It actually sounds like you're doing most things right. Did you bare-root when you root pruned? The things I would change: I would switch to a soluble fertilizer with a 3:1:2 NPK RATIO. Ratio is different than the NPK %s. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are all 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is exceptional because unlike nearly all soluble fertilizers it contains Calcium and Magnesium and gets most of it's N from nitrate sources, which will help reduce the somewhat leggy appearance your plant is developing because it promotes shorter internodes. BTW, what were the NPK %s of the fertilizer you used? If in fact it IS a nutritional issue, most usually the fact that new foliage is green would be taken as indication the plant is having trouble assimilating one of the immobile nutrients, so we then suspect a micro-nutrient deficiency first because the plant is unable to 'rob' the nutrient from older foliage due to its immobility in the plant. Again, the soluble fertilizer would take care of that. If it doesn't, then we consider that pH is causing the minor elements to be insoluble, so we can acidify your irrigation water to make nutrients more soluble and available, but let's try fertilizer change first, if you're up for it. I would also look closely at my watering regimen. It sounds as though you could be watering too frequently, which could account for the off-color of the foliage. Use a wooden chopstick or skewer stuck deep into the pot to test for moisture & water only when it comes out dry, and then, water profusely so you're flushing the soil thoroughly each time. Finally, though not related to health, I would start pinching immediately to curtail branch extension and stimulate the back-budding that is going to give your plant a fuller look. Good luck. Al

Thanks for answering. I'd like to have summer blooming phals, but I'm not sure what I bought, because of the big box type stores they came from. 2 of the phals that were blooming in June and July are spiking now, but maybe the others will wait til next year. I haven't been able to find very much info on summer or fall blooming phals. Do they require the same temperature drops as the winter blooming ones?

Hey, Holly. Definitely a nice problem to have.:) As the others said, you have to change something to accomodate the tall spikes. *And* check them every day or two, because they tend to bend toward the lights, and will grow right into the lights if you don't watch it. My spiking phals are under the stationary lights, which are set higher than the moving lights. As they get taller they get moved to the edges of the lights. When they are getting within a week or so of opening, they go upstairs into the south windows, which have Wonderlites suspended in them. That way I can enjoy the bud fattening up and getting ready to open more often. I haven't had any problems with bud blasting from moving them upstairs. Since I like phal spikes au naturel, and the newer hybrids tend to have orderly presentation of flowers, (also at least half of my phals are the "novelty" type) I don't worry overmuch about aligning the buds to the light. Enjoy your new problem!

Well there was "a randomized, placebo-controlled study of mildly overweight women" done by Biomedical & Global Solutions, France & published in Nutrition Research, May 2010. You can read the study at PubMed, search "satiereal". 60 women were involved over an 8 week period, approx. half taking a satiereal extract & half taking a placebo. The Abstract states that "Our results indicate that satiereal caused a significantly greater weight reduction than the placebo group after 8 weeks." I guess that one study was what Dr. Oz was basing his recommendation on. Apparently the ingestion of satiereal is somewhat mood-calming, so one maybe doesn't have the urge to snack the same. No bad effects were reported. Other than that, I saw no other studies on satiereal, a crocus extract, on PubMed.