Phal flowers wilting

[winggy123]

Hi Everyone. I am new to the forum and this is my first post. I have a question about my phal. I woke up this morning and found that the flowers are starting to wilt. It is those typical phal that you get from Walmart, so I heard from people that the flowers can last for 6 months. The flowers have been blooming for 2 and half months now, so is that too early to wilt? This is actually the first time that I got it to rebloom, so I have no idea how long the flowers lasted the last time it bloomed. I have roughly 10 more buds waiting to bloom, another spike growing, one new leaf and 2 new roots growing from the base, so is it possible that all these are taking up too much nutrients, so the flowers are wilting prematurely or could I be doing something wrong?

Thank you for your advice

[Ashley]

Hi Winggy

Welcome

I am also fairly new here and I am sure you will get lots of valuable advice shortly but so far my experiences have shown me that they can indeed flower for months my first one is still in full bloom 6 months on.

Normally when the flowers are dying naturally they go thin and papery. One of my Phals has 18 flowers on it at the moment and the other week they all suddenly went limp but only on this plant.

I currently only water once a week but it had been quiet warm so I decided to water it again, pouring about two pints of water through it then letting drain away, I am pleased to say by the next morning it had completely recovered and is still in full flower.

Obviously if that doesnt work or you are currently watering more often than that hang fire I sure the others will be along shortly with some advise.

Kat

[Cookiemonster]

Hello
First of all, it depends on the type of orchid it is- Im going to assume its a Phal.
I personally have never had much luck purchasing orchids from local stores whether they be lowe's, tj or walmart-
I bought the most beautiful in bloom orchid from trader joe's- fabulous 3 weeks later the plant doesnt appear to be as happy- most of the roots are dead and a serious infestation going on underneath- my luck huh?..
Anyhow blooms falling off may be due to stress, humidity issues, and possibly root issues (Check!)
Im by no means an expert, but Im sure some of the other members would help you better.
gluck!

[quiltergal]

Winggy, I think your first instinct is right on. If the plant is in bloom, has unopened buds, growing a new leaf, growing new roots, and growing a new spike, then I'd say it's pretty happy. Maybe too happy. There's a lot going on there, and the plant may not be able to keep up. I'd bump up the watering and fert a bit and see if that helps. It's possible that the root system isn't mature enough yet to support all that activity, or as Cookiemonster points out you could have root issues. I'd gently pull it out of the pot and take a peek.

The longest I have had flowers last was 4 months.

[winggy123]

Thanks for the replies.. I have took some pics and checked the roots, looks ok right? Does too much sunlight make the flowers wilt faster? 3 of the flowers are wilting.. but the other 2 looks ok so far.

[quiltergal]

The roots look good. Cut off anything black and squishy. Repot in some nice new medium and it should be fine. If it's in high light and warmer temps it could be the plant isn't getting enough water to keep up with evaporation and all that growth it's doing. How often do you water?

[winggy123]

I water about once a week.

[Dorothy]

Phals like bright light and not direct sunlight as it will burn the leaves .. best is to have them protected by blocking direct rays with a sheer curtain between the Phal and the window ...

[gmdiaz]

Helps to raise the air circulation and the humidity too.

[hussin]

i have many wild orchid sp from Malaysia.Anyone is interested can email prego582000@yahoo.com hussin