Orchids that are less than perfect - can someone evaluate?

[uwodahikamama]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Miltoniopsis do need to stay moist. But your humidity sounds quite high enough. That damage at the edge of flowers sounds a lot more like what thrips do to flowers. (I HATE thrips...) I don't find that they damage the plants particularly, but do tend to trash flowers.

For perfect leaves, I like rbarata's approach. I grow outside, have plenty of ugly leaves, but the plants grow and bloom happily.

I do think these are grown in greenhouses outside, so I didn’t necessarily expect perfection. The prices were like half the normal prices too when I bought a large amount, so I was willing to give them a try. 🤷*♀️

How do I know if I have thrips?? I haven’t seen any signs and I just unpotted it today to see what was going on. The roots weren’t really ideal on this one when it arrived (which is why I kept it) and there are still some good ones. But it hasn’t recovered yet. Could that be it? I also think I packed the fern fiber down a little too much, so I fluffed it a little before putting it back.

[Roberta]

Thrips are teensy, and around everywhere. So they can easily get through screens. When they get into a developing bud, one can get a flower that opens messed up. Or, they make thin spots in petals. If you see teensy black bugs on flowers, that's likely them. (Sometimes, one will photobomb one of my flower photos. Then, Photoshop works to eliminate them ) I don't know a good way to get rid of them, just try to keep them down.

[uwodahikamama]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Thrips are teensy, and around everywhere. So they can easily get through screens. When they get into a developing bud, one can get a flower that opens messed up. Or, they make thin spots in petals. If you see teensy black bugs on flowers, that's likely them. (Sometimes, one will photobomb one of my flower photos. Then, Photoshop works to eliminate them ) I don't know a good way to get rid of them, just try to keep them down.

That’s the thing, they all opened perfectly and looked amazing! Then they looked a little…. Wonky.
I don’t open the window in the bedroom, but maybe they found a way in??
It’s very strange, one flower is totally normal still. Then 3 on a different stalk look almost like they were damaged somehow… I wonder if someone came in and touched them
I examined the plant and flowers, and used a flashlight but I don’t see anything moving. So strange!

[Roberta]

Indoors, a fan (excellent air movement) can help - blows them off flowers and keeps the little nasties on the move, they don't have an opportunity to get too comfortable.

[uwodahikamama]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Indoors, a fan (excellent air movement) can help - blows them off flowers and keeps the little nasties on the move, they don't have an opportunity to get too comfortable.

Ok good, I keep a fan running constantly! I’ve only forgotten once, which is pretty good for me.

[uwodahikamama]

Ok now wait a sec. I have a Phal I got from Walmart (as a rescue) and it has the same thing going on! The color on the petals is starting to spread and you can see pink on the back of the petals instead of white like before.
I also have one flower that’s going to drop, but the rest are still ok in that respect. Album — Postimages

[Roberta]

Question... how long have these been in bloom? If you got them in bloom, of course you can't know. Flowers don't last forever. A Phal can stay in bloom for several months if conditions are right and the plant is healthy, Miltoniopsis flowers have lifetimes in the neighbohood of a few weeks. So this can also be just plain old aging of flowers, possibly accelerated by the change in environment that they have experienced. But if you got them in bloom, the bloom is a bonus... flowers are going to drop, likely fairly soon after your acquisition. Your challenge is to keep the plants healthy, to get them to bloom again, so you get the full length of their blooming. And the idea conditions for Phals vs Miltoniopsis are not the same. Phals need lots of air around roots, so less frequent watering than Miltoniopsis which need to stay damp. All of them probably need repotting to preserve and encourage roots.

[Dimples]

Color fading/bleeding on harlequin phals as the flowers age is normal in my experience. I’ve seen it on other phals that have dark markings on a lighter background. I wouldn’t be worried about what’s going on on your plant.

[uwodahikamama]

Originally Posted by Dimples

Color fading/bleeding on harlequin phals as the flowers age is normal in my experience. I’ve seen it on other phals that have dark markings on a lighter background. I wouldn’t be worried about what’s going on on your plant.

Ohhhh ok thank you!! Sorry I know I sound neurotic. I’ve spent so much money on these guys, and I only just started studying them this year. I had no idea if this was normal or not. Whew!

I am careful not to allow any plants to touch each other so my best guess was something environmental but I’m glad it’s just normal! I did hack away at the Phal roots before I repotted it, so I’m happy to see that it still seems ok!

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

Question... how long have these been in bloom? If you got them in bloom, of course you can't know. Flowers don't last forever. A Phal can stay in bloom for several months if conditions are right and the plant is healthy, Miltoniopsis flowers have lifetimes in the neighbohood of a few weeks. So this can also be just plain old aging of flowers, possibly accelerated by the change in environment that they have experienced. But if you got them in bloom, the bloom is a bonus... flowers are going to drop, likely fairly soon after your acquisition. Your challenge is to keep the plants healthy, to get them to bloom again, so you get the full length of their blooming. And the idea conditions for Phals vs Miltoniopsis are not the same. Phals need lots of air around roots, so less frequent watering than Miltoniopsis which need to stay damp. All of them probably need repotting to preserve and encourage roots.

I did get the Phal in bloom, so it may just be almost done blooming. The single droopy flower was sort of in the middle instead of the oldest bloom, which threw me off.

The Miltoniopsis came in bud then bloomed under my care, but the roots on it weren’t what I would consider ideal. 😩 I did repot it, but that could be part of it as well. The root system is a little damaged. It just threw me off that it initially looked perfect then later not as perfect.

[Roberta]

Some orchids stay in bloom for several months like Phals and some Dendrobiums, Some for only a couple of weeks or less - some other dendrobiums, and lots of other things, some for a month or so... some last only a few days or less, that are still wonderful while they are in bloom. So, it is impossible to generalize, and as you get more familiar with the different types you'll learn what to expect.

Just another thought to file away, especially if you are growing indoors. A very tiny leak from a gas stove can cause buds to blast - to poop out before they open. Even ripening fruit can do it. So after eliminating other causes for bud blast, this can also explain it. But you're not looking at bud blast here, just normal flower aging I think.