Phaleonopsis suffering from bud blast? - Orchid Board

Edwin Reffell · #1 03-26-2013, 08:15 AM

My pale lemon yellow Phaleonopsis is suffering from bud blast, I believe. 2 of its blooms have wilted. I have had it in bright sunshine unshaded in the kitchen window. When the colours started changing and a flowers started to wilt I moved it around all the time to where the sunshine was less bright. Then it put it back on the window sill and shaded it. However I cannot prevent some of the bright sunshine from reaching it so I am going to place it in front of the window together with my Yu Pin Pearl which does not seem to have been affected by the bright sunshine which gets there sometimes for a while. I noticed today that all my Phaleonopsis roots are silvery green although it is only 4 days since I watered them. Is this due to the sunshine? Until today I have only checked the roots once a week to see if they needed watering. My white orchid, also exposed to bright sunshine has developed 3 new buds even. The wilting flower to the right on the pale lemon yellow Phaleonoposis is at most 1 week old so it cannot be a question of old age. Its leaves are less rigid than the other Phaleonopsis I have too, as you will see in my next message directly. What should I do?

---------- Post added at 12:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------

The picture of the leaves of my pale lemon yellow Phaleonopsis which I believe is suffering from bud blast did not show in the message I just sent so here they are here.

Tim C. · #2 03-26-2013, 01:30 PM

I'd agree that it'd bud blast. That's one of the trickiest things about buying orchids in bloom/bud - they blast sooooo easily.

Silvery green roots are good, and definitely not a bad sign. The silver you're seeing is the velamen, which is the outer coating on the orchid's roots.

The best thing you can do for your plant is just to keep it watered like you would normally, and make sure it's not exposed to any extremes in temperature. In the case of picky plants, I'd put them in a shadier location once they came into bloom - just like you're doing with the shaded window.

As for the less rigid leaves, there are two main things that come to mind: genetics, and under-watering. As you're on top of watering, I'd say it's genetics. Some phals have soft leaves, and will always have soft leaves. The biggest issue is when they're so limp that they start bending enough to cause a crease or line to form on the leaf. That's not good.

Enjoy the rest of your phal's blooms, and look forward to more in the future.

-Tim

TeresaE · #3 03-26-2013, 03:07 PM

When you bring orchids home, with the climate change there is usually something that happens and bud blast is one of them. Here, where I am, with Home Depot, Wal-Mart and places like that they are usually not taken care of very well: over-watered, under-watered, sitting in a cold draft... So don't worry about it...just cut the dead or dying buds off so the energy will go to the buds that are doing well. Your next bloom will most likely be wonderful! :-) Also with Phal's they are a low light plant so they don't need south full sun or they may burn. I keep mine in an east window and under T5 florescent lights. They do very well. Your leaves also look okay.

Hope this helps!

Bud · #4 03-26-2013, 05:23 PM

try putting it in the sink of the bathroom while you are in the shower....the warm steam might revive it

Edwin Reffell · #5 03-26-2013, 06:06 PM

I do not think the wilting flowers can be revived. One has just fallen off. The latest one has almost closed. I just hope no more will wilt. It is now in front of the window together with the Yu Pin Pearl. It is sometimes sunny there but not hot. Also I shall check every 3-4 days to see if it needs watering as I suspect it dries more quickly in the sun.

Edwin Reffell · #6 03-28-2013, 07:07 AM

I think it will get too hot later in summer for the pale lemon yellow Phaleonopsis to be on the kitchen window facing south and I cannot provide enough shade for the flowers on one of the spikes. Therefore I have put it on a bureau in front of that window where I also have my Yu Pin Pearl. Although it gets a lot of sunshine there it is not hot. I have just checked the leaves and they are not warm. Also I shall check the roots every other day and water them whenever they are silvery green and let the pot they are in draw in water until it feels heavy, more than just 1 minute. Will it acclimatise so that the flowers will not get bud blast again? I hope no more flowers will wilt and that I can safely have my Phaleopsis on the bureau in front of the window facing south despite the brilliant sunshine which it will get at times.

Tim C. · #7 03-28-2013, 08:54 AM

Bud blast is caused by a change in growing conditions, and can even be brought on by a quick, sudden, blast of dry and/or cold air. Bearing that in mind, as long as you're growing it in the same conditions consistently, the next time it blooms you shouldn't have to worry about bud blast.

The only time I've ever experienced bud blast while growing indoors was when I grew my plants near a window, and in the winter the new flower buds got too close to the window and got a blast of cold air from it (drafty old apartment windows aren't fun for anyone).

As for the amount of light in the south window: if that's the window you want to grow in, you might consider putting up a sheer, white curtain to block some of the light. Otherwise, you will risk burning the plant's leaves during the longer, sunnier days of summer. That being said, it may very well be possible to acclimate your plant to that amount of sun. I've never grown completely in natural light before - I've always used artificial lighting - so hopefully someone with more experience in that department will chime in.

-Tim