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08-25-2007, 04:27 PM
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 panic!!! I just got my first two orchids yesterday (phals) and on my purple one, one of the buds fell off! could it be from the shock of moving them from the store to here? I also noticed that on the white one one of the flowers is starting to wilt... am I unknowingly killing it? please help this two-day-old orchid grower! 
__________________  luv yas!      |
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08-25-2007, 04:41 PM
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| Hi Kit, you can't kill a couple of orchids in two days unless you immerse them in boiling water or spray them with sulphuric acid. So first is, don't panic. Now is it possible that the bud which dropped could have been knocked in the transport from the store to home? Also you don't know for how long the plants have been in bloom so it might be quite natural for the loss of one flower. Get yourself the Phal culture sheet from AOS.com and read it through and give the plants some time to get accustomed to the change from store to house, then if bad things are still going on get back to the forum. Hope all turns out well for you. Bill |
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08-25-2007, 05:09 PM
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| ok thank you! *sigh* and thats very true, the plant that the bud fell off of was the biggest out of all of them at the store, so I can assume it was there for a while... thank you again!
__________________ luv yas! |
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08-25-2007, 05:33 PM
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| Take a deep breathe.....I am sure they will be fine. The bud may have been knocked loose. The flowers do fall off naturally so don't worry to much about it. Good luck and welcome here!
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08-25-2007, 07:13 PM
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| BillC you are too funny! Before I scrolled down I was thinking "How does one kill an orchid in two days?" I didn't think it could be done until you provided two suitable possibilities. Welcome to the forum kitsune! You will probably have more questions as your phals progress; feel free to ask away. Many knowledgable and friendly orchid growers on this forum.
__________________ "If Nothing Ever Changed, We Wouldn't Have Butterflies." |
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08-25-2007, 07:24 PM
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| welcome to the forum  xxxxxx
__________________  Passion rules us all and we obey~what other choice do we have? |
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08-26-2007, 03:07 PM
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| They can last for 2-3 months in some cases. I believe that is optimal. As yours is new to your home and not acclimated yet, it may not bloom for very long. The next bloom, they will probably last longer.
__________________ “When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume” |
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08-26-2007, 04:53 PM
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| okay! seems a bit funny that all the ones on the purple one have started wilting while the ones on the white look nice and perky...maybe that one is tougher. hmm...
__________________ luv yas! |
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08-26-2007, 09:58 PM
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| It probably means that the purple one bloomed first and it's blooms have reached their max.
__________________ "If Nothing Ever Changed, We Wouldn't Have Butterflies." |
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08-26-2007, 10:01 PM
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| It also could be older and just time to fall off or while it was being driven home it may have gotten knocked around and dmamged and that could also cause it to fall off. Shoot the other day I brought one home and accidentally bent one of the flowers trying to get it out of the car and it wilted with in a few hours, I happens. |
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09-01-2007, 08:53 AM
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| Update: the purple one is now flowerless. all have fallen off...=( the white one seems to be losing 2, but is otherwise alright looking. is there any way I can pursuade my purple one to make a new stem? speaking of which, should I snip off the stem from where the flowers used to be?
__________________ luv yas! |
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09-01-2007, 07:13 PM
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| Kind of an odd question... do you have ripe fruit (like a fruit bowl with apples) anywhere near your new orchids? Sometimes that can cause the buds to blast (drop off) too. You can snip the the spike to the next node (i.e. just below where the flowers started you should see a little bump on the stem). If the plant is otherwise happy, it can start a new spike. Usually the second spike doesn't have as many flowers though. Consider yourself warned, once you get an orchid to re-bloom you may become hopelessly addicted! My orchid addiction innocently started with a few plants that I justified buying ("they're cheaper than a bouquet of flowers and they last longer"). Now I have about 70 plants! Last edited by berkeleysgr8; 09-01-2007 at 07:16 PM. |
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09-01-2007, 09:31 PM
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| there were some bananas about 2 days ago about 5 feet away from it...and about 3 feet away is a lucky bamboo plant and a philadendrium...would that hurt?
__________________ luv yas! |
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09-01-2007, 09:56 PM
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| I think it was probably just time for your blooms to go. You have no way of knowing how long the flowers were on the plant before you bought it. I am of the mindset to just cut the spike off once the flowers are spent. This lets the plant grow leaves and roots rather then spending it's energy on supporting a few substandard blooms.
__________________ "If Nothing Ever Changed, We Wouldn't Have Butterflies." |
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09-01-2007, 10:43 PM
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| I have mentioned it before so this is a good time to say it again. You should avoid buying Phalaenopsis during the summer. It likes cooler temperatures and does not flower naturally this time of year. In order for it to be in flower now, the grower had to heat the flower during the winter to prevent it from flowering and then cool it to flower in the summer. There is nothing wrong with these plants, but the forcing causes them to get out of blooming cycle and the heat shortens the life of the flowers. Normal blooming season is early spring after they have gotten a chill (20 degree drop in temps from day to night preferable 70 to 50). It is possible yours may miss blooming next spring in that it may not have enough time to recover from the stress of blooming. Do not try to get another flower this late in the year. Cut the stem as far down as you can.
__________________ jerry  |
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09-02-2007, 10:52 AM
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| Very interesting point, Jerry. I recently bought two different harlequin phals. Neither of the plants flowers lasted long at all. I'm in the process of repotting everything today and the roots are great on them both. I hope to get flowers in the spring. What kind of orchids, other than vandas, do you recommend this time of year?
__________________ Ellen  |
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09-02-2007, 11:33 AM
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| omigosh. baaaaaddddd problem now! I went to check on the purple one this morning, and noticed that the biggest leaf was yellowing, not from the tip of the plant, but from where it was attached to the plant! I went to lift it up and it came off! That end was rotten, slimy and brown. I turned the plant around to check the rest of it out, and the second-biggest leaf looked the same, but much worse. this one looked completely rotted at the base and was REALLY slimy on the underside. So, fearing that it had root rot, I went outside and took it out of the pot to check the roots. First, I noticed that the pot only had one puny rock at the bottom of it, as if that were supposed to be enough to drain it. Then, I looked at the roots. id say about 70% were dead looking, squishy and discolored. note that I have not watered this plant, the most I have done is follow the instructions to snip back the stem. what should I do? repot it? clip off the dead roots? help!
__________________ luv yas! Last edited by kitsune; 09-02-2007 at 11:44 AM. |
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09-02-2007, 11:56 AM
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| Have you got some medium orchid potting mix ? I would take all the sphagnum moss off sterilize the cutting tools and also the pot for the orchid after you have trimed the dead roots off. You may be able to use the same pot. Trim up the dead roots being careful not to damage the healthy roots. Repot the plant into the medium orchid mix. |
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09-02-2007, 12:26 PM
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| I dont have any medium potting mix, all I have is potting soil =( I dont know how I could sterilize the pot, even though it is terracotta it has a plastic liner in it that I cant take out...I do have a slightly bigger pot I could put it in but how do I sterilize a pot anyhow?
__________________ luv yas! |
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09-02-2007, 02:05 PM
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| You still have some good roots there. When I repotted my phal, which had several dead roots, I soaked the whole root system in liquid before ropotting and trimming for about 30 minutes. After the soak, I gently squeezed all the roots to see which ones were still working. The plump/firm ones stayed, anything limp/squishy were trimed. Good luck and keep us posted. jay |
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