Hello, mehitabel, and thank you for responding. Perhaps I miscommunicated some things, and will try to clarify. 1. If I "really wanted to let it go or give it away", I wouldn't be here trying to save it, now, would I? :-) 2. Regarding temperature, "about 68" was an estimate. After reading your post, I went to another room and ripped an indoor thermometer off the wall and set it up by the Phal. It's currently 74 degrees right there (and 0 with 20 below windchills outside ... which is another reason the plant is moved 2 feet back from the window). It gets *warmer* at night (to the point that I personally, being a female of middle age , am tossing off sheets and sweating, because other family members crank up the thermostat. I'll stop complaining about the lack of sleep and wasted fuel for the sake of my Phalaenopsis from now on. ::grins::) Everything I've read online and in books, up till this forum, anyway, states that Phal's like normal household temperatures, and I've been trying to follow what the "pros" suggest, honestly. The book I have here in my lap (Orchids for Dummies by Steven A Frowine) states: "Moth orchids do well in medium to low light, similar to other houseplants like African violets. They also thrive in moderate humidity of 50 percent or so and average daytime temparatures of 70* F to 80* F during the day and about 65* F at night". Is none of this true? Even though I was apparently guessing too low at the 68* average temp, it seems that we're actually quite a bit warmer here than what Frowine suggests. And we have more light ... the only thing lacking is the humidity part. 3. It's not a "curtain". It's a "clear gauze" curtain ... more like a veil that filters the sunlight coming in through the *south* window, but it does let in the sun. One of those gauzey things some windows have "underneath" the curtains that filter the sun when you pull the actual curtains back to the side. It's actually the sunniest spot in the house. Outside of moving, I'm not sure how it can get more sunlight. To move it closer to the window would subject it to cold, and when the leaf was sunburned, I'm fairly sure it actually was sunburned ... it felt hot, and developed a clear spot in the center that turned black. We had a very warm December and January, and it was getting quite hot in that spot. The reason it's been "dark" currently is that this is upstate NY and it's early March and most of our days have been overcast. There's some sun today, however, for a change. I've put in my bid for more sunshine with the universe ;-) -- haven't gotten a reply yet. I'll try to set up more artificial light there for it, though, at your suggestion. I've met resistance from the gentleman who shares this room with me on previous suggestions of that course of action, but perhaps hearing that an expert suggested more light will shift the line of thinking. 4. "About twice a week" means that I stick my finger into the growing medium and water when it feels dry -- which in this case turns out to be "about twice a week". I do know that the room is low in humidity ... thus the misting in the mornings, the air's very dry here. There does seem to be a great deal of confusion out there as far as information for beginners. Misting in the mornings was the advice of an orchid care website, on the topic of a room that had very low humidity. Have I been wrong to do this? I honestly don't recall which website at this point ... I've read so many of them in effort to help this one plant. 5. As I said above, I checked the roots this morning, there is no rot. There *was* rot due to the way the florist originally potted the plant, but that was eliminated in December when I repotted in orchid mix. I had it out of the mix this morning (for the first time since repotting) and though there is no new root growth under the surface, there is no rot, and what "old" roots are there are completely dry. The roots that were still living (two halfway decent sized ones) after the thing was first hit by the rot earlier on look pretty much the same as they did back then ... still green/living tissue there, though perhaps not the healthiest roots on the planet. But no rot ... the plant's not being over watered. If anything, it's too dry. 6. As mentioned, there are two tiny buds growing from the base of the plant (see the photos in my blog, above) that I believe are new roots starting, at long last. So, though the leaves are suffering, the roots seem to be trying to make a comeback. Anyway, I'll do my best to implement as many of your suggestions as I can, and I do appreciate that you've taken time to help me. I truly do wish to save this plant, and in fact fell in love with it, despite its problems, and would love to "get good enough at this" to have more Phals in the future. Thank you!

I think if your plant is so root bound you feel it needs to be repotted, then do it. I’ve repotted all of my orchids (I have to phal, a zygopetalum and a beallara) when they were blooming and they didn’t miss a beat. It’s in how you handle them when repotting. Be careful of the leaves, don’t break roots, etc. I hold the plant in one hand while repotting- i don’t set the plant down unless it’s in a stable pot so that doesn’t tip over and allow the plant to hit the ground. Prep work is important. Get all set up beforehand so you don’t have to stop during repot. But if you do have to stop to get something, make sure you have a temporary landing spot set up for the orchid where it’ll be safe from mechanical damage (tipping, bumping things, etc). And have fun during the repot. You’re helping a plant have future (healthy) blooms that you can enjoy!! PS Jersey Girl- while I don’t like sphagnum as a potting medium that I would add, one of my orchids came packed in sphagnum. It’s doing well, but I wouldn’t wait too long to repot in a bark mix. I waited almost too long, and the roots were rubbery feeling. It was close to the edge of thinking about rotting. A little sphagnum is ok, not a lot for long term- like in your photo.

Hi, again, Wishful, Just a clarification, first ~ Sending you off to read another thread of the Orchid forum was not intended as a "brush-off." I thought it would be the quickest way for you to get some good information on the culture of your Phal. The following are based on some things I have learned about my Phals and are personal opinion, not edicts handed down from any oracle of orchid culture. It is a very good sign that you have had your Phal for a year and a half, and that it has grown several good new leaves. You are keeping its pot out of water and it apparently likes terracotta (which helps to provide good even drying between waterings). As Orchid126 suggests, your Phal should benefit from being closer to your east window--much closer. It needs bright, indirect sunlight. Also, if it were Close to the window in your climate it would get that night time temperature drop that it needs to initiate a flower spike. To deflect heat coming directly up from the heating vent, you could get (or rig) a heat deflector for the vent--or even put the plant on a larger plant tray placed on a plant rack (or shelf) right at the window. I live in a Very dry place, do not use a humidifier, and rarely mist my Phals (except for their aerial roots, and those only occasionally). They have never shown signs of needing additional humidity. Watering on time seems to provide all the moisture they need. Speaking of aerial roots, I don't worry about those, either. Some Phals are very sedate (root-wise); others seem to like to kick up their "heels." Heck; let 'em express themselves. Your air circulation sounds fine, and, close to the window, convection currents will only increase. If anything, your temperatures are a bit on the warm side. In winter, our inside daytime temps are between 68 and 75. Night temps next to the glass doors where my Phals are can dip to around 60 degrees--or a few degrees cooler. As soon as this starts, they spike. They seem to love it cool at night. Your watering sounds fine, judging from the survival and growth of your Phal. Of course, we all want to water perfectly, but it is better to underwater than to overwater. A lot of new growers get nervous way before 7 or 9 days go by. Since conditions can change with the seasons, check with a rounded skewer, Qtip, or your finger (my preferred--3" or knuckle deep). If it is cool to your lip or finger tip, it still has moisture. (If you make a hole in the medium, gently close it over.) Ok; I've said enough. Do check out that other thread and give the forum some feedback to let us know when your Phal Spikes! Sc

Yes it is aggressive, I used to have one climbing on a white wrought iron trellis in full sun in the front border, it smothered the trellis, couldnÂt see the trellis at all, as well it drifted into the flower gardens. Yes you can control prune it but you'll need to do this at least every week once it matures. I found the leaves get somewhat tattered and sunburned in full sun later in the season, but the hanging hops are beautiful. I had to RoundUp it several times to kill than dang thing, took a couple of years. I did though before I killed it, dug a little piece out and planted it on the north side of the house running up an old television antenna, it doesnÂt get sunburned, although it stays more green than lime green in the shade, its also not as aggressive ;) Sharon