On Thu, 23 Apr 2015 08:21:30 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

"Pam Moore" wrote

Spider wrote:

Pam Moore wrote:
I have 5 phals which do quite well but no flowers at the moment.
One has lost 2 leaves recently and 2 more of its leaves have gone
floppy.
How do I tell whether I have over or under watered?
I water roughly once a fornight in winter, and increase to once a week
in the warmer weather.
The one in question has lots of aerial roots which I spray now and
then. I've had this happen with others before and lost them.
When I water, if I have no rain water (no downpipe, no ater butt, have
to collect in buckets) I put them in a cool shower or stand in a
bucket for an hour or so. It seems to work most of the time.


It sounds as if you may be getting the crown of the plant too wet,
perhaps when you spray, but certainly if you stand them under the
shower. I always water from below (in their decorative ceramic pots),
leaving them to soak up water for 20-30 mins before draining them. If I
accidentally drip water onto a leaf and it runs into the base of the
leaf where it joins the crown, I always wick it out instantly with a
twist of tissue. I'm assuming that your Phals are in a well-draining
bark-based medium? Do keep an eye on the quality of the medium because
over time the bark content in the medium breaks down and becomes less
well draining. It may be you need to pot on any Phals that have been in
the same compost for a long time.

As to whether you're under- or over-watering, a floppy leaf could
indicate either. If the crown has rotted (over-watering) or is even
tending that way, you will probably find that the crown (where the
leaves join the root zone) is somewhat squishy. If it is only *just*
squishy, you may be able to save it by removing it from the medium and
allow it to dry out for a while before potting it up again. Also remove
the two floppy leaves as they may continue to carry the rot further into
the crown. If you've underwatered, the crown will feel quite firm, even
hard, so it shouldn't be hard to tell.

Thank you Spider and Martin.
I didn't realise they didn't like to be wet at the crown.
Surely in their native tropical forests they get quite damp?
I will go back to the method of watering from below.
I don't think they are over-watered. The one in question is in a
transparent pot and I can see that the compoost looks not too wet.
I will also repot in fresh compost. Yes I use bark based orchid
compost.

In the wild they grow on the branches of trees (epiphytes)and sometimes on
rocks (lithophytes) where they hang down as indeed do the flower spikes so
any water runs off and away except for any that gets soaked up by the moss
on the branch/rock which the roots can access. Also in that position any
water dries up quickly due to the breeze and it's hot too. Basically we make
them grow in an unnatural way, upright, in a pot in a cooler temperature
with no breeze.
The thick leaves are water storage organs (rather like succulents) so if
they go floppy they are losing water.

Thanks Bob. It all makes sense! I didn't think it through!