Preventing bud blast in phalaenopsis

[Nancy]

I am so proud. I have my first Home Depot Phalaenopsis in spike! I want to treat it exactly right so that I have no bud blast. I don't have to worry about gas because my home is electric. I worry about the cold. The spike is likely to grow toward the window, where the temperature is colder for the cattleyas. Should I try to keep the temperature even or is there some leeway in temperature, such as five degrees cooler that will still allow th buds to develop?

[Vivienne]

Did I just buy it in spike or have you had it a while and it just developed a new spike?

[mayres]

As long as they don't touch the window (buds) they should be fine with your normal living conditions temperature-wise. I have found that the flowers/buds are amazingly more resilient when they develop in your conditions - I think you will be pleasantly surprised as well. 5-10 degrees swing should not be a problem at all - the warmer the better for phals. Enjoy! mike

[Nancy]

I didn't buy the phalaenopsis in spike, it grew it's spike after I had it for three months! I was really worried about the buds getting cooler. They will be orienting themselves towards the window that I keep cracked to drop the temperature at night for the cattleyas. Mike, if you think they will be okay, I won't worry.

[mayres]

We are talking about having the spike near a window that is cooling significantly at night and not right in front of the open part of a window that is letting in 35 degree air to cool your entire room - right? I have phals in the window ledge at work that have started spiking just from the cooling they get from the cold coming through the glass (windows don't open). The office temperture as a whole doesn't vary much at all 24 hours a day. At home I currently am opening a bedroom window to cool my phals at night - it is getting down into the mid to low 30's outside - but my plants are all 3-4 feet or further from the opening in the window. The room as a whole is getting down into the mid 50's (give or take).