So confused!

[mandyjo]

Hello everyone!

I still cannot post pics of my orchid, it keeps telling me a security token is missing??? Anyway, I have a question. I bought two orchids at Lowes, one for my sister and one for myself. As I was walking to my car, the flower stem on mine broke off. Shortly after the main stalk withered up and died, but the leaves were perfect. Earlier this spring (after a year of just leaves) it started to regrow but flowers bloomed off of the main "thing" it never had an "attachment" that grew off the side with the flowers. It gets four or five buds on it, two will fully open but the rest die without blooming. I will get pics up as soon as I get security clearance! Thanks

[Olive Cook]

Sometimes it will do that security token thing from time to time, it's not you. If you have a photobucket account, you can upload the pics to taht and post them directly to the page and not have to use the button.
Pics would be really helpful, I'm having trouble understanding the issue with your spike...

[sunshine]

Originally Posted by mandyjo

Hello everyone!

I still cannot post pics of my orchid, it keeps telling me a security token is missing??? Anyway, I have a question. I bought two orchids at Lowes, one for my sister and one for myself. As I was walking to my car, the flower stem on mine broke off. Shortly after the main stalk withered up and died, but the leaves were perfect. Earlier this spring (after a year of just leaves) it started to regrow but flowers bloomed off of the main "thing" it never had an "attachment" that grew off the side with the flowers. It gets four or five buds on it, two will fully open but the rest die without blooming. I will get pics up as soon as I get security clearance! Thanks

Let me see if I can dissect this. You bought a phal and it was booming. The spike broke, and died. After a year it grew a new spike and flowers bloomed from the main spike but you never had a sub-spike. Bud blast can be caused by a number of things.

Have you checked the roots and when was the last time your phal was repotted? Often the phals bought in stores are packed in several layers of sphag which cause root rot and suffocate the roots. Phal roots need to breath. I would suggest doing a repot and checking the roots and repotting in the medium of your choice.

[mandyjo]

Okay....I repotted the orchid into a different pot and planted it into Miracle Grow Orchid potting mix, I did that about six months ago. I also water it with a mixture made for orchids. I took pics of the leaves and the plant and flowers....maybe someone can help me. Because once the flowers die I don't know what to do! Thanks again!!!!!
Pictures by cassidyandmandy - Photobucket

[dounoharm]

ah, i see your pics, and a bad case of mealybug too....that could be draining energy from the plant....i use a systemic insecticide, spraying every two weeks for 6 treatments...also, i think you need a little more light on your plant...the leaves look very dark green.....if you could increase the humidity around the plant you might have better luck with a full stem of flowers....gl and enjoy your orchid!

[mandyjo]

First of all, thank you for the replies.

Dounoharm, I have my orchid in Miracle Grow orchid potting mix and it has these whitish/yellow little beads in them and I literally snapped those pictures just a couple of minutes after my husband tore a wall down in our house. I looked at the orchid and I don't see any bugs. Would they be something I would see? Or is what looked like mealybug in the pic just alot of sheetrock? I am posting another pic of the orchid with bare roots....do I leave the roots in water for a few days? And what are the white things? I know I sound really dumb but I know nothing about orchids and the more I read the more confused I am getting!