Why is my Phal. bloom curling?

[Bonnie]

Hi all! This question may be better in the newbie area... I just got a new Phalenopsis that I'm growing in an east window, and have been working to raise the humidity overall in that area. We have the AC on, turned fairly cool (about 75F).

Did it curl because of the cold? Is it too wet now with a pebble tray under it, or some combo of the two?

Please help! Thanks!

[kmarch]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Your flower curling could have been caused by a number of things, the air conditioning (which causes low humidity), change in environment from the nursery where you got it to home, or the natural dieing off of the fowers.

As a rule, AC isn't the best for orchids because it dries the air out so. Also the orchid should be kept away form cold drafts coming from the AC.

The pebble tray is helpful to increase the humidity around the plant, so keep that, but the waterline in the tray should be well below the bottom of the pot so that the orchid is not sitting in water. the pot sitting in water in combination with the cold will cause the roots to rot. Phals like to be kept gently and evenly moist, never dry, never soggy. You can get a free culture sheet form the American Orchid Society at www.aos.org. Give it a read and let us know if you have questions.