Totally different flower color after nutrients was added!!

[katfemme89]

Well I don't know much about this, but it might be akin to when you stick a rusty nail in with roses and the iron makes the color of the blooms richer? I know roses are completely different, but yeah.

Just a thought.

[Undergrounder]

I know Cymbidiums get darker if you put them out in too much light as the buds are forming. I think light would be the culprit.

[Lagoon]

As already mentioned - I've heard of lighting and tempts playing a role in flower colors. But I've never heard of ferts doing this.

[ghosoff]

Thanks alot !! Everyone !! See I dont know if this is a good thing or not should I keep everything up or put them in less light what should I do would you say but I have 3 of them but only 2 is doing it but I can move on somewhere, well try because I have this 3' 11" x 1' 8" x 2' 2" area with about 400w lights on them so I dont know if this is good or bad but the heat is not to high or nothing because they are those compact Flouresents they are 23w but say the act like 100w and I have 4 of them in there kinda close to the plants but not to where the heat can bother them!!!

[ghosoff]

Hey another quick question do the flowers actually need light or not, or do the seed pods need it?

Alos does any one know what that papery husk lookin stuff that is on the new orchids you get is call and should I leave it on or pull it off!!? Thanks again!!

[Undergrounder]

Papery husk? some other orchids have papery sheaths around the base of the flower spike, this can get mouldy but is generally OK to leave on. I take mine off because as said, it is a mould risk.

But is that what you mean?

The flowers don't need light, they have no chlorophyll. Neither the seed pots. In bright light though some flowers 'burn' and get darker as they develop. The lighter colour of your flowers is probably closer to their natural colour. I know for Cyms, if you have white flowers you keep them in the shade so they stay pure. But for darker red and purple flowers some people put them in the sun to bring out these darker colours.

[ghosoff]

Oh that is what I am talking about the Sheath!! Yeah it seems like it would harbor bugs or mould so I pull them off too but I didnt know if it was damaging the plant or if I should leave it to help keep in some water to keep them damp!! Then on the light to you think I am giving it to little light then?? Or the white color is it's actual color?? Because where ever I got it from I dont think they got that much light in the store!!?

[quiltergal]

I wouldn't worry about bugs too much if you are growing indoors. If you're talking about a node on a Phal spike that turns brown and papery that's completely normal. No need to remove it.

As for the color, I think if you watch them for a couple of weeks you will discover that the color will deepen as the flower matures.

About your lighting, watts don't really tell us anything about the light other than how much energy it consumes. Intensity of light is what you need to be looking at. How many lumens are these lights providing? Some people (like me) are still working in footcandles. I can't seem to make the conversion over to lumens. Anyway, Phals will do well in 1,000-1,500 FC of light. I grow mine a bit brighter in the 1,500-2,000 range and they're doing great.

[ghosoff]

Well hey man i checked and it looks like they are about 6400 lumens all together so do u think I should add more or?? probably so huh? wait so what kind of light are you using?