Is this a normal cycle for a phal?

[floranewb206]

Kinda confused about this flower's behavior, I can't tell if it's ok or if something's wrong! Conflicting signs.

First day I bought it: no wilting flowers, healthy buds.
Over the first week all buds bloomed but a few older flowers did wilt.
A few days ago more flowers started to wilt, and two buds also wilted. Looked kinda sad...
So 2 days ago watered it (no fertiliser) with plain water because the roots were silver/dry bark after 7 days since last watering (with fertiliser) two buds had wilted that day
Yesterday one bud bloomed over night and looks perfectly fine. The last bud looks fine too.

Now this morning two tiny bright pink buds have formed. Did it really just want water or what!? Cause I thought they are fine without water for awhile...

I just inspected it thoroughly and one leaf has a tiny hole in it. One root sticking out is flat and brown half way, but the other half is green and hard. The little tiny roots attached to the plant are brown but bright green at the tips.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. Stop watering your plants. You will run the risk of overwatering.

2. Check the plant's root system. If it was potted in moss, there could be some trouble down there.

3. What are the parameters of your growing area?

- temperature (day/night, seasonal)?
- humidity?

4. If you haven't read the sticky: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

I suggest you read it from the very beginning.

5. The orchid may also be in shock from the move from one growing environment to another.

6. An orchid's flowers are not the tell-all sign of good health in an orchid. You gotta look at every part of the orchid.

If I had to rank from most important to least important parts to look at in an orchid, it'd be:

1. roots
2. stem
3. leaves
4. inflorescence (aka "spike")
5. buds/flowers

[floranewb206]

Ok... Should I water it on like a 14 day schedule even if it gets dry and silver before then? It's in bark but I'm going to switch it to Phal specific bark mix when it is done flowering.

The past two weeks it has been high seventies in Seattle. Now this week it's back down to mid sixties. Not sure about humidity. Also it gets a good amount of light from the window but not direct sun.

Thanks for the info.! I actually spent a long time looking through that Phal Abuse thread, but didn't get through all of it. There was some good info. but I'm still confused cause the roots look ok to me, mostly green and hard except for one that is flat.

---------- Post added at 10:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Water when the roots all turn silvery gray. Do not keep watering the plant when the roots are still wet.

The bud drop could be from low temperatures and a temperature fluctuation.

Your temperatures are kinda on the low side for this time of year for the Phal. It should start to climb into the 90's F during the day, and drop down to about the 70's F at night during this time of year.

[floranewb206]

It was fully dry when I watered it the other day, it's damp now.

Um yeah I don't know if you've ever lived in Seattle but it hits the 90's like 7 days a year lol :/ usually not higher than 80, and for the next week it's not even going to hit 70 : ( is my weather too cold to keep it alive?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You might need some sort of heating device for your growing area in order for Phals to raise their metabolism for you to even see growth. The time of the year that Phals normally grow the fastest and the most is during late spring and all throughout summer. So, yeah, warm temperatures are a big deal.

I can tell you right now, the island of Borneo, regardless of Malaysian side, or Indonesian side, doesn't stay in the 70's F for very long.

I was born in Indonesia, and I have visited Indo only one other time. Let me tell ya, the heat and the humidity was not the least bit tolerable on the island of Java, and Java is southwest of Borneo.

[floranewb206]

Damn. Had no idea they needed that high of heat, thought regular home temps would be fine.

What are my options then? Maybe a light that will give off some heat for it? I know my flourescent T5 for my aquatic plants sure does give off a good amount of extra heat.

[Brooke]

Originally Posted by floranewb206

Damn. Had no idea they needed that high of heat, thought regular home temps would be fine.

What are my options then? Maybe a light that will give off some heat for it? I know my flourescent T5 for my aquatic plants sure does give off a good amount of extra heat.

Forget the temps outside, what are the temps inside where you grow the Phal?

My Phals, even the warmest growing ones like bellina get through my winters with the low temp of 60. During the winter I can go days and never get above 62.

Don't attempt to water you Phal on a schedule unless you do grow under lights. When I grew under lights I could put them on a schedule because the lights are a constant. When the green roots turn silver, time to water.

If the brownish flat root turns green, it is still a functioning root.

Brooke

[floranewb206]

Right now our house is at 69.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Winter lows (night) of 60 F is fine. Winter high (day) of 75 F - 80 F is ideal.

Summer day temperatures should not really remain in the high 60's F to low 70's F.

Summer is only about a couple weeks away.

Summer temps in Indo in these forests during the day are around the mid-90's F. At night it will drop down to about the low to mid 70's F. On a warm night, it will be at about the high 70's F to mid 80's F range.

---------- Post added at 12:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ----------

I'll give you an idea of how intolerable the heat can be in Indo and Malaysia.

In the lowland cities furthest away from the shorelines, where there is little cover by trees, you're looking at a summer daytime high of 110 F, easily.