Root Progress on Phal. NoID "1"

     There has been a lot of salts crusting on phal 1's roots and just in general at the base area. I have salt-softened water in my whole house and when rain is not available, I just water with the tap. I doubt that fertilizer is causing the salt build up, simply because I sparingly and rarely fertilize. Many times, I just forget for months! It is more likely the water is messing things up.
     I have been flushing the plant with rainwater as much as possible and even manually scraping areas where it is clearly crystalline and crusty.
     While flushing, a few fresh, bright green roots showed through the pot - so exciting! There was a bit of root trouble last time I unpotted,  but it seems like things took a turn for the better instead of rotting away.

     Good news, I am looking into purchasing a new camera (with macro!) so I can take better pictures for the blog. Today's post is a clear sign that I could use a better camera - I tried taking a picture of the salt crusties and just couldn't get a clear shoot!

Stunted growth on Phal. 1

     Nothing new here. Just repotted into new medium after the accident. It is kind of a good event because the old media was staring to house fungus gnats.

    I have noticed that the new baby leaf poking out from the crown (not seen in picture) has stopped growing. It has been about 2 months without growth progress.

Say hello to phal noid 1.

6 of my phal's are noid's that I picked up from Loew's home improvement store -one I purchased at Ikea (some sort of hybrid, still noid though!)

I have two areas that my orchids sit, this being one. I try to keep the humidity around 50% using an ultrasonic humidifier but its hard to keep it steady with the hot, dry heat blowing from the heater this time of year. They receive a good amount of light from a north-northwest window that is exactly across from them, about 10 ft away.

Growing area #1

This is Phal number 1. It has grown one leaf since I purchased it approx. last january and to my surprise, another leaf is peeking out.

First phal. 

Adorable little leaf nub!

It has only bloomed once since I purchased it, from a spike extension and the blooms are a deep purple/magenta. I dont think it will bloom again this year, because of the explosion of roots its been growing. I will keep an eye on it for a bit more and transplant it rather soon - the bark mix is starting to decompose and house fungus gnats.