HELP with my new Blc. growths

[RandiRae]

Ok...i'm having the hardest time growing Blc. orchids. The plants themselves look great and healthy. But, whenever a new growth appears - they grow about 1/2-2 inches and then turn black. What am I doing wrong?
GROWN UNDER LIGHTS :
Water - weekly (deionized) and misted as needed
Fertilize - all-purpose orchid fertilizer every 2 weeks (after watering thoroughly with water)
Light - they grow approx. 18-20 inches below florescent grow lights
Air - computer fan blows 24-7 (located at top of enclosure)
Temp - day: 80 night: 65-68

Please help!

[kiki-do]

Not sure. We need pictures to make more sense.
All that comes to mind, and I am no expert. 1) Stop misting unless you are misting roots only. 2) the misting and fan might be a bit too much on the new top growths. How close is the fan? 3) Do you have enough light? What is the output you are using. 4) is the fertilizer the right strength? I would opt for "weakly" weekly. And be sure to flush it every second or third watering. And 5) I wonder if you have some type of bacterial thing going on.
Anyway, this bumps it back to the top for others to chime in. Good luck!

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[isurus79]

Your new growths are suffering from rot. Whether you have a rot problem at your roots or the mistings are the cause of excess moisture around the new growths, Im not sure. As Kiki said, pics help and you might want to check your roots for rot. If you are misting to keep up humidity, try another method. IMO, unless you are misting the air several times a day in a closed environment to bring up the overall humidity, there is no need for potted orchids to be misted. Good luck!

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[quiltergal]

I would tend to suspect the misting and/or your watering technique is causing the rot. Catts don't really need to be misted to thrive, so you can really eliminate that step. Also be careful when watering to not get the new growth wet. Water seeps down inside and before you know it....black rot! I would also add that as soon as you see black rot you need to cut it off with sterile scissors all the way into healthy green tissue, and seal the cut with cinnamon. If you just leave it it will spread like wild fire.

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[RandiRae]

I have a feeling you are all right on the money re: misting. I was under the impression that catts need higher humidity than phals; my aquarium set-up hovers around 50% - so I was misting just the catts almost daily, not taking in consideration of 'how' I was misting (I thought I only had to worry about rot w/ phals). Thanks for your thoughts and advice.

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[isurus79]

Originally Posted by RandiRae

I have a feeling you are all right on the money re: misting. I was under the impression that catts need higher humidity than phals; my aquarium set-up hovers around 50% - so I was misting just the catts almost daily, not taking in consideration of 'how' I was misting (I thought I only had to worry about rot w/ phals). Thanks for your thoughts and advice.

If you have an aquarium, then you can mist around the plants, rather than right on them. You could also put a layer of something (river rocks or a plastic grate) on the bottom of the tank to lift the orchids and then get a few inches of water underneath the plants for added humidy. There are a lot of members here who know WAY more about this than me though!