mini phalenopsis new underdeveloped flowers opening prematurely. fertiliser issue?

[stephbeehag]

Hi I hope you experts can help me as a day of googling has produced no answers!
I have had this mini phalenopsis since february, and its first flower that it was in when I recieved it was beautiful, with 32 flowers over two stems.
After the flowers fell only a month ago, I trimmed the older stem off completely, and fertilized with "strike back for orchids" pellets.
I also repotted it in bark that the man at the nursery gave me.
The stem grew a bud and I was excited, and then lots of little growth started happening.
Then I watered it after a very hot weekend and the bud opened seemingly prematurely and the flower looked very different to the last lot.
Well 10 days has passed and I watered it a two more times (it has been very hot) and all the little areas where buds looked to be growing look like flowers opening without the petals (just the inside bits)
Did I fertilise too much? Or is the watering too frequent??? I am so confused!

[camille1585]

Welcome to Orchidboard!

Neither frequent watering not overfertilization will cause this, as far as I know. Symptoms of excess fertilization are things like burnt root or leaf tips, or lots of growth with no flowering. Overly frequent watering usually suffocates and kills off the roots. My best guess is that that there was some some of freak mutation in that spike's growth, leading to deformed flowers. Very hot temps could also lead to these sorts of malformations I think.

That was a spectacular blooming though, with so many flowers and such nice looking little blooms.

[WhiteRabbit]

Perhaps excessive heat, e specially if combined with excessively dry air ...

I hope some other members can chime in.