Why do phal buds not completely open?

[Paul Mc]

A friend gave me this phal last year after he had enjoyed it's blooms. He knew he would never get it to rebloom so he gave it to me. It bloomed late spring and has kept the blooms until they started to fall off about 2 weeks ago.

However, although it did bloom and there does not appear to be any damage to the actual blooms - they did not fully open. Only the outer 3 leaves opened, leaving the inner 3 leaves still somewhat closed around the inside of the floor. You can't even see the lip unless you pull the inner leaves open.

I'm curious what causes this as I have never experienced it before. The plant's leaves are full and healhy, so i was concerned about the roots and checked them. They seem just as happy, but I repotted anyway into a pot that was more appropriate for the massive roots size.

Any thoughts on why this would have happened?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Most likely humidity was too low.

The "outer 3 leaves" on the Phal's flowers are the sepals; the top sepal is called the dorsal sepal, and the bottom two are the lateral sepals. The "inner 3 leaves" are the lateral petals and lip (aka labellum).

A lip (or labellum) is a modified petal.

[johnblagg]

HMM was it possibly peloric?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Pelorics usually have 3 lips (labellums) rather than just 1.

[johnblagg]

Ok ....but I just saw some at home depo that were actualy what I would have called semi-peloric and they were actually large flat and looked like regular petals other than the fact they had partial columns in the center of each and the edges were uneven ...I thought the pelorics would be kind of curled inward and if you realy dont know the names of parts of a orchid bloom and are new to orchids some do not... you would probably not call them lips and he did say the inner three are curled inward and I am assuming cupped.

I know I would not have known that they were called pelorics a year ago...or that they were extra lips and not simply malformed petals that did not open fully.

I picture would help everybody to answer this one better if you have one ...

[orchidsamore]

What you saw at Home Depot was a semi-peloric Phal. The definition of peloric is any curling of the lip either inward, which has been common, or spread wide which until Phal. Elizabeth Hayden had never been created.

[johnblagg]

LOl that was what I thought....the real question for me is if Pauls Phal simply did not open compleatly or perhaps he has a peloric and is just thinking it is not fully opened due to it being peloric....
The only sure way to tell would be a picture of it I just have a feeling it might be a peloric and actualy fully opened but he is thinking it is not because he has never saw a peloric Phal before in bloom.

I dont have a clue. But am curious and would love to see a picture of it...

[Bird Song Farm]

Same here regarding the picture. It sounds like it might be a Lycastanopsis type peloric.

[Paul Mc]

I wish I had found this forum sooner. The whole time it has been in bloom this year I did not take a single picture of it and now (sadly) the last two blooms are almost completely withered and ready to fall off. I will have to increase it's humidity this year then and see if it happens again.

Thanks everyone!

[Gin]

I would Google peloric then go to images see if you find one that looks like yours ..