can stress, specifically a chemical attack,cause defects in buds that are developing?

[DirtyCoconuts]

it is a glorious time at my home, new baby and MANY plant spikes.


i am notice that a LOT of the spikes are aborting and many are making a first bloom that is weird looking, either a color break, a mutation in the petal, a color that is off.


I am always used to seeing variation in my flowers (desert rose, hibiscus etc) but the orchids are usually pretty uniform. could this be from my bleach attack? the reason i ask as opposed to assume is none of these were even spikes then but most were shealthes on new growths.

any idea?

pics to follow once the upload

[Ray]

Almost any chemical can lead to oddities, but unless it is due to residues in the media, it seems unlikely that a bleach treatment done before spike formation is the cause. I used to spray my entire greenhouse with 1 ounce bleach per gallon monthly and do not recall seeing such things.

[Leafmite]

Might they have added some sort of herbicide that kills mold/fungus? That might do it.

Insecticides can also cause issues...when I grew fruit trees, we used a particular insecticide and had massive fruit drop. We did not use that particular one again. If it can affect fruit that way, it can probably affect the flowers.

Overuse of hormones/seaweed can cause some weird things after a time.

Fungus/sucking insects can cause issues in blooms.

Drastic temperature changes during bud/spike development in flowers that are red or have a reddish hue (certain purples) can cause odd color results.

First blooming Cattleyas are known to sometimes have the most awful blooms...sometimes repeating for the second blooming before having nice blooms ever after.

Drastic pH changes or nutritional imbalances can do weird things, sometimes. It usually affects the leaves, too, though.

Virus.

Pictures would probably help.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Thanks. Pics coming. Got a lot on my plate with the new one.

[Leafmite]

It is a crazy time when the kids are little. With my youngest about to finish college, I feel like my job as a parent is nearly complete. Now I can just be a loving, supportive parent and it is no longer a job.