Phals lifetime

[Tarad]

I am considering buying a great big phal for sale ( not cheap)and I am wondering at about what age will a phal stop flowering because of age, or is that even an issue if it is well taken care of. Tara

[patticake]

If taken care of, it will out-last you! I have a friend with a 40 yr. old Phal- It's a HUGE ball!

[tizzycat]

I'm with patti - go for it.

[Tarad]

OO thanks guys I may get it but it is very expensive and it is in spike biggest phal I have ever seen, but I am sure ther are bigger ones out there . I will post pics if I get it. Tara

[tizzycat]

Tara, you'll have to get it now, just so we can see the pics

[Tarad]

I think I will get it if I can it is HUGE and the flowers are salmon colored Tara

[mayres]

A year or two ago there was someone selling some OLD phals on ebay and they posted pictures of the plants - they were HUGE and I believe a couple of them had 11 and 13 spikes (not flowers - SPIKES) per plant!
I've personally seen one old phal about two years ago that took a pot as large as a full sized basketball to contain its root system. Awesome. I agree with Patti - they can potentially live longer than us. Can't wait to see the pics! :-)

[articuno75]

I think I would be intimidated to own something like that.

[Tarad]

lol ok now I am vizualizing the little shop of horrors plant haha. My little doggie will be sleeping with me tonight haha. Tara

[terry_sealey]

I am having a bit of trouble understanding this idea of a 'great big phal'. Phals are monopodial and unlike oncidiums, catts etc do not spread and become large plants in the sense that they take up a lot of space.

Growth is in one direction only and as new growth appears the lower leaves die and drop off. A very old phal to my mind left untouched would consist of a long bare stem with the new growth at the end. It would not be 'large' in the sense I understand. When they get to this stage I usually cut off the top of the plant re-pot and start again.

Some phals like gigantea are very large but this is due to growth habit and not just age.

[patticake]

Originally Posted by terry_sealey

I am having a bit of trouble understanding this idea of a 'great big phal'. Phals are monopodial and unlike oncidiums, catts etc do not spread and become large plants in the sense that they take up a lot of space.

Growth is in one direction only and as new growth appears the lower leaves die and drop off. A very old phal to my mind left untouched would consist of a long bare stem with the new growth at the end. It would not be 'large' in the sense I understand. When they get to this stage I usually cut off the top of the plant re-pot and start again.

Some phals like gigantea are very large but this is due to growth habit and not just age.

The plant that I've seen, is actually many different growths over the years. Each growth is as you stated, but through the years, it has produced so many new growths, that it's a big ball. I'll have to see if I can get over to his greenhouse one of these days to take a picture of it. I would actually like to clean it up a bit- it has old spikes etc. sticking out all over it. It was his fathers plant that he inherited after his fathers' passing. He's more of an acquaintance than a friend, so I don't want to insult him by offering to fix it! It's the only orchid he has. He's pretty much in the business of selling annuals. Oh well.... I'm rambling. I'm sorry, Tarad!

[Bolero]

At least 100 years! lol

[Anton]

Nah !

I have never had one last more than one season.

[Tarad]

Wow haha By large I mean up and leaf span and how many spikes and flowers this thing produces it si big according to the pic but in real life I am hoping it isnt as big as it looks haha. Tara

[snowballsarebad]

Terry, it could have basal growths starting, or the owner could have left keikis on it as well. I saw a few phals the other day that looked kind of like hanging plants, like a spider plant or something, because they had some basal growths, but also had many little keikis growing from old flower stems that hung below. some of the keikis also had their own keikis. It was cool!

[BillC]

Tarad, go with the flow; your experience will be enhanced if you buy it!

Anton, you never fail to amuse with your comments. When I read your post it was a case of falling down and LMAO...

Bill

[tizzycat]

[quote=terry_sealey;100484]I
When they get to this stage I usually cut off the top of the plant re-pot and start again.
QUOTE]

Terry, I'm cringing here, surely you don't subject a phal. to this treatment??

[mayres]

terry - by "big" what I have seen is that the leaves are all much larger than your standard young store purchased phal - 2-4X larger, the number of leaves is often maxed out - say 10-12, and the root mass is what is really amazing. As Chris is suggesting, over time the bottom is discarded as the top end continues to grow.

[Tarad]

Ok I have a new camera with video possibilities. Hmmm is there such a thing as movement activated cameras? That way if the thing make s amove at least I will have record of it in case my dog comes up missing In reality I sus pect the dog will think it is a tree and have at it. Said dog is wearing a diaper because of such thoughts. LOL oh my I jsut had a visual with my dog sitting next to the phal with a diaper on I could win a photo contest with a pic like that tara

[Tarad]

Wait a minute how do I put a pic on here? I have a few pretty big phals already. One in spike. Tara

[mayres]

Either upload your pic to a photo site, such as photobucket.com and then press the yellow scenery icon above the post window to place the link of where you have it OR press the "go advanced" button below and you will see a paperclip - press that and you can upload a picture to this site that will appear as a thumbnail in your post initially. The pic should be no bigger than about 800 X 600.

[Tarad]

Ok just testing to see if I ccan do this, If so here is oneof my phals. This one is not in spike but pretty big. Tara