Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, beetle, but you'll have to wait a bit longer. You've got a root there. You can tell because its a blunt nose shape. An emerging spike is wedge-shaped.

Maybe if you share a bit about how you are growing your phal, we can give you some advice on how to get it to bloom.

Hi Beetle. Where are you growing your phal? Is it close enough to a window to get at least a 10* drop in nightime temps? Not enough light could also be the problem. Phals are low light plants, but do enjoy a few hours of morning sunlight or at least a very bright room. I have some growing in south windowsills with a sheer curtain to filter the sunlight.

Hi, Beetle. A phal spike always emerges from the stem right over a leaf juncture. To me they look like little triangles when they are just nubs. Roots can come from the same area, but also come from other places on the stem.

Some winter-blooming phals are still putting out tiny new spikes right now, so it's not too late to get a spike. If you can follow grannie's instructions of increasing light and providing a temperature drop ... And if you are getting good growth--getting three or so new leaves a year, you can expect spiking almost automatically on a mature (about two year old) plant.

Some phals are summer-bloomers, but the commonest ones that hobbyists own are winter-bloomers and would be spiking now or pretty soon.

PS if you have a little sphagnum moss, tuck a thread or two around that nice new root on the left. It will thank you for the extra humidity.

Hey Beetle, forgot you asked for a pic of a spike. I'm not completely sure your 'nub' is not a spike, I have a phal spiking like that, BUT it should be green, not brown. Anyway for a pic of a young spike look at the top of the page for FAQ. They're not numbered but it's either the 15th or 16th question and there's a great picture of a young spike.

Another thought, if you change your light intensity, do it gradually. Phals will burn easily it you abruptly put them into sunlight that it's not acclimated to. So increase the light slowly.

Sheila :)

With respect, I'd like to amend your first statement, mehitabel. I've owned and seen phals spike from below all the leaves. You could get away with saying they spike from a node, new or old, but not necessarily from a "leaf juncture". To me, at least, that implies there must be a leaf present. Sorry, knitpicking, but from my experience its necessary to distingush that.

Beetle, based on sheilas post, I have to ask: do you mean that brown thing emerging in the middle, or the green on the left??? I didn't even notice that bump coming straight at us.

Beetle, "this little shiny,brown bump" could be a spike!

Phal roots are more likely to start out light or dark green - at least on the Phals I've had. Most of the time, they point down or straight out. Pretty early, you can tell they're smooth and rounded on the end with no indentations. See root circled in yellow.

They can stay green as they grow or get whitish or brown, as mine did.

Spikes can start out light or dark green and also brown, almost purple or dark red - see spike tip circled in red. That one started out about the same color as the bottom part of the spike and got green on it later.

The spike on the right, which was blooming at the time, looks almost black at the base.

{{gwi:204513}}

Because mature leaves on this Phal are dark green on top with purple tinting underneath, the spikes start out dark red/purple. (Catch the lovely, shiny purple underside of the new leaf.) If a Phal has leaves that are light green top and underneath, you're more likely to have lighter green spikes.

If the color is fairly true in your photo, this is another reason to guess you may have a spike because the growth is dark and similar in color to the underside of the leaf.

Phal spikes usually are a bit two-dimensional - or flatter - compared to emerging roots. More likely, they'll point more upward or slightly out right at the beginning.

The distinguishing factor for Phal spikes is the little "v" indentation in the middle. Just to make it frustrating, when roots and spikes are brand new, it can be hard to tell the difference.

Here's the whole plant, Phal. Summer Beach (Ken Peterson x Mama Cass):

{{gwi:204515}}

In 2 weeks or so, if it's still not clear to you, maybe post another picture - folks here might be able to help pin it down.

In the meantime, your orchid is doing you the great favor of increasing your tolerance for ambiguity. Don'cha love it??

Whitecat8

WOW!! Thanks so much for all your responses!!In reply to how its grown, pretty much like Sheilas phal,lots of sun, through a sheer, and it gets a bit of a temp change at night.As for watering, I let it almost go totally dry, before it gets any weakly, weekly lol [orchid fert,watered down] Also, have to tell you all, just looked at a pic of this orchid in bloom. That was in July of 2006. Does that mean its a summer bloomer? Oh brother, they are so puzzeling! lol!
Oh well, what happens , happens. Again, Thank you all so much!! Happy growing!
p.s. What a Lovely plant, beautiful color!!

Beetle, thanks for the kind words about the Phal. Love those peach/apricot/salmon colors.

If you could post pix of your Phal blooming and of the entire plant as it is now, those might be helpful.

What direction does your window face? Do you know about how many hours a day sunlight falls directly on the leaves of your Phal?

This year, my orchids stayed inside, so they didnâÂÂt get the temp drops they would have outside. However, the windows in the orchid room were open when it got down in the low 60s, and everything seems to be spiking about on schedule.

As an aside, because your PhalâÂÂs in sphag, you might want to reconsider the fertilizing schedule. Even with weak fertilizer, salts can build up in the medium. More than one commercial grower suggests this schedule, and so far, itâÂÂs working for me with everything in sphag:

1st watering, plain water - often tap water, RO (reverse osmosis), whatever you water with

2nd watering, plain water and fertilizer. If youâÂÂre using a fertilizer formulated for orchids, follow the label for ratios. If youâÂÂre using a non-orchid fertilizer, the rule of thumb is to use 25% the recommended amount, and you might want to check here for your particular brand.

3rd watering, flush with tap water, if itâÂÂs not softened. Flushing means you take the plant to the sink and pour tepid water through the pot to equal filling up the pot 4 times.

Note - if youâÂÂre able to use your tap water for watering, then âÂÂplain waterâ will be the same as tap water. If youâÂÂre using RO for watering, then many recommend unsoftened tap water for flushing so the orchid gets more diversity of minerals and trace elements.

One other thought - your sphag looks fresh. When did you last pot the Phal, and what kind of pot, i.e., what number and size are the drainage holes on the bottom?

Do you remember about how much space there was between the roots and the sides of the pot? Then between the bottom of the roots and the bottom of the pot?

Also, what's the dampness or dryness of the sphag when you water? Where in your house does the pot drain? Does the pot usually sit inside another pot - maybe a decorative pot? What does the pot sit on when it's in front of the window?

Trying to think of all the variables...

If everything else is favorable, your Phal's blooming time may be a factor of its adjusting to life at your place and resetting its schedule. Some orchids' environments are manipulated so they'll bloom at a certain time - a summer vendor opportunity, winter holidays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.

And sometimes, conditions at the grower's are different enough that in a personâÂÂs house, the orchid adjusts to its own schedule.

If light, temps, drainage, watering schedule, and fertilizer ratios are good, it could be your orchid skipped blooming last year for one of these reasons.

Apologies if...

Thanks for all that great advice Whitecat! I took your advice, and gave two of my phals a good leaching.Yes, the spahgnum is fresh [good eye] so the build up probably isn't too bad lol!As for light,I have now got the orchids under gro lux lights, aprox 8 to 12 inches away.
Here is two pics, showing her in bloom [2006] and in active root growth [pic taken yesterday] Thanks again,and if there is any changes, I'll post more pics.{{gwi:204516}}
{{gwi:204518}}

You have Asparagus plumosus/setaceus! I love that plant, but the growths can get so out of hand!

I think you did a good thing by getting the lights, I'm suspicious of the color of your phal. Its a bit on the dark side, indicating lower than optimal light, though some phals do have naturally darker foliage. If you are able, I'd put the phal even closer to the grow lights than 8-12". You wont harm your phal with the fluorescent lights, and by moving them closer they'll get more light and grow much better. When I grew under lights, I had my phals within about 5-6" of the lights and they loved it!

terpguy.....its done! Thank you for your advice,hopefully this will spur spikes!