I'm wondering if anyone has tried growing Phals in dirt instead of bark? I've been keeping Phals for a number of years and have always had trouble keeping them water. It very dry here and the bark only stays damp for a couple of days.
Many of my plants get wrinkly and drop leaves, even when watered weekly and its very hard to get them to bloom.
This winter I decided to try potting them all in fine bark/soil mix, its helped some but they still are drying out at rapid speed. I have one little plant I experimented on, I planted it in mainly dirt with just a tiny bit of bark and clay bio balls to help with drainage some.
The plants with more soil then bark are doing better then they have in years and today when I repotted the one in soil, I was surprised at the amount of new, FAT roots. All very healthy and not a squishy one in site.
I know this goes against all recommendations but its working for me.