Dendrobium buds ailing

[heatherbear10]

Hey all. I've got a Den that's blooming now. I paid $5 for it with no blooms at the local farmer's market. Great deal and lovely large purple/white flowers. My problem is that the bloom directly above the open flower on the spike keeps looking like it's about to open, then it seems to wither and die. I've tried to attach a photo, but it keeps telling me a .jpg file is not a valid file, so lets try it without a pic first. This is the 3rd bud so far. Any thoughts?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Keep the mix damp while it is blooming. Could be a humidity problem, try misting early in the day, but the leaves must be dry before the temp starts to fall. If in the kitchen, ripe fruit or incomplete combustion from the stove can produce ethylene gas that orchid flowers are sensitive to. Then sometimes, we just don't know why they do it. Did you move the plant to a different room than the one the plant has been growing in? Sometimes a change in envirinment can cause problems. If so, it may straighten out with subsequent flowers. Cynthia

[mayres]

I think Cynthia is on the right track - I have also found dendrobium blooms to be very sensitive to environmental changes - especially in the winter time - I suppose this time of year you might experience similar issues. Buds that should open and last for weeks when exposed to a chill have browned and never opened - bummer. I've noted similar problems in stuffy rooms with not enough air circulation - especially on the warm end - also air conditioned office environments.

[NancyG]

I've got a Den blooming in my backyard and the same thing has happened several times in the last few months. I thought it could be thrips and just sprayed the plant. Last year it never happened. Nancy

[heatherbear10]

Thanks to all of you. The subsequent blooms seem to be opening fine, so we'll just be optimistic that it's going to make it. I've got two more with spikes now, so hopefully it won't happen with those.