drooping flowers

[soccerdefence]

Well I have about 6 flowers on my phal, (and about 4 more to bloom soon) and the "older" ones (as in like maybe two weeks old) are beginning to droop already. Also the new ones are not opening very well this is my first orchid and I am confused. I dont water it to much, I dont think, I feed it every two weeks with a 10-10-10 fertilizer, it has a tray of pebbles under it to attempt to help the humidity, why is it failing me?

[RosieC]

Is it a new Phal or have you moved it to a possition with very different enviroment?

When I bought some Phals in the spring their flowers dropped quickly and not all the buds opened. I learned from people on here on OB that it is know as 'Bud Blast' and can be caused by a change in enviroment.

If it's a new Phal then the change in enviroment from the shop may be the cause, or if you've moved it to somewhere with a different temperature, humidity, light etc then that may be the cause.

Of course it may be something more sinister, but if it is like mine then the good news is that mine our now flowering again and are very healthy plants.

Does the rest of the plant look healthy, do the roots look ok?

[soccerdefence]

im hoping thats what it is... I cant really see the roots as they have not started to grow over the top of the pot yet. They are all in with the substrate as when I bought it...

[priz_m]

What is your phal potted in? do you have a picture?

[soccerdefence]

well its in a plastic cup thing that it came in. Though I read they liked to be rootbound while flowering so I thought I would wait and repot it afterwards?

[priz_m]

The reason I ask is because while it can be normal for a phal's buds and flowers to blast when shocked by a new environment, perhaps the roots are not 100% happy.

Here's my personal experience, last year I got a phal for my bday, it came in a plastic pot in sphag moss that was packed too tight and once I gave it a good soak, it held so much moisture that rotted the roots. Fortunately it was rescued, and it is doing ok now, although I am not expecting it to bloom any time soon.

Since then I have repotted every phal brought home, in bloom or not, and so far so good.

So, what media is your phal potted in?

[soccerdefence]

sounds to me like I have the same problem because it looks like tightly packed spagnum. I will correct this, quickly. Thanks

[priz_m]

Keep us posted!

[RosieC]

It always suprises me how many orchids are sold in pots which are just not suitible for them.

I'm lucky, arround me even the department store ones are sold in bark inside clear plastic pots with holes in the bottom, exactly as I would pot them myself. But I see so many pictures and hear so many stories here on OB of ones sold in unsuitible pots and/or compacted medium.

I agree that from your description of the medium and pot it needed repotting quickly. I hope you've caught it in time... how did the roots look when you repotted?

[soccerdefence]

some looked ok, others were black and complete mush