purple flower spike? - Orchid Board

pacomartini · #1 12-13-2011, 11:04 AM

last mother's day i purchased a seemingly healthy phal with purple flowers and tons of about to bloom bulbs. i have had a little success with orchids and wanted to add a new one to the few i already had, however, it was b4 i knew to check out the roots. well, the bulbs i thought were just about ready to bloom didn't. the leaves sorta turned limp and then turned purple. this is the most confounded phal i've ever seen. it's the only one that needs baby-ing. it gets regular feeding and i applied a root stimulator and it is rooting..but the leave don't look great but they are greener and i thought it's getting better. then suddenly it started shooting up a purple/maroon flower spike coming from a srange place in the plant body rather from between the leaves as normal. my other phals are all apple green in color (the leaves) with normal looking apple grren flower spike growing or about to. what is the purple caused by and is this plant telling me it's almost "over"?

silken · #2 12-13-2011, 11:35 AM

Welcome to OB! A picture would be a huge help. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ng-photos.html. Some Phals that have a lot of purple or pink in their blooms do produce some purple pigment in leaves and flower spikes. It can also mean it is getting too much light. But a photo would say it all pretty much.

pacomartini · #3 12-13-2011, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silken

Welcome to OB! A picture would be a huge help. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ng-photos.html. Some Phals that have a lot of purple or pink in their blooms do produce some purple pigment in leaves and flower spikes. It can also mean it is getting too much light. But a photo would say it all pretty much.

thank u for replying...i took a photo with my phone...not the best but u can see how dark in color the flower spike is ( the othe straight object is the stick i intend to stake it with. the underside of the leaves are still slightly purple. they were very purple until i moved and found a brighter spot for it and it seemed to help...just wanted to see what other orchid growers had to say
paul

silken · #4 12-13-2011, 12:49 PM

It looks pretty good to me. I have Phals with darkish leaves and purple tones to them that get very purple spikes, because the flowers are purple. So yours looks pretty normal. However, by moving it into more light you would increase the purple pigmentation, not decrease it. Phals don't need really bright light. When they are showing lots of red or purple pigmentation, it usually means they are at the high end of the amount of light they can tolerate.

You could probably stake that spike any time now.

jrodpad · #5 12-13-2011, 01:08 PM

Leaves with purple edges and/or purple undersides means that the phal is at or near the hight of its light exposure tolerance. Increasing light would exacerbate the situation. Purple coloring isn't itself a bad thing - its actually something that I shoot for in many of my hybrids. But, with increased light (and presumably increased leaf temperature) comes an increased need for airflow and water. The phal will have to expend much more energy cooling itself off to prevent dehydration and burning. The purple stem could be a symptom of the same process. I have a hybrid that is in spike and has a purple stem just like the one in your photo. Interestingly enough, the active growth tips of the new ariel roots are also purple, instead of the bright green that you would expect. Not a big deal if you manage the other cultural requirements appropriately.

-J

pacomartini · #6 12-13-2011, 03:36 PM

thanks alot! appreciate ur knowledge! will move it behind a larger one so the light is decreased on it. thank u again.

---------- Post added at 02:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------

thank u! i've been given the same advise so i will move her to a lesss sunny location. thanks again for shareing ur knowledge!

jrodpad · #7 12-13-2011, 10:16 PM

Snapped a few quick pics with the cell phone so that you can compare.

-J

pacomartini · #8 12-14-2011, 12:59 AM

thanks alot...i really appreciate ur effort and my mind is more at ease about the plant. thank u so much!

---------- Post added at 11:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 PM ----------

thanks so much for ur helpful efforts...mine pretty much looks like urs so i'll rest a little easier tonite...lol. thanks