Leaves darken on Phal Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall' from high light

Leaf color change on phalaenopsis after 3 weeks in bright light

     My Phal Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall' has adjusted to the intense light conditions by developing a reddish-brown hue on its leaves. It's growing about a foot away from a CFL growlight, which is rather more light than typically recommended for growing phalaenopsis orchids. (Interestingly, my smaller noid phal hasn't seen any color changes at all, even though its leaves are even more directly exposed to the light.) 

     There is one white spot on the leaf from direct sunburn (picture on right), but it appeared early on, and there has not been any subsequent damage.  Another leaf has acquired some faint spotting near the tip, which I also think is due to the light, but it's barely visible. 

     This new color is not as attractive as the initial bright green (picture on left), but I am still hoping that brighter light might help my phal bloom a deeper red, instead of the purple flowers it arrived with.

Phal spike remains green after flowers fall

     The phal stayed in bloom for me for 2 weeks, and dropped its last flower a week ago.  It's possible that the phal was already near the end of it's bloom cycle when it shipped to me, or perhaps the stress of transport shortened the flowers' lifespan.  The tip of the phal spike is still green and shows no sign of drying yet, so I am hopeful that it may grow more buds from the tip.

     In the meantime, it's growing a new leaf.  I'll be interested to see how large the leaf gets.  The plant is currently quite compact (the largest leaf is only 5" long), but I'm not sure if the small size is due to the phal being young, or if this hybrid doesn't ever grow much bigger.  

     There is also quite a bit of root growth going on that I can see through the sides of the clear pot, and the media dries out surprisingly quickly, compared to some of my other similarly-potted orchids.  

     All in all, the Phal Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendehall' seems to be happily growing.