Flower Oddity

[tom499]

I have a phalaenopsis Pauline Rose orchid, which i bought in bloom some weeks ago.

The flowers have been great, until suddenly one of them started to fold in on itself. The two "side" petals folded in to cover the central ovary area.

There appears to be no other change to any others, and the flower that has changed seems perfectly healthy apart from this strange occurance.

i would be greatful if anyone could enlighten me on this

[fred]

hi and welcome to the forum
I hope that you enjoy your stay with all of us.
My name is fred and I live in Tasmania.
I have seen that with phally,s here that has been due to a sudden change in temp.
Also draft can do that also.
Do you water the plant with tap water or rain water ( tank ) ?
I hope this helps you

[janet_a]

it could also be that it's just finished blooming. phal buds open serially, and sometimes die off in the order they opened, sometimes not. you don't know how long the plant was in bloom when you bought it; it may just be done. if the rest of the plant is green and healthy, don't worry about it. treat it well and it may bloom for you next year.

[tom499]

many thanks for your quick replies
i am only 16, and have only been collecting orchids a year or so from my local garden centre, so im quite the newbie!
i think you are indeed right, now it gets dark the other petals seem to be wilting as well.
i use rainwater, but keep my plants on a table in my room. They get indirect sunlight throughout the day.
be a shame to see the flowers fall off, but i have another flower, a palp of some sort with two buds coming through. Then i hope i can find out more about what type it is

many thanks again for your help, im sure i will be using the forum alot

[Ak_Orchid]

If the flower just folded in on itself and didn't drop off, it's possible that the flower had been pollenated. Most people wouldn't bother letting the seed pod mature if you don't know what plant it's crossed with. If the flowers are simply wilting and falling off, it's a normal part of the plants blooming cycle.

[tom499]

hmmm pollenation would be cool, its the only flower i have in bloom at the moment though so it must have pollenated itself ...if that is the case.

what would it mean if it was pollenated? i'm excited now! do i get seeds i can grow and make lots of small orchids?

i'm not bothered on species right now, just trying to get some good plants to grow well

[Ellen]

It's unlikely that your phal was pollinated, but it's possible. To find out, just leave the stalk and flower alone and see what happens. If pollination occurred, the ovary will start swelling right at the base of the flower in a couple of weeks. It may also turn a slightly reddish color. The flower will never drop off, it will just dry up except for a small circle of the petals right at the top of the ovary. I'm going to try ataching a picture of what the caps wil look like if your flower actually was pollinated. This is when they first start growing, so they will eventually get quite a bit larger than what's in the picture.

[tom499]

hmmm i havent got that yet

but as you say, it would be very unlikely. could a collect some of the pollen from the phal and cross it with a paph? or would the genetical difference be too much?

that would be such a cool plant if it worked

many thanks again for all the quick info guys, its great to finally talk to people who grow orchids and really know the know unlike the morons in the huge garden centres who don't have a clue!

[Ak_Orchid]

As far as I know, the genetic difference between the 2 species is too great for them to be crossed successfully. I've only tried to cross similar species.

[Ellen]

Nope, can't cross a phal and a paph. That would be sort of like trying to cross a dog and a cat. And if you look closely, their pollination systems are totally different.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The flower could just think it has been polinated. If you accidentally knock the anther cap off, this will trigger the same flower folding as polinating would.