Her flowers are getting droopy and her one leaf is turnin...
4β pot with drainage
Last watered 1 year ago
4
Hi π. Blooms come to the end of their lives after a few weeks/a few months, so this could be entirely normal. Have you noticed increased root growth recently? Sometimes this is an indication that the plant is moving from the blooming cycle into a vegetative growth stage, which is entirely normal and a sign of health. Yellowing leaves, especially when itβs the oldest leaf as yours is (the oldest leaves are at the bottom) can be normal too. They tend to shed 1-2 leaves per year, always from the bottom. To know for sure whether this is all normal, it could be really helpful to have a look at the roots (is the plant in a plastic orchid pot? If so, you can just observe them through the pot without disturbing them). If the roots are firm and plump, then this is all natural and nothing to worry about - itβs just doing what phals do. If, however, the roots are brown/black or mushy or are papery and dry, itβs likely to be from stress (overwatering or underwatering) as phals tend to shut down first their blooms, then their older leaves to conserve energy when they are stressed. Your leaves look well hydrated though (they are plump and able to hold themselves up), which suggests that the root system could be healthy. The roots always paint the picture of the plantβs overall health! The flower stem on the left in the photo is dying (this can be normal too. Sometimes phals will keep a flower stem alive, other times itβll kill it off). You can cut it off when it dies - I usually wait until the spike is completely dead and twig like - that way, youβre not cutting into live tissue and the plant will also reabsorb the nutrients for use elsewhere. It wonβt harm the plant if you remove it earlier, just dab a little bit of cinnamon powder on the cut to help seal it and prevent bacteria/infection getting into the plant. Sometimes only a portion of the flower stem dies, so you can remove the dead portion and keep the rest, and if there are nodes on the stem that havenβt yet been used, they can reflower from there in time which saves them energy as theyβre not having to grow a new spike!
@skyjaybird with watering, if youβre watering when the media is dry and the roots are silver, then youβre doing a good job and shouldnβt run into problems. Yellow leaves are an indicator of lots of things - normal phal behaviour, overwatering, underwatering, low humidity (if youβre noticing more when 2 (max 3) leaves being discarded per year, low humidity is often the culprit). Check the roots - theyβll tell you all you need to know. If they are firm and healthy, then this is all natural and normal and nothing to worry about.