Buds on phalaehopsis that never develop

[greenwoodlm]

My phalaehopsis develops small buds that stay small and have not continued to develop for several months. The leaves are healthy and the roots are green. Suggestions?

[tucker85]

Tell us about your culture. What kind of pot and medium is it in? How often do you water and fertilize? What is the light source and how strong is it?

[greenwoodlm]

It's planted in an orchid mix that has a lot of bark. Just recently transplanted from original store pot. Buds have not changed since replanting. I water it when it gets dry to the touch. The pot is on a shelf with sunlight from and eastern exposure. I live in Oregon. I can post a photo if that would help.

[kindrag23]

A picture would be a big help now when you say water do you soak it in a bowl of water or just in running water through it. Do you fertilize at all? When in spike these guys need the fertilizer especially to be able to help develop the spike further. Someone on the board used the euphemism pregnant women eat more because they are feeding more than just themselves. A orchid is kind of the same way with their spike that is their baby.

[Island Girl]

Did it come with these small buds, or did you get it to grow the spike, and it develops these buds, and it stalled? Because, often, when you bring a phal home from the (big box) stores the inflorence/buds/flowers have grown all they will, and only have the largest of buds open (unless they blast due to drastic temp/humidity changes). Sometimes they don't do this, but I think this only happens when they haven't been sitting at the store for too long.

And to the OB! You should stick around, everyone here is friendly, and loves to help, and hear about your orchids! You may just find yourself getting more orchids soon! They can be rather addicting!

[greenwoodlm]

It came with flowers and buds then lost the flowers and the buds bloomed. Then the same spikes developed smaller buds so I didn't cut the spikes thinking the new buds would bloom. They're tiny; no flower parts visible, just green bud tips.

---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------

I pour water into it form a watering can. The pot has a drainage hole. I also put some orchid fertilizer "sticks" in teh pot.

[kindrag23]

This is just me but I have found that the fertilizer sticks did not do what I needed my orchids to do. I know that some OB members like MSU liquid fertilizer, I use better gro water soluble fertilizer weakly weekly.

Also what do the roots look like. It may be that the plant needs to be submerged or immersed in water rather than just being watered from the top.

Also when you water do you water directly overhead? Phals grow technically what we think as upside down. So when the water runs down on them it does not get into the crown and sit. You may check around the leaves as well to make sure that there is not any rot or soggy spots.

Also pictures would be a large help.

[Island Girl]

Does it have any cold drafts? What are your temperatures? Do you by any chance know what your humidity is like? (if not, where do you live? It's not necessary to give your specific location, or anything, just so we can have an idea what your RH (relative humidity) is like... ie, I live in NC, where we have great humidity.. But, out in Wyoming, for example... Not so much). It may also just not have the energy to finish blooming a second time... Phals are forced to bloom before being sent to the store you buy them from, and often, they don't have much stored up energy to re-bloom off of another node on the spike it came with (which is what sounds like its doing). You may just want to cut it all off, down to the bottom (within an inch of the base) and let it rest, that may be what it is trying to do for itself. I know what you are describing, so you don't have to post pics. If you do, you have to have 5 posts before the site will let you post pics... But they aren't necessary in this case, IMHO.

I have heard from members who have actually used them, that the fertilizer sticks don't work too well... I've not tried them. But, I don't think fert has anything to do with your problem, although, it is important.

Watering with a can is fine, just make sure you don't leave water in the crown (the area the leaves grow from), better yet, don't get water there in the first place but, using a watering can is fine. Try only adding a little water, if it's in moss (not saturating the moss - they don't like soggy "feet")... If its in bark chunks, then water til the water flushes out of the bottom.

[tucker85]

You said you live in Oregon. Some books say that cold drafts or watering the orchid with very cold water can cause buds to blast.

[Island Girl]

Lol, sorry, I missed the part where u said you live in Oregon