Phal Leaf Drop

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

Thanks for the responses, everybody! I do appreciate all the info, but I'm not really new to Phals. Actually my first orchid was a NOID Phal and I've grown it for 9 years just fine. Last month I gave it to my sister with two spikes, 8 sets of leaves, and a 24"+ leaf span. Perhaps I should have been more clear with my question.

Other than natural growth patterns, what would be the primary cause for a Phal to loose leaves?

Over watering. Root rot.

Most of the Phals that are commonly sold are evergreen, so aside from age, over watering, and root rot, I can't think of anything else at the moment.

If they're the deciduous kinds, that's different.

Some deciduous species are:

Phal braceana
Phal honghenensis
Phal lowii
Phal taenialis
Phal wilsonii


The above list is what I can remember off the top of my head, there might be a couple more to add, but this is the majority of them.

[stefpix]

rice hulls soud interesting esp for small plants -
i guess you can get them in a rural area where rice is grown but not in a city.

i started with closeout phals for a dollar each.
i find that those from teh big stores can be temperamental - even if they have good roots they may go downhill.
wonder if they are forced to bloom at odd times.
so some thrive some die.
i have a couple that are spiking that i got in july after they bloomed.
one that was almost dead i thought hopelessly...
well i threw it flat in one of those jiffy seedling boxes with some random soil and put it on a shelf in deep shade - today i opened as i was cleaning up
i had forgotten about it
and is growing 2 new leaves and a new root. the old leaves are yellow and dry but the new leaves seem ok.
i feel just bark for phals is a bit too dry for my conditions - I started using coco fiber that comes in a brick. seems cleaner than bark - gets wet but dries fast.
misx it with a bit of perlite and hydroton.

I have a phal bastianii and a phal equestris - they seem to grow faster and better than anything i got at lowes

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by stefpix

rice hulls soud interesting esp for small plants -
i guess you can get them in a rural area where rice is grown but not in a city.

i started with closeout phals for a dollar each.
i find that those from teh big stores can be temperamental - even if they have good roots they may go downhill.
wonder if they are forced to bloom at odd times.
so some thrive some die.
i have a couple that are spiking that i got in july after they bloomed.
one that was almost dead i thought hopelessly...
well i threw it flat in one of those jiffy seedling boxes with some random soil and put it on a shelf in deep shade - today i opened as i was cleaning up
i had forgotten about it
and is growing 2 new leaves and a new root. the old leaves are yellow and dry but the new leaves seem ok.
i feel just bark for phals is a bit too dry for my conditions - I started using coco fiber that comes in a brick. seems cleaner than bark - gets wet but dries fast.
misx it with a bit of perlite and hydroton.

I have a phal bastianii and a phal equestris - they seem to grow faster and better than anything i got at lowes

Funny you observed how the "big box stores" carry Phals that may be forced to bloom at odd times.

And the resounding answer is...yes they are!

I know for a fact they are because I used to work for a nursery.

So if you're ever wondering, no you're not imagining things Stefano. You're very right.

[stefpix]

well i was sure about that
what i was implicitly wondering is if forcing a Phal to bloom at odd times may weaken the plant and sometimes affect its survival chances in a home.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by stefpix

well i was sure about that
what i was implicitly wondering is if forcing a Phal to bloom at odd times may weaken the plant and sometimes affect its survival chances in a home.

It's never been tested. But just based on an assumption, I'd say it's highly probable.

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

Thanks for the responses, everybody! I do appreciate all the info, but I'm not really new to Phals. Actually my first orchid was a NOID Phal and I've grown it for 9 years just fine. Last month I gave it to my sister with two spikes, 8 sets of leaves, and a 24"+ leaf span. Perhaps I should have been more clear with my question.

Other than natural growth patterns, what would be the primary cause for a Phal to loose leaves?

If all the leaves drop off almost instantaneously (with the top leaf or two perhaps surviving for a while), it's a bacterial infection that has attacked and killed the growing 'stem'. It can infect a root and work its way up, or it can infect the area below the crown directly. Leaves have the built in abscission point to help stop bacterial infections spreading from the leaves to the stem, but if the stem gets infected directly, its usually curtains. I have more than a thousand, and through sheer chance i occasionally have it happen and there's little you can do to stop it, although keeping the area around the base of the plant dry and limiting root death obviously helps.

[Erce]

airflow is the key, i have 2 pc-fans going 24/7 in my sill, and it helps A LOT

[bodaciousbonsai]

Yes my brother you are excatly right! air flow is deffiantly a huge way to ward off the nasty things that attack orchids. I my self have never had a problem with fungal or any other thing for that matter. I also use 12 volt cpu fans thay are great for us orchid growers. Cheap to run to

[stefpix]

how do you power those fans?