Hey, Argus. I love talking to people with same sense of beauty. Great minds really do run in the same circles-- I think Queen Beer is the most beautiful flower I've ever seen. Simply glorious. Just drop dead, stop traffic gorgeous. In fact my son (no orchid cognoscenti) picked it out right away from about 6 other lovelies as the most beautiful, without being prompted to pick anything. Just went right for it and reached out to touch it. And I agree, photographs just can't do it justice, because the beauty is the radiant color which cameras simply dan't capture. A pity really, because lots of people must pass those pictures by in catalogs without a second glance, missing out on something really special. Maybe you can help me with a question I have about Queen Beer: The leaves on mine, except for the very newest, are cardboardish and dry-looking. The newest leaf is ordinary texture. Roots are good, and I can't figure out what is causing this. I know the doritis parent tends to have cardboardish leaves, so there's a genetic influence in it, but is this normal state for Queen Beer? Are your Qn Br leaves like that?

Never, ever put your Phals outside comments i've made in the past apply to here, not necessarily NE USA. As far as getting flowers, if you read the first post plus the in depth FAQ on the subject it all begins to make sense . There are the two groups of Phals. those that need a cool down and those that need a warm up to flower. (though perhaps day length might apply to some species) Some that need a warm up (here) are Phal.violacea and Doritis pulcherrima Phal.equestris blooming seems to be triggered by a cooling down. Cheating. (Phal.equestris x Dor. pulcherrima) x Kingiella philippense bloomed late summer for years in my conditions. After reading various posts i though i would try to make it bloom in the spring so i moved it to my warmer growing conditions in Autumn. Worked like a charm. I agree with the comments about increased light but of course it all depends where you are. No Phal will survive summer or winter outside here, Too hot (sometimes) Too cold (sometimes) and low humidity when the wind blows from the interior of the Continent. Leaf Burn is a function of light plus high temperatures.

If it is a hybrid or a mericlone, flower mutations are known to occur. The frequency and extent of the mutation varies depending on the genetic hickup. In some plants you may get one mutant out of several dozen normal ones. In some extreme cases all flowers are mutated. Some can be symmetrical such as those being marketed as peloric orchids, some can be really distorted and downright ugly. There are also certain cases where phals are intentionally bred to enhance the mutation.

Based on my experience for winter/spring blooming phals.. Most winter/spring blooming phals need a couple of weeks of an @15 degree temp drop between day and night temps in the fall. Notice I said a 15 degree difference, not down to 50 or 55, so if you normally run at 75-80 during the day, 60-65 at night should induce spikes on winter/spring bloomers. They also need enough light through rest of the year to get good healthy growth to support spikes, good light for a month or so in the fall ain't enough. And finally, an overall good fert/watering routine to keep things healthy and growing strong. Also a lot of species orchids/primary hybrids bloom in the summer, so you need to understand what you have and when it normally spikes/blooms. I agree with Jane in that it looks like it is dehydrated and the roots don't look too bad. Try keeping it damper or watering a little more often. DANGER WARNING!!!!!: In a dry office environment I've found that leaving a little water (1/2") in the cache pot for a day or so seems to really help in keeping moisture around the roots. Be VERY VERY careful here though, be sure to drain the cache pot after a day or so and never let it sit in water for more than 1 day. Good luck, Bob