Bud Blast! Hate spag!

[blueeyesjay]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to stop bud blasts from spreading. I got a phal for my 1 year anniversary with my partner (our love plant - have you seen the movie how to lose a guy in 10 dates hahah) and he'll be mad if I kill it. It's very tightly packed into spag, which is the norm here in Vancouver (I don't think Ive seen another phal with any other medium here).

Long story short, I got it, it was quite dry already. I waited another 2 and a half weeks before I gave it some water (and I used a stick to see if it was dry and it was). I measured the water out, 1/4 of a shot glass (1 ounce) of water, desperately trying not to overwater it. Seems I made a mistake, as it had three open flowers, and the next day after watering, two more opened (i thought this was a great sign). The following day, the three original flowers became blasted. So I took the plant out of the pot and placed it infront of a fan to dry it ASAP. Well, I've lost now three more flowers (for a total of 6).

It has a ton more buds that have yet to open. I'm worried that the blast will spread. Is there anything I can do to stop a bud blast in its tracts? Its got a little bit of root rot right now, but there are some roots that are doing very well. Unfortunately, the spag is really tightly packed in, so theres not much air circulation getting into the middle of the bulb, although I've taken the whole plant out of the potter and placed it in a softly lite area. What are the survival chances? I'd loved to change the medium, but I'm afriad I'll lose all of the buds. I have a mixture of bark/tight bit of spag & peralite I got from an orchid show a month ago.

If pictures are needed let me know. I'm posting this at work, so I'd have to post them later tonight.

Thanks for the help (trying not to kill another poor phal - my home is where they come to die).

[Houston]

Are you sure the roots are rotting? If it was dried out then it might be blasting buds for that reason. It's best not to disturb the roots during flowering, but it seems you've unpotted it now. I would go ahead and repot it with the spag just don't pack it in there super tight. When I water my phals I dunk them up to the top of the pot and let them sit for a little while to get nice and wet. Then I just let it dry out over the week and repeat once a week.

[blueeyesjay]

I'm fairly certain the roots are not overly dry - I'll let you guys decide on that... In the past, the problem I've had is overwatering my phals, causing root rot, and so now I've been paranoid about watering them at all! Ugh! I'll post some pictures tonight. I've unpotted the orchid, but I haven't removed the spag, so as not to cause further bud blast.

[AnonYMouse]

Read http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html
It will have the information you seek.

Pictures will definitely help with analysis. We also need to know your growing conditions (light, humidity, temps), pot type (terra cotta, plastic-slotted, plastic net, wood basket, etc) and anything else that might impact your plant.

There is a bulb in the middle? Phals don't have bulbs.

From your description of watering, I suspect it may be underwatered.

As a fellow sphag loather, I would immediately repot into my preferred media appropriate to my climate and habits. A healthy Phal will bounce back.

If you've only given it 1 oz of water when it was already dry(sphag is crunchy), I would soak the root mass for at least 30 minutes. As with all Phals, keep the water away from the crown.

[jeremyinsf]

I find when I bring a Phal home, there is an acclimation period that can be tricky. Over watering, or under watering, during the acclimation, can be big trouble. I agree with the others it might be under watered in this case. When the flowers are developing it needs a bit more - couple that with environment shock, and they can drop. I lost a half a plants worth of flowers this way once.

[tucker85]

What you're describing is not bud blast, it's just flowers dying. Bud blast is when the bud turns yellow or brown and doesn't open at all. Orchids are most sensitive to environmental changes when they're in bud. Changing the environmental conditions while they are opening can cause the buds to fail or flowers to die prematurely. For some strange reason orchids are much less sensitive once the flowers are fully open. Any time you give a phalaenopsis as a gift, you're better off giving one that has the flowers already open rather than on that's in bud. At least that's my opinion.

I suspect that the flowers died because the orchid was too dry. Phals don't have pseudobulbs so they can't tolerate dry conditions for long. That's especially true when they're trying to bloom. Flowers are 90% water so the orchid needs moisture in order to open those flowers. You said the plant was fairly dry and then you waited two and a half weeks before watering. That sounds too dry to me. After all the stress on that plant, any flowers that do open, probably won't last long.

Repot in a good mix and give it good care. Next year it may reward you with some new blooms.

[quiltergal]

Tucker pretty much said it all. 1 ounce of water in a two week time period is not nearly enough to support a blooming orchid of any kind.

[blueeyesjay]

heres some pictures
what do you think

[AnonYMouse]

Its still hard to tell from the pics.

The roots look dried out (not firm and plump) and the leaves thin and floppy. I would definitely soak it.

I don't see any rot (still possible in the middle). Repotting is up to you. You might lose the blooms but you will find out what the center moss mass looks like.

[quiltergal]

Definitely looks dehydrated. That is why the leaves are droopy and it is shedding the bottom two. I would just repot now. If you are careful the spike may be just fine and continue to bloom. If not at least the orchid will live to bloom again.