Split stem on Phal

[Parfumeur]

I have exactly the same issue with what seems to be a very healthy plant.

May I inquire how often and how you water the plant? By how, I mean [1] in the shower [2] place whole plant in a water bucket for x minutes x hours? [3] Just must the aerial roots daily... weekly...

and fertilizer used & when/dose, if any

THANKS!

[Orchidtinkerer]

leanne hasn't posted in 8 years. Not sure you'll be getting the right answers from her on this thread

[Parfumeur]

Indeed, just noted this. My issue, is that my phalaenopsis developed the same split. Never had that happen before. The only difference this year, is that I place the whole plant in the shower, watering for 15 seconds 3x over 1/2 hour.

I've had experience with other plants, not orchids, that will split due to over watering. In the past I watered once every week in a bucket for ~15 minutes. So many variable... including dryness in the house. THANK you for the heads up. We keep looking, and maybe post a new message.

[SouthPark]

Could probably just buy some grafting tape and just bind it back up again.

Maybe temperature changes (range of change and rate of change) and humidity could be behind it. Hard to say.

Originally Posted by Parfumeur

The only difference this year, is that I place the whole plant in the shower, watering for 15 seconds 3x over 1/2 hour.

Maybe the temperature change caused it. Not just the rate of temperature change ------ but also how much the temperature changed from 1 temperature to another.

If the water had been roughly the same temperature as the stalk and plant ...... then I expect that dumping similar temperature water onto the plant wouldn't cause that splitting.

[Parfumeur]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Maybe temperature changes (range of change and rate of change) and humidity could be behind it. Hard to say.

Good points. Here is what it looks like. It a big phalaenopsis, so the stem is very rigid almost woody.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

More people will see your question if you start a new thread.

These splits don't harm the plant at all. As leaves age they become less flexible. When the plant becomes drier the leaf base splits.

In the original post the roots looked great. That plant was very healthy.

How to water is a big topic. In low humidity houses many people water as you do: Thoroughly soaking the medium, then letting it get almost dry.

[WaterWitchin]

Parfuemer, Welcome to Orchid Board! I moved your query to its own thread. It might assist you in getting more responses than on such an old thread.

I've successfully used painters tape, masking tape, and scotch tape on a split like that. The two former work best. I've also used a bit of super glue on a crack, like you would a wound. Works well. If the spike is doing well otherwise, give a try. And stake it right above where the crack is if you haven't already.

Depends on what the medium is in your pot how often to water. Is it moss, bark, a mix? The original medium from when you received it?

I wouldn't put a Phal in the shower to water. Avoid getting water in the crown, as it can possibly create crown rot. Either let water run through it freely at a sink, or soak in in a container for a half hour or so IF it's planted in bark.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Parfumeur, from the picture I would not worry about this split. It might be your watering frequency or your substrate drying too fast that caused the plant to dehydrate and then take up too much water too fast but it won't affect the plant. Just let the split dry.
Getting the watering frequency and subtrate mix right is not easy.
I wouldn't want to use a shower because of the chlorine in tap water, if you have to use tap water it is a good idea to let it sit in a bucket for 24 hours to let all the chlorine evaporate first. When I do a fresh repot I use tap to wash off old substrate and give it a bit of a sterilizing chlorine wash but I wouldn't do it all the time, orchids are sensitive to chlorine. They also benefit from very weak fertilizing once in a while which you can't do in a shower.

[Parfumeur]

A very logical conclusion to what I did wrong. Thank you for the clear reply. We'll go back to the old ways... We are on well water, but it still will have been a shock to the plant.

THANK!

[Roberta]

Hmmm... I have never had a problem with tap water on most orchids... some of the cloud forest species do better with pure water (RO) because my tap water is pretty hard (calcium bicarbonate) but most do fine, chlorine was never an issue. Now, some water suppliers may still be using chlorine as a disinfectant, and maybe it is a problem with those. Most, I think, now use chloramine which is a concern with fish but certainly isn't with orchids. (The change was to avoid producing trihalomethanes... chloroform and the like... when chlorine meets organic matter in the presence of sunlight.) So whether it is a problem or not depends on your water supplier.