Quick help -Phal flowers died & buds dry and fallen - Orchid Board

phoenixx87 · #1 06-04-2012, 04:20 PM

I wondered if anyone can help me I have an orchid (phal) and it had a bit of trauma the store I got it from kept it outside where it was very cold and wet though it is potted in bark so thats good, when I got it it had 3 flowers and 5 buds. We had some builders in and one put his foot through the floor long story short theres dry rot in the house so I had to move it upstairs. Since then the flowers started to close and fell off within about 48hrs and 3 buds dried and also fell off they didn't turn yellow just dropped (this has happened in the last 48hrs hence the request for quick help). I have been watering weekly with rain water and have kept it out of direct sunlight, and have tried to keep a bit of humidity by spraying the air with the rain water though not letting it soak the plant just mist a little. The roots look strong and green in the pot there's no black on them, the ones outside of the pot are green with some silvery areas. The leaves aren't dry and are green with no holes or damage.

Editd to add I misread budblast as where they all bud not where they fall off. I gave it a little more water, its not getting moved anymore its in a window that only gets sunlight for a couple of hours late in the day, I put a little cup of water on the radiator about 4ft away to add some humidity and I put a wood stick in and it was very dry so I gave it some more water. Is boiled cooled water ok? I just bought some fertilizer too. I don't want my other 3 buds to fall off does anyone have any suggestions and if I might be able to save it

Wynn Dee13 · #2 06-04-2012, 05:08 PM

Usually when buds fall off it is because the plant is stressed from its environment being changed. It is called bud blast. This could happen just by moving it from the greenhouse it came from to the store and then to your house. Rapid temperature change can cause it too. You want to make sure the plant isn't in a place where it can be exposed to drafts. It also could be because it was kept outside at the store and got too cold. Low humidity could maybe cause it too. But I bet it is from the cold it received at the store and the stress the plant went through from all the environment changes. I don't think you can stop it now that it has started to drop its flowers. You will just have to wait for the plant to spike again. Flower drop doesn't mean the plant is going to die.

Misting the air around the plant isn't going to add much humidity. It will just evaporate right away. You can put the plant on a tray with some pebbles in it and add water to it. Make sure the water is just below the surface of the pebbles so the bottom of the pot isn't touching the water. The water will evaporate off the pebbles and raise the humidity around the plant.

May I ask why you are boiling the water before giving it to the plant?

Good luck and if you are new to orchids there is a great thread called The Phal Abuse Ends Here. It is about Phals and how to grow them. It also talks about taking care of Phals bought from grocery stores and big box stores. It is long but has a lot of good information. I recommend reading it. Here is the link. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

phoenixx87 · #3 06-04-2012, 05:53 PM

Hey, thanks for the reply. I think its from moving it around the house due to the dry rot. I'm so peeved

I thought misting might help I think I read on here some people do it. I'll put some pebbles under it

the water is very metallic here so I thought it might be better to not add it right from the tap in the absence of rainwater.
I went on that thread and did a search about buds dropping there was 2 mentioning bud blast and I misunderstood thinking it was the plant suddenly budding, not falling off. Thanks for getting back to me

Rowangreen · #4 06-04-2012, 07:13 PM

Boiling the water will actually concentrate any salts etc in the water, because some of the water will boil away not the salts, making it stronger.

I don't think you have to worry too much about water with Phals. I live in London, which has very hard water. All my orchids get tap water. I just make sure every time I water I flush through with lots of water, so salts don't build up. It's also good to let tap water stand in an open container for a few hours (a day if you can) to let chlorine evaporate.

Bud · #5 06-04-2012, 07:27 PM

Phoenix, relax... don't panic... you've come to the right place...
Trust your instincts. You seem to have started on the right footing with your plant...
The blooms are done, they will wither and die...the new buds that blasted is caused by the store's neglect and you just happened to witness its demise.
You said the roots are good and the leaves are fine...
cut the spike when the blooms are all gone...and try to look for videos on youtube on how to repot your Phal...you might be able use the media mix and the pot you have...just make sure the roots dont get manhandled too much

and...WELCOME ABOARD!!!!