Phalaenopsis

[OrchidloverSW]

Please help - I am new to Orchids and on my second lot despite the initial ones dying, I'm trying again to keep them.
I've re-potted four beautiful Phalaenopsis in Orchid re-potting compost, feed them every two weeks and water them every week in the sink, (enough to let it drain all the way through and not have any standing water). I have also been misting the base of the plants every other day in the morning.

The flowers are still in tact and look great, but in the last two days I have had two big leaves fall off the stem of one of them.
I'm so worried that I am doing something wrong and that i'll loose them soon.
Could someone please give me some advice as too, is this a problem and how I can rectify it before its too late.
I wait for someones kind help.

[janet_a]

stop misting.

did these leaves fall off all at once, or did they gradually yellow and then come off? i think you may have stem rot. if you're watering thoroughly once a week, and it's not ridiculously dry where you are, you shouldn't need to mist. it may be leaving the plants too wet.

[OrchidloverSW]

Thanks for your prompt response. The leaves didnt turn yellow, they just dropped off together. To be honest they looked a little damp where they used to join on the plant base.

[CharliesAngel51]

Sounds like you are keeping the plants too wet or letting water stand where the leaves join the stem. Once a week may be too often to water. There is a thread on this forum for the use of skewers to tell how much moisture is in your orchid mix. I don't know how to send you a link but I think it was made a sticky in the newbie questions. Try looking there. I use this method and so do a lot of the others on here.

Good luck and WELCOME to ORCHID GEEKS !!!

[jensan]

Use the skewer method of determining when to water. That is 1 of the best tricks I've learned and I learned it here. This forum has lots of nice, experienced people.

[Plucky Purcell]

I had a phal do exactly the same thing late last year. Cold and wet is a phals worst nightmare. I only mist mine if it's above 85 F and less than 30% humidity. Keep the roots slightly moist in the middle (the skewer method helps determine this) and the rest of the plant relativly dry. London's pretty humid, no? You most likely would never have to mist a phal unless you're giving it some foliar feed or bug protection.

If your phal still has a moist wound, sprinkly some cinnamon on it. The cinnamon helps to ward of any further infection.

[Brooke]

Pour some regular drugstore purchased peroxide over the plant making sure you get the crown and the main stem of the plant. Hopefully this will stop any infection you might have created by misting the base of the plant. I hope the leaves you lost were lower leaves and not from the top, better known as the crown.

After pouring the peroxide, wait an hour or so and then dry the plant thoroughly.

Brooke

[Tarad]

OOO you did exactly what I did when I lost my first attempts. Just to much watering too wet. I have more probs when I mist than not. Tara

[-k-]

Yeah def lighten up on the misting, watering once a week should be enough! Hope you can get it to bounce back and keep it's blooms... Good Luck!

[PhalPal]

Here is the link to the Skewer Method: http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/orc...f-orchids.html

I know lots of books and growers will say things like 'water once a week', but many factors determine when to water and these conditions will change throughout the year/seasons. How much moisture your media retains depends on the media itself, your environment i.e. heat and humidity, your orchids growth stage, and on and on. Use the skewers and water when it is just slightly damp.

BTW - to include a link in your text: find the page you want to send, copy the jiberish (address) at the very top of the page and paste it into your text.

[orchidlover55]

I am so happy I found Orchid Geeks when I seen the part about misting my heart dropped . I am not only new to Orchid Geeks I am new to Orchids I bought my first Orchid about two months ago and NOW I have thirty I just feel in love with them they are so beautiful !! But I went into it like a fisherman without a pole I have been misting my PHALS every morning and night and in Alabama it has only been 50 to 70 degrees every day so THANK YOU for saving my Orchids in advance without your great advice I would probably be looking at 30 empty pots in a couple of months I have a whole lot to learn