Wilting Petals on Phalaenopsis Orchid Flowers

[Deena]

One of my orchids has bloomed about 1.5 months ago. At first everything was looking great, then I noticed something strange happening: some of its flower had wilted, dried-out petals. This was strange because when flowers wilt they usually wilt fully. But on this orchid 1-2 petals of a flower will wilt and the remaining petals will continue looking fresh, and the flower won't drop. This is happening to approximately half the flowers on the flowers stalk.

I'm wondering if anyone has seen this before and what might be the cause of this? None of my other orchids have this particular wilting petal problem. If the flower wilts, it wilts fully then drops off.

I have some photos but the forum is not allowing me to post them on new account, so I'll try to add them later.

Updated with pictures.

The first picture is showing what healthy flowers on this orchid look like.

The next several pictures are showing flowers with center petals withering away, while the flower still stays on the stem.

[jkofferdahl]

Photos of both the flowers and also the plants (and show us the roots) would be very helpful.

[Roberta]

Also, look carefully on the backs of the flowers for mealy bugs. (If the flowers are white, they are particularly hard to see) They destroy the flowers one at a time...

[PaphMadMan]

I would look for mealie bugs as suggested, or other pests. One sucking insect near the base of a petal may wilt it.

[Deena]

Thank you for your replies! I've dealt with a mealy bugs before and they are definitely not the cause of this. This plant has no visible infestation and both the base and the flowering stem has been sprayed with Bayer 3-in-1 to prevent mealies from using it as their food source.

I have updated the post with pictures of the flowers, and you can see a bit of the orchid in the background. I'll try posting more pictures of the orchid and the root system when I'm back home. Currently the orchid itself is doing fine, the leaves are healthy and plump, and it has an average level root system going from what I've checked it a month ago.

The first picture is showing what healthy flowers on this orchid are looking like. The next pictures show some of the wilt. So what's surprising me here is that only a few petals would wither away instead of the whole flower, this is happening to half the flowers on this orchid but not the other half, and that even if some petals would wither the flower itself doesn't wither completely and drop off, which is how it usually goes with Phals. This has been happening on this particular orchid and none of the others.

Any more tips on what's the cause of this problem would be greatly appreciated!
I'll add more pictures once I'm back home.

[Bill U.]

Is it possible that this one plant is more sensitive to any sort of draft? Out of my phals, I have one that is particularly sensitive to being anywhere near the draft of the heat in the winter - while it doesn't usually look quite like what you're experiencing, it could be something to investigate.

[jkofferdahl]

I also wonder if the plant has possibly been moved just about when flowers were opening.