Congrats on your first orchid. I was 12 years old when I got my first plant (a cattleya). 40 plus year later, I'm still growing cattleyas. Orchids are infective. Phalies like most epiphytes grow in trees and extend aerial roots out. The green tips of the roots possess chlorophyll so they are photo-sensitive and sometimes grow toward a light source. However, it doesn't sound good if the roots outside the pot are dry and shriveled. Wait till the plant finishes blooming and repot in a fresh medium. When you buy these plants from the store, there's no telling how long the plant was sitting in the pot. A lot of phalies are potted in sphagnum. Nothing wrong with that, but in a plastic pot, it has the problem staying too wet for too long and the main roots might have become rotten from over-watering. While Phalies don't possess a water storage system like the pseudobulbs of cattleyas and the like, they don't like to be in standing water or soaking wet medium. They need to dry out between watering. Phalies in the wild grow in the humid jungles of Indonesia. There is regular rain, but there is also a good amount of breeze and airflow that allows the plant to dry out before the next shower. Also, the higher humidity helps the plant from being desiccated. The "little green horns" on the inflorescence maybe either another secondary flower spike or a "keiki" or the formation of a baby plant. Sometimes if the plant starts to break keikis over flower, the plant might be in distress. When a plant senses it is dying, it will do anything to preserve itself, either by flowering or making keikis. But you will not know that for a while. A good sign is that the plant is putting out a new leaf. Make sure that when you water, never leave standing water in the crown (the axil of the leaves). Standing water can lead to crown rot and this usually is fatal to the plant. Also, never have the plant sitting in a plant saucer filled with water. Again, this will keep the medium too wet and cause rot. Phalies (though they say tolerate shady conditions) do like a good amount of indirect light. The key to flowering most orchids is the quality of light. A north facing window won't do. A south facing window is the best. The leaves should always be a medium green. Very dark green leaves means the plant isn't getting enough light, and they become long, thin and flaccid. Too much light and the leaves could bleach out, turn yellow or burn. Phalies and Paphs don't need as much light as cattleyas that is true. You can put the flowering plant anywhere in the house to be enjoyed. But when you want it to start growing, put it in a sunny window. And if you live in areas where you can summer a plant outdoors under shade cloth or lath, (a tree sometimes can cast too much shade; depends on the tree) do that. Really, an orchid growing indoors is rather foreign to them. But that goes for all plants. Soon you will be hooked and adding more plants to your collection. You will want a greenhouse. It never ends. Trust me. Good luck and have fun!!

aimee, as far as pinching the buds goes, there are those who do and those who don't. Experienced rosarians like Jeri do pinch buds on bands, with the idea that the energy that would be put in bloom production will go toward leaves. I have noticed though that on some of my roses where I pinch off the buds they seem to be producing new ones like crazy. The only fertilizer I use is alfalfa meal, which I pour on top of the plant and then water in thoroughly. I don't use the tea because it's too much work, although I think I've read that if you prepare it properly it doesn't have that bad smell. The alfalfa meal is just easier. If your bands have at least doubled in size I would apply about half a cup of alfalfa meal per rose. I'm no expert, though, and others may disagree. It's difficult to get a consensus on anything because we all tend to do things differently. The best thing is to try out what's comfortable for you and see how the roses respond. I personally use nothing chemical, whether it's fertilizer or any disease control method. Basically I just keep the roses that are healthy and bloom well with just water, leaf mulch and alfalfa meal. Ingrid

Hi Kuan, no worries, it's there now, earlier on I was getting a message saying it had been removed from photobucket!! If it were mine, I too would be tempted to prune it back quite a lot. I could have drawn some lines using our other computer but it's 'down' at the moment so I can't. If I say I would cut the right hand branch where the white trim line around the edge of your table is and the remaining branches at a similar length, does that make sense? I would also try raising the caudex up out of the pot a bit as I often find there is a far more interesting caudex going on below soil level. These are just my opinions and what I would do myself as I prefer shorter, stumpier adeniums....the choice is yours of course! As Marie says, the cuttings can root after they have calloused over for a day or so, but it's something I have never tried as I've never cut one back yet...they've never been big enough yet..lol! What length cutting is best to try and root I have no idea, hopefully someone will help you out on that one. Good luck, I hope it flowers for you. Gill from the UK.

Just had a thought for a narrow marble shelf that won't break the bank... I was browsing at Home Depot the other day and saw the marble thresholds that are used to transition floor finishes at the door. I picked up one that is 6" x 36" x 3/8" for about $12. They also had 4" x 24" and 4" x 36" pieces. Those have a little bit of a beveled edge and were about 1/2" thick. The one I bought is marked Bianco Carrara but they had another, more tan, type also. I am hoping (hoping!) the tile guy can trim this down a little bit to make a small shelf above the range for salt & pepper, etc. (If not, I have the receipt!) I think the HD guy thought I was a little crazy when I had all of their thresholds spread out on the floor so I could choose the "prettiest" one. It is pretty - nice veining, etc. Some were not so nice so I am glad I took the time to choose the best one.