Bud Blast?? - Orchid Board

chips · #1 03-29-2009, 10:36 PM

I have a Phal which is about 6 months old. It is in bloom right now, three flowers with about eight buds. Today one of the buds were shrivelled and brown. Everything else on the plant looks fine.
Question: Is this a sign more buds will drop or just a random happening?

The environment has not changed. The roots are grayish white. The humidity is high(50-70%). The only difference is I usually water the plant every week and I was a day late this week??? Did I dry it out?

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 03-29-2009, 11:56 PM

I don't think missing a watering is the problem. Check for ripe fruit around the plant. I've heard people in this forum talk about how ripe fruit within a close vicinity (few inches to maybe about a feet away) of your plant causes premature bud drop. Large, rapid temperature swings could also account for this. It could also be one of those unpreventable ones where there's a bud that was deformed.

RosieC · #3 03-30-2009, 03:36 PM

I've heard the same about certain types of fruit due to a chemical they give off.

I also had one which blasted this year just as another Phal was dropping it's spent flowers due to age. I wondered if some chemical released in to the air by the one with the spent flowers caused the others to blast as well, but I've no idea if that is possible or not.

camille1585 · #4 03-30-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RosieC

I've heard the same about certain types of fruit due to a chemical they give off.

I also had one which blasted this year just as another Phal was dropping it's spent flowers due to age. I wondered if some chemical released in to the air by the one with the spent flowers caused the others to blast as well, but I've no idea if that is possible or not.

I think you guessed right. Fading blooms (and ripe fruits) produce ethylene (which causes fruit ripening and flower senescence) and when another plant detects ethylene, it triggers an upregulation of ethlyene in that plant that can also lead to fading blooms. But I think that they would have to be really close together and the other phal near the end of it's blooming too.
I had a bad experience with bananas. I was cooking and needed space, so moved the fruit bowl to the table (where the blooming orchids stay) and forgot about it. 3 days later the phal who's spike was hanging over the bowl was dropping blooms... I also discovered that burning inscent next to blooming orchids is not a good idea either. Got more blasting.

Aside from that, I have a phal that tends to blast a few buds for no reason at all, every single blooming. There might be something genetic making it extremely sensitive to minute changes in the environment.

RosieC · #5 03-30-2009, 05:13 PM

Thanks for the info Camille, my two 'chids were really close so I think that could have been the reason.

I've also heard about Bannana's being a problem, they can also cause other fruit to go off and I've always heard that they should not be kept in a bowl with other fruit for that reason. My hubby read about them affecting orchids and warned me of that.

Interesting to know about inscense, I ocasionally like to burn that and usually arround the spot where I also put flowering 'chids. Luckily I've never had both there at the same time, and now I know I will make sure I avoid it.

RosieC · #6 03-30-2009, 05:15 PM

I ment to say that I also agree that missing one day for watering should not have a drastic effect on most Phals. Mine go different numbers of days each week with no problem.

chips · #7 03-30-2009, 07:13 PM

No chance of any nearby chemical or food smells. The flowers are in a sunroom, totally isolated from the kitchen area or for the most part the rest of the house. All buds look fine today. So maybe just a freak thing?

Singingirl96 · #8 03-30-2009, 07:16 PM

Could be a freak thing... but highly unlikely. You might have inadvertently done something. The water temperature may have been the culprit. Too cold/too warm sometimes may contribute to bud drop... that happened to me last year.

chips · #9 03-30-2009, 07:22 PM

Singingirl
Dumb question but how do you get a picture of your orchid next to your name?

Pilot · #10 03-30-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chips

Singingirl
Dumb question but how do you get a picture of your orchid next to your name?

chips-- upload a pic via the User CP (control panel) which is located above this message next to "FORUM MENU" (the green button). Go there and you'll find an option to click on avatar-- that is where you can set up your photo

Ryan