Hard to say, all i can tell you is that i have about 40 Phals on windowsills. Inside all year. I water them about once a week during winter. Twice a week during summer and never ever mist them.

Re. getting them to bloom again...depends, some initiate a new flowering stem after a cooling down in late autumn. Others seem to initiate flowering by being warmed up for summer.

You need to get a bit of direct filtered sunlight on to the plants for best results. Perhaps not enough light could be your problem.

They do not need all that much humidity, normal household readings of about 50% should be fine.

Perhaps there might be some clues in the numerous past Phal. posts. Just put Phalaenopsis in the search box to find. There is also an FAQ about Phal. blooming.

Not every phal will have identical growing/blooming habits. If it's growing new leaves and/or roots that's a good sign that you have a healthy plant. Not all spikes will re-bloom from the lower node. As the plants grow large and robust, they'll generally have a longer blooming season, some for six months and longer at a time. I agree with what arthurm says regarding culture & additional info.

Good luck with your plant & happy growing.

Sheila :)

Also, if your Phal is in sphagnum moss, consider fertilizing every third watering. Otherwise, even a weak fertilizer can burn the roots.

Every fourth watering, I "leach"(sp?) all plants in sphag - running tap water through them to equal filling up the pot at least 4 times. This washes out fertilizer salts. At the same time, I rub both surfaces of the leaves under the running water to get off dust.

One of my Phals may not recover from fertilizer burning the roots, so I've developed a color coding system for watering/fertilizing/leaching.

If your Phal's in bark, a lot of people would leach it once a month.

If it's in the center of the room, does that mean it's more than a couple of inches from the window? If so, it'll need to get closer to the window, but the light may need to be cut somehow because south light can be too strong for Phals. Others will be able to suggest adjustments for the light - I'm not fortunate enough to have south-facing windows.

Some Phals bloom once a year; some twice or more. After a couple of years, you'll catch the rhythm of yours.

Have fun, Whitecat8

There really isn't much for me to add as the main points have been covered so well in the three follow up posts. However, I thought I would in my usual forthright manner amplify some points that were made. The first being that in no way can the location of the phal be satisfactory so far from the actual windowpane. There may be a new leaf started but is it actually growing? I would be astonished to discover that it is. And by growing I mean at least one inch of new leaf development in a months time. And what about the future? In zone 6 summer is officially over. Its essentially downhill from here and without a goodly supply of artificial light and a way of keeping the temperature in the immediate area of the phal in the mid 70's by day (any reasonable temp above 60F by night) it will stall (stop growth). This need not be deadly as most of us, including me, find it difficult to keep all our plants in active growth during the dog days of winter but how stall is managed is of vital importance. IMO the o.p. mists too much, fertilizes too much and 'may' also water too much. The last point is in doubt since s/he didn't actually say in what time period the orchid dries, this would be good to know. Whitecat's post was really quite impressive all things considered and it should be read twice more by the o.p. I should mention that moisture anywhere near a phal except at the roots is to risk a condtion called "crown rot". It is quite common and in the past I lost quite a few phals to it until I learned to be absolutely obsessive about keeping water away from the crown of phals. If you do wash dust and such from phal leaves this must be followed by an inspection of the crevices between the leaves at the top of the crown and any moisture trapped in there must be blown out or blotted out with paper towel. Misting can also leave enough moisture behind to promote crown rot which is why I mention it. True 'misters' don't exist anymore. The plastic spray bottles don't mist, they spray. Mist is water droplets under a micron in size (thats really tiny) spray bottles don't even come close to that. Good Lord and I haven't even gotten to the fertilizer but I have to go, more later, maybe.

H

the leaf is growing, quite well actually. it has wonderful color and it grows at a fast pace) :) as for the winter i do have artificial lighting that i could use. and my room stays a good temperature year round. (as to why, i could not tell you, but it might have somthing to do with the attic door being in my room)I when i spray it i only use one squirtat a time and i dry the leaves each time i do it. the fertilizer i use is called "grow more" 20-20-20.oh! and i almost forgot it is a phal. malibou mystere.

As howard said, everyone has covered it. But I want to underline two things

1. South window or not, your plant needs to be *in* the window. I keep phals in my south windows year round. It's no problem at all if the leaves don't get hot.

Even if your leaf is growing, it still needs more light to grow and bloom.

You should start moving your plant nearer the window right away. Move it now til it's about 3-4 feet from the window. Leave it there two days. Then move 6" closer, repeat, repeat til your plant is about 6" from the window. If sun falls directly on the leaves, feel them to see if they are hot. If they are hot, move plant further away from the window. If leaves are not hot, it is all right.

It's empirical just where your plant needs to be in your window, but it's closer than you think and closer than it is now.

More light = blooms. Less light = no blooms and myriad problems leading to the decline of the plant.

IMO, the one mistake newbies always make (here at any rate) is to misinterpret the "bright shade" remarks in books and culture notes. "Bright shade" as the books use it means *in a greenhouse*, which is more light than any house window can provide because the overhead sun is cut off by the ceilings in a house, whereas in a greenhouse it is merely filtered by shadecloth. In a house, you need to scuttle that "shade" mindset and focus on providing light.

2. Quit misting. It causes more trouble than you can imagine-- rots and molds of all sorts. Instead, use that 4-5 visits a day to feel the leaves of your phal, making sure they are cool to barely warm in its new position.

Good luck, and here's to lots of blooms.

I'm in zone 6 and I keep my phals in my south picture window. I keep them on a table about two feet away from the glass. The cattleyas are in front of them and provide some shade. You will find the light different in the center of the window, and to the right and to the left in the window. The center, of course, receives the most light. To one side may receive morning light, and to the other afternoon light. Once you get your plant closer to the window, you may have to experiment to see which position the plant prefers and does best in.

As Mehitabel says, quit misting. All the books say to do it, but it only makes for problems. Orchids can do with low humidity if the light is right.

With the new leaf it sounds like you have the watering down okay. Now all you need is the right light.