it respond, and learning from people who know orchids.

Was trying to remember the science project I did in high school that would explain the black dye separating. Just came to me---chromatography. It was a fun process. Would load tall glass titre tubes with different powders like talc. The test substance would be dissloved in some liquid medium. When it traveled through the glass tube, it's components would separate out into different bands. Each band could be separated and then you could test the components in each band to find the content. It could also be done on coffee filters. The substance would make concentric rings on the paper filter which could be cut apart and tested. Sounds like the phals act like the wicking mechanism. How about watering with a mixture of pure food coloring a few weeks before blooms open??? Might try it next spring just for the fun of it. Now to find a white phal to sacrifice---hey, I could use my husband's blue one!!!! It is supposed to be white next year anyway, right?

Jeanne, you said, "My Phal bellina hybrid flowers lasted plenty long, and as the plant matured, there were more spikes and more flowers which only served to lengthen the blooming period. Not sure what effect the tetraspis parent would have on Tetra Bell. How old was that plant, and was the flowering consistently short over several growing seasons? In any case, I think bellina or a bellina hybrid would be worth the space in any orchid collection." I agree, at least one of these is mandatory. Jeanne, dunno how old the plant was last summer, but it had 6 mature leaves, the largest 8"x4," and 2 keikis. The original spike had branched twice. Checking back, the complete blooming - 5 flowers - lasted 3 months. It was probably cut short by taking the plant to the State Fair exhibit, where it was hot. Several other Phals bloomed for 5+ months - it's all relative. :) C, this is not a small plant. It's one of those "dinner plate" shapes, with the leaves growing in a fan. Right now, it's 12"x14." Sooner or later, this one will be replaced w/ a bellina hybrid or species that stays small, as long as it smells like plumeria. WC8

Hey, t-bred. Congrats on your super-phal. All that activity and vigor -- make sure it doesn't follow you out of the room :) Like CJ I'd like to know it's name, too. Some species of phal do keiki like mad. But it's funny you bumped this thread today. I was going to look for it to bump, too. My P Salu Spot that I mentioned earlier on this thread that put out two small leaves in a few weeks last summer after a long bloom that only now were starting to lengthen and that nevertheless was healthy, with good roots, and quite a vigorous plant all around has a spike several inches long on it. Just saw it last night. So if yours is Super-Phal, I think I'll call my Salu Spot "Satisfactory Phal" -- not Super, but very good indeed :)