Carol pointed out something that I never recognized until taking pics of my phal. today. I told her that I never worry about water getting on my plant and the plant was fairly large and healthy. She is sure that water should not remain in the "crown" of the phal. and if it does, it should be blown or wicked out. I have never done that and literally spray my plant wiith a garden hose regularly. Carol says the phal. will bend at an angle as it grows and this natural bending would empty out the crown when water gets in there.
Sure enough, when I looked at my 4 yr old phal. it is growing at an angle (bending). I guess that's why my watering technique doesn't "kill" it.
Also, I have read that you should cut the stalks off near the plant after blooming. I don't do that either. I simply cut approximately half way down the stalk and allow the rest of the stalk to remain. I get new blooming stalks from those old stalks and thus a lot more blooms each spring/early summer. Here are some pics of the phal. The plant is approximately 18-20" wide but probably only 6-8" tall from the bark line. New stalks are forming not only from the base of the plant but also from the old stalks. Hopefully, though some of the pics are out of focus, they are good enough to show this. This plant will be loaded with flowers next spring. Ken
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)
The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
