| It's a two-edged sword. In order to provide energy for growing that root system, there has to be enough chlorophyll exposed to the light in leaves, but to provide water and nutrients to those leaves, there has to be a good root mass. Phals don't have specialized water storage organs, after all. This is why good culture has to take all factors into account. You need enough water to support older leaves and new growth, nut not so much you rot the roots and thus reduce water ptake. You need enough light to produce and support flowers, but also to provide energy for new growth, both leaves and roots. If it is too hot and especially too cold, the plants become inefficient at metabolizing, at transpiring, etc...
That is why no one aspect of culture is a magic cure, and why when a grower recieves a CCM or a CCE it is really a big deal. In order to garner that kind of award, a grower must provide every aspect of the clture of a plant perfectly, so as to have perfect, happy foliage as well as a perfect blooming.
-Cj  |