No more flowers?

[New2Orchids]

Hi experts,

I'm an inexperienced gardener, so I have lots of questions. I think I have a phal orchid. The petals have all fallen off about 4 mos ago, but no new flowers/ petals have grown. Why is that? Then I read online that I should cut the stem right above the node, in order for my plan to rebloom. Assuming, I'm doing this correctly, how long does will it take to rebloom?

Also, a new stem started to grow (from the roots), but that hasn't flowered yet either. When will that begin to flower?

Also, I read somewhere that my leaves shouldn't be "too green". Is that a bad sign?

Last question. The roots have started coming out, wrapping around the pot. Should I get a bigger pot, or is it okay to expose the roots?

Thanks for all your help. I apologize in adv if I've abused my orchid. I didn't mean to.

nah you'reok. phals bloom once a year, most of the time. many growers just cut the spent spike down to its base, others cut to the last node to try a rebloom. the leaves when given the proper light should be light green, dark green indicates too little light to get a plant to rebloom. phals like to repotted once a year or so . your plant is blooming sized so you don't need to move up a pot size, just repot into the same pot, be sure to clean and wash it first. phals produce air roots, they are good, a normal thing.

[mayres]

A few more comments to add.....
As suggested, cutting the last flowered spike is optional - some cut it back to the base immediately after flowering and others just back to the top of the last node to hope for a secondary spike - which usually has fewer and smaller flowers than the original. It depends upon the specific plant and its conditions as to whether or not it will spike again on the spent flower spike - if it does many think it takes energy from the plant and they would rather have the plant building up its energy for the next major spike bloom. Spikes take 2-3 (closer to 3 in my case) months to grow out and open up their first bloom. For me they typically bloom for about three months - so that means about a half year watching the bloom spike with and without blooms and a half year watching leaves and roots per year - on the average. Depending upon what you have your plant potted in media-wise you don't typically need to repot these every year - I'd say more like every 2-3 years for many media types. What is yours currently planted in? Also as suggested - smaller pots are better than bigger pots in general - larger pots encourage media to remain wet too long and potentially leads to root rot.

[New2Orchids]

Thanks folks for giving me some advice. Okay, I'll wait patiently for my plants to flower. I'm very anxious.

As for re-potting, I still have my phal in the same pot (plastic pot container) as when I got it. Is that bad, or do you think it should be transfered to, let's say, a clay pot (w/ holes in the bottom to let the water out)?

[mayres]

The choice on pots is entirely up to you and each has its advantages. Obviously the plastic will retain the moisture longer - both should drain adequately.
Some people like to repot their phals soon after purchasing them in order to examine the root system and clear out any rotted material right away - that way it elliminates some possible causes if issues develop in the near future.
Also after growing for awhile you will zero in on your favorite choice of media among a couple dozen choices (which includes mixes of various percentages) available - and you will want to have each new addition in the media that you are most comfortable with.
It is easy to become anxious with phals in particular and all orchids in general - it seems they do everything slowly, except in some cases expire.....
Good luck - mike

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You must have one or more holes in the bottom of the pot! If you don't, then you should, as a minimum, slip the root ball out of that pot, and slip into a pot of the same size that has a hole. Or, you could put holes in the bottom of the current pot with a hot glue gun, soildering iron, or sterilized drill bit and drill holes on the bottom. But, if there is no drainage, you should look carefully at the arrangement to be sure there are not two pots involved.

Repotting is done when the mix starts to break down. If bark, put your finger on the top of the mix, preferably where there are no rots, and press down. If the mix presses back, it is good. If your finger goes in, it is degraded and ready to be replaced. The problem with a degraded mix is that it holds too much water, takes too long to dry out, and will cause root rot.

Watering should be done as a thoro soaking, hence the need for holes, and then let the plant get very close to dry before watering again.

You mentioned roots going over the side of the pot. If and when you repot, these can usually be crowded into the pot, and the selection of pot will be the smallest that you can get all the roots into. Plastic or clay is fine. Plastic makes it easier to get the plant out by flexing the pot a little, and clay will dry out a lot faster. So, if you are an over waterer, you might want to use clay, or an underwaterer, you might want to use plastic. My personal favorite is plastic, as I can get these in more sizes than clay, inaddition to easy removal, and the plant weighs a lot less on my hardware cloth covered benches.

Cynthia