New Phal is Dying

[jgrower]

Hi! About 3 weeks ago I received a beautiful Phal as a gift. It is lovely but I have not been a tested green thumb and have been scared of killing it. It has been growing in my office. My office has no windows but florescent lighting that is on from 8-7ish during the day. The temperature is about 65-70. I have been lightly watering the orchid once a week. I let the medium get damp but not soaked and then let it dry out before I water again. When I got the orchid it had 4 leaves, 3 open blooms, 3 growing "branches" from the spike, and lots of buds. Since then a new bloom has opened ever 2-3 days and more small blooms have opened. I can see lots of green roots down in the pot but all the roots at the surface are brown or white and kind of shriveled. In the last 3-4 days some different things have happened. On Monday three of the smallest buds turned brown, then throughout the week I have had three flowers start to wilt, and this morning I had three large buds turn brown. The leaves are a dark green color but one had a yellow line about 1/4 inch long show on the middle of the leaf and another had a yellow spot about that large start on one side. I have also noticed little knats that have appeared but I have been killing them and haven't seen any in 2 days. Please, please don't let me kill this beautiful plant! I really need help and appreciate any advice that you can give!

[JudyC]

Hi & welcome. You should take it out of it's growing medium and see what kind it is/condition and if it is really wet. If it's in moss, the outside may feel dry, but inside can be super wet, which will harm the plant. This is also a good time to inspect the roots, good roots = good plant.

Here's a link to help you along

http://http://www.orchidgeeks.com/fo...m-orchids.html

Another good tip is to put a wooden skewer into any orchid medium, leave it there always - when questioning if it needs water - take out the skewer - and if it's wet, wait until it's slightly damp before watering.

Also a good photo or 2 will help others in your answers...just post up a few replies to others posts (you need 5 posts before allowed to upload photos)

There's many great "stickies", tips here - enjoy your researching

I'm sure the "ones in the know" will definitely pop in to help.

[englandfx]

Ok there is a major problem I can see here:

You don't have any windows in your office; this means no fresh air, no natural sunlight.
Dark green leaves indicate not enough light.

Right now you are experiencing bud blast.
My advice is to make sure the plant gets fresh air and no artificial light.

[Soulcatcher157]

Adding to what Englandfx and JudyC, (which have posted some excellent advice) may I suggest a couple of differant things? 1) Phals (as well as most orchids) love airflow and real sumlight. Granted Phals are picky little monsters and like lots of shade as well..but all told love the sun. Right now it sounds like your plant is throwing alot of energy into those spikes and it's not getting enough sun/air flow to sustain them. Sadly, my advice (and I'm sure others will disagree) is to a) get her in your kitchen, bathroom, etc where she can feel some sun, and b) cut the spikes. I know this sounds drastic but right now she needs to rally a bit and get herself sorted. If you don't want to go to such an extreme, try cutting one of the spikes (the oldest) and that way as she recovers she can decide whether to save them or not. Now, like I said, this is just my own personal opinion, so please,no rotten fruit/vegi throwing from the upper balcony. Best of luck!!

[orchids4me]

As others have stated true ..... But to add on.
Some office buildings have the climate controls on a timer though you see they have settings during business hours. Are they still truly on over night or do the temps plummit in there at night and kick back on just before the workers arrive to the offices.....
I'd un pot it and check the roots also. Many environmental issues do cause bud blast and from what you're describing this is what it sounds like.
Bring it home and take care of it in a more controlled environment.
Good luck !!

[Jlie]

Originally Posted by Soulcatcher157

...Phals are picky little monsters...

Off topic but this just made me laugh out loud. SO true.

Good luck w/ your Phal. Everyone's said everything I wanted to say so I'll just second it all.