I'll tell you. Growing orchids from flask is hard. At least for me. I have a greenhouse and everything, but i have trouble with tiny plants. I much prefer growing them from community pots or mini flats. If you want to grow a good sized population of a hybrid or species. Frankly, I don't have the room to do that anymore. If you end up having 20 or more plants of the same grex, you have to expect them to reach at least a 4" pot size or more for them to bloom. That takes up space. And then really cull the plants down as they flower. Take notes on each plant. If the flower is just average, give it away (I throw them away, sounds severe, but I look for award quality blooms). There are a number of orchid nurseries that offer community flats like Carmela or Carter & Holmes.

Seasun, a south window is great, but 5 feet away is too far. You are not giving your phal enough light and it will decline into death if you leave it where it is. Orchids take some time to die, so you'll think you're doing fine, doing ok, maybe not growing like it should. Oh NO!!! What happened to my beautiful orchid???? Here's how where to put the phal figures: phals need about 1000 footcandles of light to grow and bloom. *Outside* at high noon = app 10,000 FC. You are never getting anything near that indoors because of the ceiling and roof of the house cutting off that directly overhead sun. All you are getting is the slanting sun, of much less than 10,000FC. Cut in half by the window glass and screen. Cut in half again *for every foot away from the window*. At 5 feet from your south window you are giving it *100FC or less* by my fairly generous estimate of what your south window actually lets in. In St Louis, I can keep phals *in* a south window with no damage, just far enough from the pane for a shade to slide down. Start moving it closer to the window. The first day move it to about 2 feet from the window. Leave it there a day or two, feeling the leaves where the sun falls on them (if it does). If they are hot, it's too much light, move at least 6" further away. If barely warm or cool, move closer. Repeat above, moving it 6" closer to the window every couple of days til you are at the place where nearer the window = leaves are hot (or it's in the window). There's been a lot of discussion with newbies about how much light to give phals here lately. Mostly newbies wanting to argue for keeping it on an inside wall in a bookcase where it looks great, more experienced growers arguing for more light, LOTS more. Your phal will love you if you do a search for these threads. Use the search function and put in something lilike "phal + light". If you leave it where it is and it dies in 6 months, put it down to needing to learn things the hard way. Actually that's how most of us learned this lesson.

Ignoring the big spot for a moment, I have to say that you seem to have received your phalaenopsis at the beginning of its bloom. It is now June, and four months is a very good amount of time for your blooms to have lasted. It is normal for the spent flowers to drop (starting with the earliest) day by day in succession, at the end of the bloom cycle. Did all of the flower buds bloom; or were there some buds left, when the others began to fall? Now for the leaf with the spot: That is not the way that Phals generally shed a leaf. With my Phals natural leaf shed usually occurs after blooming is well over, and just before (or as) next year's spike appears. The bottom leaf (sometimes two) begins to fade in color, until it is eventually a dull pale orange or cream with a sort of shrively surface. The line (or suture) at the base of the leaf eventually loosens and allows the leaf to fall. I usually let this happen by itself. The spot on your leaf looks a little like the result of sunburn--too much direct sunlight on one spot; however it could be something else. If the dredded spot is sunburn, there is no problem. If it is disease, it could spread. Since you don't know whether it is burn or disease (if it were my plant) I would get it off of there as soon as possible, before leaf death reaches the crown of the plant (place from which the leaf came). To remove the leaf, use sterile scissors/knife/razor blade (I use flame sterilization). Cut off the leaf through brighter green tissue below the dying part, and wash your hands afterwards. Dab just the cut with cinnamon to help seal the wound. Orchid diseases are not a subject I know much about, but there are many on the forum with a lot of orchid growing experience, who may recognize your leaf spot and be able to help in that area. Sorry to be so long with this. I hope your orchid survives and thrives!

I've had it about 5 years, give or take. It was bigger, but the tree it was attached to, fell with the hurricane. I took some pieces off, and gave them to some friends. I must admit, it never flowered This much before. I didn't even see that it was going to flower. I was sitting in my back terrace, and saw it from afar. I have other ones that are going to flower soon, will post when they do.