Is it possible that area has something buried there? Has it been contaminated with sawdust, and if so, what kind of wood? Have you used a fungicide in the area in the past year or so? Or have you used something like baking soda in that area for any reason? What do you know of has been done to that area in the past year (water, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide, fungicide)? If your soil has been contaminated by the wrong thing, the only solution might be to replace the top 6 inches of soil. How big is the area and where do you live in Texas? Tilling, right off the bat, is the wrong answer. Aerating won't do any harm but might not do anything else, either. If you want to soften the soil I'd start with molasses, compost, and organic fertilizer. Dilute the molasses to about 3 ounces per gallon and drench the area. Then lightly dust some compost over it and apply a handful of dry dog, cat, or rabbit food (very good organic fertilizers). Water that for 30 minutes or so and repeat in 2 weeks. If that does nothing, then your soil is contaminated with something. I have an area which I inadvertently contaminated in about 1998 which is just now starting to grow grass. I'll tell you more after you answer the questions.

First of all congratulations on what you did 5 years ago. Nearly everybody cuts off the whole spike. You, not knowing anything about orchids, did the right thing! Second, congratulations for keeping your orchid growing even though it wasn't flowering. 90+% end up in the trash can. Why isn't it flowering any more? If it's any consolation some Phals are an absolute ***** to reflower. Unfortunately repotting doesn't help. In fact many orchids flower better when they are pot bound. It sounds to me as if your plant has got too comfortable living in your nice home and it's time to wake it up a bit. 1. Give it some direct sun first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Not too much,no more than 90 minutes, Phals are easy to burn. You must be willing to risk that. 2. If that doesn't work, dump a few ice cubes on the compost during the day, then stop watering altogether. Every day repeat the mantra. "Flower you *** of a *****. If you don't you're gonna die!" 3. Give it to a friend - nearly the orchids I have given away have flowered within a year for somebody else! Best of luck - Ian.

Now that I think about it, it was actually Home Depot (I updated the post just to clarify). Doh!! It was the one near the Cardinals stadium. gosh me and my bad memory. However I did pick up a few normal sized Fukushu Kumquats that were fruiting back when they had the bigger ones instead of the "patio citrus" types. So far only one has ripened at it was pretty sweet. There are a few more that have yet to ripen on my healthy ones. Though I am most likely going to take this one back for a refund and get a dwarfed mandarin which I remember seeing they had in stock and a lot more healthier/more leaves. This post was edited by kodo2988 on Sun, Dec 23, 12 at 0:31

Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting to hear back regarding my request today for a sample that shows his "enhancing" technique. Oldryder - could you tell me what you use to enhance stones such as ours? Is it common to apply an enhancer and then buff it off? Is it perhaps the same as wiping away the excess? Assuming that's all it is - it should be fine - and then I just need to make sure any sealer he uses isn't a gloss finish. I'm still going to insist on a sample but I wanted to make sure his wasn't some unorthodox method that wasn't an industry norm. And Mags438, the stone (when enhanced) is jet black and the streaks/veins are cream, brown and rust. You can see in this photo (the area where we've wiped it down with a wet paper towel) what it will look like after it's been enhanced. I liked this granite the first time I saw it (polished) but I LOVED it when I saw the leathered version.