Phal losing flowerbud

[JanetL]

I bought a flowering phalaenopsis more than a week ago. When I first take it home, its leaves were firm and large, and some aerial roots in silver color, although they are somewhat thin and without green tips. Some new roots even have black tip. I don't know what that mean.

It's in a plastic container that has drain at the bottom. I watered it once took it home. Watered again a few days later until the roots i can see all turned silver. But at that time the leaves already became a bit soft. I guess I should have watered it sooner. What is the best frequency to water it exactly? (I live in hot dry New Mexico)

Today, I saw that some roots inside of the pot turned yellow, and flower pods look wrinkled and dry. It's heartbreaking. What can I do?

[derv88]

That plant looks great to me. It may just be adjusting to its new surroundings. I wouldnt be worried.

[MysticOrchid]

That is a sign of what we call "change of environment" and it's quite normal for the plant to stop it's flowering period and focus on adapting on your home environment. That has been a problem with me as well, but you should not water your orchid too much or too frequently, because the roots can't stand that much water and they'll rot. They like humidity and a little bit of moisture all the time, but sitting in water it's their suicide So, depending on that you live in mexico, where I think it's pretty much hot now, you can water your orchid once a week. For example you can water it in sunday, than the next sunday will be just fine. If the roots are getting very dry and wrinkled, mist them a bit (do not mist the leaves or the plant!). Use destilled water or rain water, or if you can't get these you can pour tap water in some bottle to sit overnight so the chlorine can get out of it. And do not put your plant in direct sunlight, northern exposure will be just fine. Good luck with your orchid!

[RosieC]

The flower buds dropping is very likely due to the change in environment.

The plant looks really good, and it's roots look healthy in your pictures. I would water when the roots turn silvery and water enough to get them green again.

You mention the leaf is soft, what do you mean. Do you mean a little limp, or going soft almost mushy?

[Jinxy]

Those roots look amazing

[JanetL]

Thank you RosieC.
The leaves were already a little limp when the roots turned silver. After I water it, the leaves went back to firm. Does it mean that I should water sooner?

On previous picture, all roots were green except one turned yellow. Now, the tips of many roots turned yellow. Are they dying? What caused this change? (roots stay moist for too long? too little space for roots to grow?)

I think the dryness in my area is very bad for the plant, so after draining extra water, I put the pot in a shallow bowl which sits in a plastic box filled with some water. Also cut some holes on the pot hoping that it helps the roots to breath.

[Skayc1]

the roots look green & healthy.

[RosieC]

If the leaves are firming up thats good. It might mean you need to water slightly more but you need to be careful not to over water.

The yellow root tips might mean they are growing. The tips of growing roots are usually pale, sometimes red but more often pale. Do you have a picture showing this. I can't see what you mean in the picture above (the roots look good there).

[butterfly_muse]

Your roots look AWESOME. Yellow is nothing really to be concerned about that I've ever noticed with orchids. It's when they turn brown/black that you should worry. When the roots need to be watered they will be a white/silvery color...the green they are right now means they're nice and moist and happy just like they should be.

I know the humidity out there is quite low (I lived in CO for a few years and Vegas for a bit also), so if you're worried about humidity, I would either get them a little humidifier that you can turn on near them or maybe try your hand at a contained environment (like maybe a terrarium you can control the temp/humidity/light settings in??)

I don't currently live in a dry location (it's 85-100% humidity here most of the time in summer...blech), and I have to run a humidifier for my sinuses anyway, so I don' know what to tell you really. I know some people swear by misting, and I do it every now and then since it is getting hotter.

As far as the leaf being limp, did you by chance put the orchid near direct light? Or near somewhere it could have gotten too hot? I made the mistake of putting my orchids outside in what I *thought* was a covered area only to burn several of them...=( I have also noticed that if they get super hot (at least mine) they get unhappy. It may be your temperature. OR, if they're very close to the a/c vent and it runs a lot, the cold air blowing on them might be making them upset. It's just a guess.

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[JanetL]

Originally Posted by RosieC

If the leaves are firming up thats good. It might mean you need to water slightly more but you need to be careful not to over water.

The yellow root tips might mean they are growing. The tips of growing roots are usually pale, sometimes red but more often pale. Do you have a picture showing this. I can't see what you mean in the picture above (the roots look good there).

Here are close up pictures showing the yellow/brown tips of the roots. I hope they don't end up like the dry roots at the bottom of the first picture.