Flower is starting to close on my phal orchid? Why?

[d.v.]

Hello everyone, i've owned a phal orchid for only 3 weeks now, fed it food once and water it every 5 days or so.

I noticed today that one of the 5 flowers is starting to close. all the others are still open. it originally had only 4 flowers bloomed and the 5th bloomed while i had it so i was excited!

But now one of them is closing up and i'm worried that it may be dying? Or is this just part of their life cycle?

Please fill me in as i'm brand new with orchids.

[Amanda L]

I wouldn't worry too much. If it's one of the oldest flowers it could just be at the end of it's life. If you got it in bloom and have had it for 3 weeks, there is no way to know how long the first blooms have been there. Don't worry about it. Have you checked the roots? What kind of media is it in? Do you have a picture of the plant and the flowers?

[chips]

I find most of my flowers on my Phals last from 3- 6months. If it started to bloom in January, it may be ending it's bloom time. Is it the top flower on the branch(problably the first flower to bloom?)

Also I was wondering if you lived in a very dry climate because watering every 5 days may be too much?

[Zoi2]

Welcome to the OB d.v.
If your phal is planted in moss, watering every 5 days is probably too much. Wait until the roots turn a silvery/white before watering. Green roots are not thursty.
Joann

[d.v.]

I actually water about every 7 days to be more exact as I was told to water 5-7 days or when the moss is dry to the touch.

Usually by day 7, the moss is dry, or at least the top inch or so of moss that it's potted in.

I only give it about 4oz of water and then also 4oz of food once a month.

It going on 4 weeks now and all is well, aside from the flower closing up.

I'll take some pictures of it as soon as i can and post so that you all can give me some more advice. Thank you so far!

[d.v.]

Here are some pictures... i got some more bad news, the little unopen bud in the picture fell off today on its own! What is going on?!


















Should i just cut it off at the base of the stem? Please help, i don't want my first orchid to die on me!

[Zoi2]

Are there any drainage holes in your pot?
Joann

[RosieC]

I second what Joann says... are there any drainage holes in your pot?

If you can only tell if the top part of the moss is dry, I would wait until that dries then wait a couple more days before watering. You want it to be dry all the way through before you water and it usually takes longer lower down.

If there are no holes in the pot you may even find it is standing in water in the bottom there.

I would advise getting it out the pot and taking a look at the roots. It is possible they have been overwatered and are starting to rot. If that is the case you need to cut away any squishy or soft roots. Many people say to then use peroxide (which will fiz) to get rid of any remaining rotting tissue.

Once you have got rid of all the rot see how many roots you have left and post some pics of what you find.

[d.v.]

Well, in the midst of all this, the wilted flower has fallen off and another is on its way.

I did get a hold of an orchid expert to visit my house to look at my orchid. Turns out it wasn't standing in water. The orchid is potted in a clear plastic pot that actually sits in the ceramic pot with a drain hole at the bottom and about an inch of depth of free space for water to drain out of the plastic pot into the ceramic pot.

After some inspection and discussion, I was told that it was just lack of watering. My 4oz of water was way too low. I showed him how much i water and he freaked out.

So, what we did was went and bought some distilled water and literally poured it through the plastic pot allowing the water to soak really well into all the moss material.

He said that i can just water it when it needs it and stop doing it on a schedule. Since the pot was clear, it was easy to just pull it out and see how dry the moss is and rewater when necessary.

The roots are still healthy, according to him. No spotting on the leaves. It may just very well be time for the flower to fall. They can't bloom forever, right?

The new flower that bloomed in my possession is still extremely healthy. He said just keep an eye on it and sit it out to see what will happen.

I'm a bit nervous but will trust his words and see what happens. The moss is very moist now and i will just check it once a week to see if it needs water.

It's at my home now and now my workplace, so wish me luck and hopefully in a few weeks i can take it back to work. My desk is so bare without it.

Thanks for everyone's help!