Extremely new with Phal problem and questions.

[Echelon]

Yesterday I bought my first orchids after having loved them for years. I woke up to do a head-to-toe assessment on my plants and I discovered something that appears to me to be very bad. The stem of one of my Phals is broken. It looks very much like a bad grafting job. The plant appears to have been forced to grow at an angle and then straight up. The stem is the width of a pencil and appears to be hanging on(keeping alive) by the third of its width one inch from, and still attached to, leaf base. Should I tape it? The plant is very strong, i'm assuming, to be still hanging on and be as healthy looking as it is and this looks like an old break(completely dry).


List of supplies bought: (3) cedar slat 6 inch baskets
(2) 10 inch coco liner hanging baskets
(12) 6 inch plastic orchid pots
Understanding Orchids:Cullina
(3) 10 inch Humidty Trays
6lbs. of rocks
Better Gro Orchid Plus Bloom Booster Fertilizer
Shultz Orchid potting medium

bold in-transit.

[tucker85]

I don't think that's enough information. Are you talking about a flower stem that is broken? Or could it be an old flower stem that was cut off and produced a new branch? Are there flowers on the stem? If you're talking about a flower stem with flowers, it's probably attached to a stake. The stake should be enough support for the stem. I've never heard of taping a stem. Often if they're broken badly you'll need to wait for a new spike to grow. That may not be until next year.

[Val]

Originally Posted by Echelon

Understanding Orchids: Cullina

Perfect choice!

The stem doesn't really matter. Just make sure your Phal is thriving, and it will bloom for you again and again.

[Echelon]

Could someone tell me if any of these flowers wouldn't tolerate Georgia? Here are some of the orchids I want to grow: Dendrobium bellatulum
Rodriguezia decora
Cattleya Warneri var. albescens 'Santa Teresa'
Cattleya intermedia var. Orlata
Cattleya violacea
C. labiata 'Sherwood Forest'
Phal. lindenii
Aerangis splendida
C. mossiae 'Campogrande'
Phalaeno formosana varigata
Tolumnia guianense
Den. laevifolium 'Salmon'
Phalaphrodite var. formosana
Myrme cophila brysiana
Laelia anceps 'boulder'
Den. chrysotoxum
Epidendrum hygomedinae
Paph. delenati
Aerangis mystacidii
Den. sulcatum
Den. mohlianum
Chilochista lunifera alba
Blc Pink Diamond x Lc Alexis Sauer.
Aerides lawrenceae x Ascda Peggy Foo.
Cymbidium Wallamurra 'Jupiter'

---------- Post added at 01:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 PM ----------

Originally Posted by tucker85

I don't think that's enough information. Are you talking about a flower stem that is broken? Or could it be an old flower stem that was cut off and produced a new branch? Are there flowers on the stem? If you're talking about a flower stem with flowers, it's probably attached to a stake. The stake should be enough support for the stem. I've never heard of taping a stem. Often if they're broken badly you'll need to wait for a new spike to grow. That may not be until next year.

Thank you. I know that a picture would be best but i'm waiting on that(camera) too. There's only one spike and it's broken about one inch from the base of the plant. -and yes there are flowers. Hope that cleared it up. So I take it your advice is to let it be? Thank you.

---------- Post added at 01:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Val

Perfect choice!

The stem doesn't really matter. Just make sure your Phal is thriving, and it will bloom for you again and again.

Thank you! I was mainly worrying about the overall well-being of the plant. Now I can breathe again.

[bballr4567]

Most on here seem to disregard the bloom booster and science backs them up the majority of the time. Only thing to make the flowers last longer is to give them great conditions to grow in.

As far as the pots, they might be too big depending on the type of plant you are putting in them. Most phals like to be constricted (root bound) while others like room. Just depends.

[Echelon]

Originally Posted by bballr4567

Most on here seem to disregard the bloom booster and science backs them up the majority of the time. Only thing to make the flowers last longer is to give them great conditions to grow in.

As far as the pots, they might be too big depending on the type of plant you are putting in them. Most phals like to be constricted (root bound) while others like room. Just depends.

Okay! The only reason I went for that one is because it had both the fertilizer and food mixed in. I have a dendrobium, two phals, and two cattleyas. Every plant but the phals are very young. Just wanted to cover my bases.