It’s growing leaves but dropping blooms!

[townlakelady]

Hi! First time poster here and first time everything when it comes to orchids. My boyfriend bought me a beautiful orchid for Valentine’s Day and I’ve been working diligently to keep it alive and happy, following all the advice I’ve read on this forum including using a diluted 20-20-20 fertilizer. It held on to its blooms until just recently (late July) when it started to drop the blooms one by one. The weird thing is that at the same time it started growing a brand new leaf! I am assuming the plant is just going dormant but the leaf growing has me scratching my head. Any ideas as to what is going on? Should I just keep watering it? Should I try a different fertilizer? I’m totally fine with it just going dormant but just don’t know if something else is going on I should pay attention to. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[SouthPark]

TLL --- do you mean that the orchid had flowers that were open, and those flowers had been open for a long time, such as for many weeks? And then the flowers recently dropped off?

[Ray]

If the thing was in-bloom when you got it, or even just about to, the loss of flowers at this point is perfectly normal.

Phalaenopsis may-, or may not take a rest after blooming, so new growth is a good thing.

[JScott]

Phals have no dormancy period. Your flowers fell off because they were old and it was time. From February to July is an exceptionally long time for flowers to last, even Phalaenopsis, which tend to be some of the longest lasting flowers. There's nothing unusual about your plant growing a new leaf now. They grow new leaves almost constantly. There might be a short break after one leaf matures but before another one starts, but this is not a dormancy period. Plhals can grow leaves at any stage in their growth cycle. Your leant is healthy and happy and you have nothing to worry about.

---------- Post added at 02:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

And that spike looks pretty brown and dead. It won't be growing anymore flowers. The plant will look nicer if you cut off the brown spike. It isn't super important how close to the plant you cut it. I usually cut dead spikes about a half inch from where they connect to the plant, but it really isn't important. That's just how I do it.

[Paphluvr]

The other part of your question that hasn't been answered is, yes, continue to water and fertilize it as you have been.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

In general Phals like to be warm, shaded, moist and have lots of air at the roots. There is an excellent thread here on Orchid Board that teaches how to care for them. From the left yellow menu choose Forums, then Beginners, then look near the top for the sticky thread The Phal abuse stops here.

[townlakelady]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

TLL --- do you mean that the orchid had flowers that were open, and those flowers had been open for a long time, such as for many weeks? And then the flowers recently dropped off?

Yes!!! It was in full bloom with like 6 flowers on it, then there were 2 other buds that opened into full flowers. This was mid-Feb. Since then they have all been going strong and then about a week and a half ago (mid-July) they started shriveling up and dropping one by one. And halfway through that dropping period is when I noticed it started growing a new leaf!

---------- Post added at 07:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:57 PM ----------

Ok this is great! I will continue to just water it and feed it and wait for it to bloom again. And on the spike, it’s actually green and soft and bendy. You might be seeing the decorative brown branches which were inexplicably placed in the arrangement, I assume for decorative purposes?

Originally Posted by JScott

Phals have no dormancy period. Your flowers fell off because they were old and it was time. From February to July is an exceptionally long time for flowers to last, even Phalaenopsis, which tend to be some of the longest lasting flowers. There's nothing unusual about your plant growing a new leaf now. They grow new leaves almost constantly. There might be a short break after one leaf matures but before another one starts, but this is not a dormancy period. Plhals can grow leaves at any stage in their growth cycle. Your leant is healthy and happy and you have nothing to worry about.

---------- Post added at 02:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

And that spike looks pretty brown and dead. It won't be growing anymore flowers. The plant will look nicer if you cut off the brown spike. It isn't super important how close to the plant you cut it. I usually cut dead spikes about a half inch from where they connect to the plant, but it really isn't important. That's just how I do it.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by townlakelady

Yes!!! It was in full bloom with like 6 flowers on it, then there were 2 other buds that opened into full flowers. This was mid-Feb. Since then they have all been going strong and then about a week and a half ago (mid-July) they started shriveling up and dropping one by one. And halfway through that dropping period is when I noticed it started growing a new leaf!

Just force of nature. The new leaf is an excellent sign.

[townlakelady]

10-4! I’ve read enough on this forum to know I need to keep watering and feeding it 😂

Originally Posted by Paphluvr

The other part of your question that hasn't been answered is, yes, continue to water and fertilize it as you have been.

---------- Post added at 07:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------

Phew! I’ll report back if anything changes. Wow, everyone on this forum is so helpful and responsive! Thank you all!!!

Originally Posted by Roberta

Just force of nature. The new leaf is an excellent sign.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by gramkuropa

Orchids can be tricky but rewarding plants. It sounds like your orchid is going through a natural cycle. Dropping blooms while growing new leaves isn't uncommon; it might just be adjusting to its environment. You're right to consider dormancy—it's a normal phase for many orchids, especially after flowering.

This is a four year old thread.