Help! Odtna orchid stems turning yellow next to buds...

[spesco]

Hi ~ I'm brand new here so I apologize in advance for being clueless...

My name is Sarah and I'm an orchid-aholic.
No, wait! there's something important I have to ask...

I recently purchased a small orchid from Trader Joe's (yes, the grocery store) that says on the tag it is an "Odtna. Memoria Martin Orenstein 'Lulu'". I bought it 3 days ago, and both the Phal. and Paph. that I got there at the same time seem to be doing fine.

The Odtna however is turning pale yellowish on the stems just below the buds. The buds are still tightly closed.

When I got the plants home I watered them and let them drain for a minute in the sink, then put them on the cart where I keep my other orchids (over the humidifier). I have not watered them since. I did take the Odtna out of it's outer clay pot today, because I was worried that the yellowing of the stems may be caused by not enough air circulating around the roots... so now it's just sitting in the plastic pot (which has side vents).

Sorry this is so long-winded -- I'm just really anxious to bring this lovely little plant back to health and see it bloom!
Any suggestions or advice would be tremendously appreciated.

Thanks in advance ~ Sarah

P.S. someone on Yahoo Answers told me I should give it some Nitrogen fertilizer and move it closer to a window that gets morning sun... is this sound advice?
The only orchid food I have is the Shultz powder stuff, and I don't think the plant needs more water, so how should I fertilize it??
Thanks again for any and all help.... S

[prisana]

Hi Sarah, welcome to the forum. You said the stem is turning yellow, is it the flower spike you're talking about ? or the pseudobulb ? If it's the flower spike, take a peek in the crown of the plant where the spike comes out of and see if there's anything funny looking in there..for the flower spike to be yellow , it's either has a break in it that won't heal or if there's a crown rot. you won't lose the whole plant if it's the crown rot, but that spike may not be able the bloom the flowers for you.

I wish you could post some pics so I know what I'm dealing with. I've never had a yellow spike before but maybe someone with more experience can help.

I don't think you have to worry about the fert. for now. Concentrate on giving the plant the condition it needs. The humidifier was to blame for one of my plants in losing its buds, but not flower spike. It was too much too soon all at once.

[spesco]

Hey! Sorry for the lack of lingo-knowledge, and the hurried response. Am trying to fix dinner for kids.

Hope this picture of the plant helps to clarify things...

(in case the link doesn't work, I'm attaching it as well...)

S

[prisana]

Thanks for the pic. Some hybrids have their own personal look sometimes, and it doesn't always mean it's bad. This could be just a normal stem color for your type of plant and hybrid, BUT..it could also be an early sign of bud blast. Make sure the humidifier isn't blasting vapor directly onto the flower buds. Orchids don't really appreciate big, sudden change in growing conditions, especially if they are in buds, they tend to react to that by dropping them instead of blooming them. But from the picture, I think it looks fine..you might just have to wait to find out. Good luck.

[spesco]

Thanks for the input, Prisana... I really appreciate it!

I moved the plant over a little, so it's not so much in the "line of fire" of the humidifier. I'm going to hold off on any fertilizer, as you suggested, because I don't want to kill it.

I'm attaching a second picture in hopes that you will see the discoloration a little bit better. I am afraid it's going to just drop all it's buds and wilt... but who knows.

Thanks again for your help!

Sarah

[spesco]

Here I was thinking I could take some pictures that would so vividly show the discoloration on my orchid, but in looking at the 2 pictures I posted... I can barely see color difference at all, and the 2 pictures look almost identical!

Oh well... I tried.

[mayres]

As prisana noted, many orchids just flat out don't like being moved to a different location once they have set buds. You can be doing everything right and they refuse to bloom. Numerous times I have taken plants from home that have spiked nicely to my office and had them all blast. Yes, it is very frustrating. Some folks refuse to purchase plants already in bud because of this phenomena. With no change in conditions at all I have put a plant in my office in bud (as noted previously) and flower and had it self destruct in a week, and then had the very same plant spike at my office and then within that same environment bud and bloom and bloom for over three months. Go figure! It certainly keeps you guessing..........
mike

[tom499]

Sadly that yellowing on the flower stems looks to be a sign of bud blast. You may be lucky to have some of them flower though

The good news though is that the main stem is still green, and it may be able to put out flowers yet.

I'm unsure on your orchid variety,and its early morning so this may be wrong, but if it has nodes along the flower stem, if the buds fail you can cut it off part way down to induce more flowers.

But i think your orchid is a different variety for this to be possible.

[spesco]

wow... you guys are the best. Thank you for all the encouragement (and sympathy!!!)

You seem to have figured out that above all else I was worried that I was doing something wrong and killing my orchid. Sounds like bud-blast all right, and I guess it's just one of those things we have to deal with when buying plants in bud.

Oddly enough - my husband purchased a Miltonia for me for Mother's Day and he got it online at orchidweb.com, and when it arrived it had 4 very tight buds... it is now remarkably healthy and blooming beautifully, and it sits in the same spot as the others (it's my avatar picture).

Is it just an all-around safer bet to purchase more expensive plants from the growers themselves and have them shipped? I guess it makes sense that the plants would be less traumatized than those shipped by freight trucks, loosely packed in crates and boxes and then left on a grocery store shelf for days.

Anyway, thanks again for all the encouragement!

[spesco]

Hey everyone...

Sadly, my plant seems to be declining rapidly. I'm attaching a couple more pictures so you can see - the stems (still haven't brushed up on the lingo, sorry!!) look even yellower and are turning slightly brownish and drooping, and the buds are notably discolored.

You can see, however, that the bud all the way at the tip of the spike still looks quite healthy... maybe I'll save one bloom after all? I hope, I hope...

I am guessing at this point that this is classic "bud-blast". Anyone feel like confirming my diagnosis? Any hints or suggestions??

Thanks again.

[prisana]

Sarah, I'm so sorry about you buds, they sure look pretty blasted now. Look on the brighter side, you still have a healthy plant that will bloom for you again soon. I don't know about your plant's bloom cycle or habit but maybe another mature growth will put up a spike for you soon. If it does, make sure you post some pics for us to see, I'm itching to know what the blooms will look like .

[spesco]

Thanks, Prisana... I am quite curious to see what one of these blooms might look like as well!

I will definitely keep you posted. Thank you so much for your support, encouragement and concern!

[spesco]

Hello,

I'm sorry I didn't think to snap another picture of this plant, but I will this evening if I get a chance.

Here's the update: all the buds except for 1 (the furthest towards the tip of the flower spike) have fallen off, but that one remaining bud actually looks like it may bloom!

The spike itsself looks rather yellow, especially toward the bottom... but who knows?

Thanks to all who offered helpful advice and encouragement!

[spesco]

It's actually blooming! Come see!

In the verticle picture you can see how the spike is actually yellow towards the bottom, yet it's still green up by the sole remaining bloom.