Suffering Bellina - Page 2 - Orchid Board

Tschimm · #11 02-13-2015, 03:56 PM

Poor little thing :-(
The leaf on the left looks quite ok though.

Jenn4a · #12 02-13-2015, 04:11 PM

It "could" be.. It's still soft, but it's not as mushy as the other ones are. It is kind of wrinkly, closer to the crown though. From what I experienced with the cattleyas, cold damage takes a while to show up. I would feel better about the phal if the newest leaf was the healthiest, but it's probably the worst leaf.

(again I'm not experienced, so I'm not too sure what to believe.)

For the fear of doing more damage, I haven't messed with the leaves that are in better condition since I first checked. It almost feels like the floppy leaves have edema, even though they're probably dehydrated. You know what I mean (by the texture description?) I'm not exactly sure what the best way to describe it is.

It would be nice to save the phal, but from what I understand, it would be a long uphill battle. I would probably have to keep it in the best conditions as possible, and even then, it's still going to be prone to infections. (This is of course, if the plant is still able to be saved at all.) this poor guy is in a 2", definitely not bigger than 3", pot for reference.

wintergirl · #13 02-13-2015, 05:58 PM

My cold damage was evident right when I opened the package on my catt. It does seem like catts can take the cold and keep going, that's another reason why they are cool.

katrina · #14 02-13-2015, 07:20 PM

Not trying to be a b***h here...but why did you order orchids when it's so cold outside? Even 50 degrees is too cold for many orchids...certainly too cold for a bellina. And let's not forget the fact that the high for the day could be 50 but it's likely way less than that when the truck is loaded and sent out for deliveries. Plus, the back of those postal trucks is NOT heated. Same w/the Fedex and UPS trucks...not heated. Whatever the temp is outside...that's pretty much the same temp in the back of those trucks. BRRRRR. These are tropical plants, folks!

I have to say...I am completely baffled by the threads like this...where someone has order an orchid (or more)...it's Winter outside and it's cold...and surprise, surprise...the plant gets damaged by the cold. Like I said...not trying to be a B...but really? It's winter, folks...we don't have orchids growing on trees around here for a reason.

Even more perplexing to me is how any of this is the fault of the vendor/seller.

FYI -- as for the heat packs, I was told (by a very reliable source)that unless the shipper is used to working with them and knows how to pack plants w/them...they can actually cause serious problems for the plant(s).

Bottom line...winter shipping is always going to be very risky for orchids UNLESS you live somewhere that doesn't drop below 60 degrees.

[steps down off soapbox]

wintergirl · #15 02-13-2015, 08:04 PM

I guess when someone really wants an orchid and they have no nurseries near by they will result to a winter order. If it's 30 and you have a heat pack, really no problem. But then mail can get delayed or a cold front comes in then there can be a problem. It's a chance you take, not the vendors fault. I actually only had one that had cold damage. Other plants I ordered not too long ago did fine.

Leafmite · #16 02-13-2015, 08:08 PM

Most of the vendors I deal with are very careful during the winter and I have never had a problem. They either hold the orchids until they have at least a week of good weather or they send them overnight. The only plant that has ever come damaged was a Theobroma cacao which was sent in April and the forecast had predicted 60'F for the week but it unexpectedly dropped down to 40'F. It very slowly died (die-back fungus which, I believe, is similar to one of the things harming our chocolate supply in the 'wild').

MrHungx · #17 02-13-2015, 08:10 PM

I purchased the alba form from the same seller off eBay. I live in California, but I was fortunate to receive a nice healthy plant. However, the plant I received was "Phal. bellina var. alba x self", not a pure Phal. bellina var. alba.

Jenn4a · #18 02-13-2015, 08:18 PM

I ordered a phal and some vandaceous plants over the winter, and they seem fine. I'm not saying that they couldn't have been damaged, but they weren't. Maybe irrelevant.

Yeah I heard the same thing about heat packs.

Anyways, the plant is damaged; nothing can undo that. It seems like there's a lot of variables that go info how a plant will take shipping in the winter, and there's not really a way to know what the conditions the plants are exposed to. Some people might not run into a problem with shipping in the winter, some do.

I'm not claiming I know what's what, I'm sure you know more about it. I started this thread knowing that someone might feel disgusted with me. I did think that when the orchid would arrive on the day it was estimated, that it would be okay. Maybe minimal damage? I'm not that experienced, so yes I did learn from it. I knew before that it arrived today that there would be damage from the temperature. However I don't know what conditions it was exposed to other than when I got it. I just wanted to know how to deal with the aftermath. So yes, I know I'm responsible for ordering it in the first place. But I wouldn't have wanted it to arrive in the 20°F's temps. If I knew this would have happened, I would have avoided it all together.