Spike or Root?

[jills73]

Hello,

I am new here, found your site last night and couldn't help but join in! I have a noid phal, good bloomer and now I have this growth..thought it was a spike since it went up, but it has been months and there is nothing. Looks to me like an aerial root. What do you think?

[Tess1]

Looks like a healthy root to me.

[fred]

yes that is an Aerial root
welcome to the forum
I hope that you enjoy your stay here with us

[jills73]

Darn! I knew deep down it was a root but was hoping for a spike. You can't tell from the pic( I had to trim it alot to fit on the web) but is about 8 inches tall! Thanks for the quick response.

[PhalPal]

Hey roots are good too!!! Better then NO roots!

[evagentry]

welcome to the forum, nice roots are an asset to be prized.

[mayres]

Yep! Nice healthy root. They are to be admired too. How long has it been since your phal bloomed? What kind of conditions do you have it in? How are you caring for it? If you share the details maybe we can give you some ideas on coaxing another spike out? This is the time of year for the majority of hybrid phals to be spiking. Sometimes when they are made to bloom out of their normal period due to greenhouse conditions they can skip what would/will be their normal season.

[patlee]

Hi Jills73, Welcome to the forum. You have a nice,fat root and that's a great sign. No roots, no flowers.
I was excited because we go down to the Ocala area every year to visit my parents. It's so much nicer there than in the rest of Fla. I brought a little orchid back to Ohio and it has a flower for the first time in about three years. (Hope it's a sequential bloomer. I can see another growth starting!) I'll post a pic of it soon, so come back to the forum and keep watching for the post

[jills73]

Originally Posted by mayres

Yep! Nice healthy root. They are to be admired too. How long has it been since your phal bloomed? What kind of conditions do you have it in? How are you caring for it? If you share the details maybe we can give you some ideas on coaxing another spike out? This is the time of year for the majority of hybrid phals to be spiking. Sometimes when they are made to bloom out of their normal period due to greenhouse conditions they can skip what would/will be their normal season.

It bloomed this time last year. This Phal has always been an indoor Phal. I keep it potted in spagnum, near a South window, I water when it feels dry about one inch into the moss, I was fertilizing every two weeks. It has alot of new roots not all are visible from the pick and it did put out a new leaf too. Thanks for all your input!