greetings from long island

[journorchid]

Hi, all! I'm writing to introduce myself to the crew here. I am a young journalist living on Long Island, and I've never really had a green thumb -- but I've been having slightly better luck with plants in the last few months.

What brought me here was serious concern about the one orchid plant I currently own. It's a ph. (moth) -- purple with yellow in the center of the blooms.

The plant means a lot to me for a couple of reasons:

First, I bought it for $.99 from a big box store that had given up on it because its single stalk had nothing but a single bud on the top. I brought it home and promptly lifted it too high, shearing off the bud with my ceiling fan. But I stuck it in the window anyway, and in a couple of days, a new arm sprouted off the side, and from that arm grew six beautiful buds.

Then, my boyfriend of 2.5 years (long for a 25-year-old) visited me just as they were about to burst, and was here to watch with me as the first of the blooms unfurled into the sunlight. By the time he left, it was in full bloom. Ol' dude dumped me a couple of weeks ago, but I've enjoyed having this plant and its impressive flowers to remind me of him.

Then, last night, disaster strikes: Three of the most recent blooms are severely wilted, while the first one to open is still relatively intact -- though its top petal is dried-out-looking. And one of them just fell off. Now, I still have a tiny, new bud on the side-stalk, but the whole bloom situation is going to hell very quickly. Could this have to do with my having lit a fire for the first time last night, and the smoke getting into the house?

I am at a lost -- i know there's misting involved, and light-but-not-too-much-light... but I just don't understand how all of a sudden the thing could go from perfect to depressing. Anyway, if anyone wants to PM me with some first aid tips, that would be dandy, but I know I should go read all the FAQ and newbie stuff before I bug anyone directly or start a thread.

Anyway, I look forward to making y'all's acquaintance, and to many successful orchids in the future.

Dan

[Sharyn]

Sounds like he left his bad Karma behind! Don't fret - your orchid will recover and so will your life. Happy orchid growing. You'll enjoy this forum and learn alot. Welcome.

[arleneg]

Hi Dan,

I just want to say welcome to the forum. I missed this post last time.

[Buttercup]

Hi Dan, I don't have enough experience to offer any wisdom here but I wanted to say hello You sound like you do have a green thumb if you got that little 99 cent plant to flower at all! I am interested to see if a fire does have anything to do with this.

[Dorothy]

Hi Dan .. Don't know if you still visit this board but ..
Phals aren't good in direct sun but need bright light (there is a big difference).. best in an east or west window with a sheer curtain between the window and phal .. otherwise the leaves will burn. You might want to check the medium (what it is growing in). It may be decomposed. I would suggest repotting after it spikes ( though I am not sure if you should wait past the dormant phase - when the plant winters) In watering, make sure you are letting it dry out, even go on the drier if you have any doubts. You can mist the roots every morning especially on sunny days. If it gets afternoon sun, you can mist in the early afternoon also ... I like to mist the air over all my chids. I also fertilized weekly weakly (half the amt the orchid fertilizer tells you) and I also feed mine orchid food once a month.
My phals have been pretty hardy so far. I have had them since March and they continue to grow and I even have one newly spiking!
There is plenty of info on Phal culture .. I am sure even in the archive threads here ..
Good luck!

I'm from Long Island, too!

[brookn]

Welcome, sounds like bud blast, you can do a search for it. I am thinking that the smoke made it unhappy. Also phals don't like direct sunlight. A little early morning light is okay, but they will burn, also I was told to move mine a little farther from the light while it is in bloom.