Question
Hi Wayne,
greetings from the UK. I have a phanleopsis that is around 5 or 6 years old now. Quite a big beast. It currently has 6 healthy leaves and a flower spike that refuses to do anything. There are 7 nodules on the spike which are a fairly light green compared to the spike. The arial roots are also healthy looking. It is potted in orchid compost and bark chippings. It is watered when the pot "feels light" to me. I spray the roots occainsionally when the weather is warm. The temperature it lives in here is 16oC - 23oC (Maximum). It is away from direct sunlight, it recieves light from an adjacent overhead window. I keep my orchids in trays with moist hydroclea to improve humidity. In warmer weather in spring I feed approx every 2 weeks with an orchid fertilizer. My other plants seem very happy living like this (Slipper orchid, Cattleya and other Phals). I cant understand why it wont flower any more, its like it puts all its energy into growing arial roots and leaves! Wondered if you may have any ideas? Thanks - Jane

Answer
Thanks for your question Jane.  It is a puzzle isn't it?

A couple things stand out in what you said or did not say.  First, if I recall, 16 degrees C. translates into about 60 degrees F. Some phalaenopsis like a brief chill down to about 13 degrees C. to help set buds. A couple of weeks with a night temp closer to that might help.

Secondly, you didn't mention the formulation of the fertilizer. To induce flowering, you should use a "Bloom Booster".  If you not familiar with that term, it is the middle of the three numbers found on the package.  For example, a 10/30/10 fertilizer is a bloom booster.  If you are feeding a high nitrogen fertilizer (high first number) you are telling the plant to put out new growth-- and this retards flowering.

You didn't mention the amount of light the plant gets. You may want to look for an opportunity to give it more light which will stimulate pigment formation.  The leaves should not be a dark green but a lighter shade of green.  Lower light levels are fine for vegetative growth, but flowering might benefit from slightly higher light levels.

Congratulations on your beast of a plant. It obviously likes your conditions for growth. Hope my suggestions, if followed, will give you a blooming plant, which should be a grand one due to its enormous amount of stored energy.