This day has finally arrived after a long time in waiting! After almost 3 years of fussing over this store-bought Phalaenopsis orchid plant, it finally set off its first bloom this winter! There are at least 7 buds on one stalk and another 6 on a second stalk so it looks pretty healthy, I think. My previous acquisitions of orchids have failed to reflower even after many months of attention and I've started to believe in other friends who also had no success that it is futile to bother. "Just get new ones once they fade" was the usual advice.
I'm not sure what exactly made the difference but I left this plant in the yard in light shade from late spring through the fall and it just received rainwater and occasionally drenching on the hose. When the weather got cooler, I brought it indoors next to a south-facing window where it gets 1-2 hours of direct sunlight each day. As the air in the apartment is very dry, the orchid gets a drenching soak every 3-4 days with rainwater that I collected or just regular tap water. I've only fed it with one watering with orchid fertilizer since and it seem to be doing well.
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