Phal Problems

[vmorgs]

Over the last two weeks, several of the blooms on my Phal withered up and died. Now, the top 1/4 of several stems are turning a yellowish brown. Help! I've been fertilizing it weakly weekly, (skipping every 3rd week) as well as watering it on a weekly basis. Why is this happening? Is it normal? And if not, what should do? Any help would be much appreciated!!

[RosieC]

Is it just the flower spikes which are changing colour? How long have you had this Phal?

It is usual for the flowers to wither with age and if it was in flower when you got it then you don't know how long the flowers were already open for. Also some phals have flowers that don't last as long as others.

It is also normal on many phals for the spike to go brown and then dry up once the blooms have died. I always cut them off anyway once they have finished blooming. If the spike has turned brown then cut it off near the bottom, as close to the plant as you can without damaging the plant.

How is the rest of the plant? Does that still look healthy? If so then it is likely just the natural aging of the blooms and spike. Keep looking after the plant and it will eventually grow a new spike and bloom again.

[vmorgs]

Yes, it's just the spikes that are changing color. And, I've had this Phal since March, when I purchased it from a local orchid "farm". At the time of purchase, it had 3 blooms on it and a month later it had 7 blooms.

As for the rest of the plant, it still looks healthy and properly colored. However, it has no blooms.

Question though- only the top 1/4 of the spike is brownish in color. Should I still cut the whole spike? And, when can I expect new blooms?

[RosieC]

Well if you've had it since march then I would not worry about the blooms dropping. One I bought in April has just started dropping it's blooms as well.

Cutting the spike if it's still green is a matter of personal preference.

I prefer to cut it all the way to the bottom even if it's still green. This means the plant will concentrate on growing and strengthening it's self for a while, rather than on flowers.

Other people prefer to leave the spike if it is still green. You may get a side spike apear off it with more blooms. Although it may just turn brown later on.

Any brown part of the spike is dead though so certainly remove that.

Phals tend to initiate a new flower spikes when there is a night time drop in temperature. So generally this will happen late in the year towards winter, provided you don't keep your house heated overnight. It is possible to force flowering by putting it in a cooler place, but I would advise letting the plant have time to strenghthen and grow over the summer as that way it will be likely to give better blooms later on.