What?? Going by already??

[greenpassion]

I have a Phal that when in bloom, has always lasted a minimum of 6 mths-but when I came home from work tonight, I saw that several flowers on one of the spikes are going limp. They aren't looking like the way blooms usually look when 'going by'. No dry looking wilt-the pedals are simply limp. What is going on?? It was fine when left today, and I've done nothing different at all with it! This is very upsetting for me. It isn't thirsty(still have green roots showing thru the pot) and temps and humidity are exactly the same as always... Help??

[greenpassion]

I posted some pictures.

[Ray]

On the assumption that "nothing has changed" withnyour culture, do you have any fruit in a bowl nearby? Any gas appliances?

[cricketerry]

Flowers go over very quickly if they have been pollinated.

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by Ray

On the assumption that "nothing has changed" withnyour culture, do you have any fruit in a bowl nearby? Any gas appliances?

No fruit in a bowl, no gas appliances. And no chance of pollination.

---------- Post added at 10:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 AM ----------

I have 3 humidifiers in this large room that these are in. In two of them I put a squirt of hydrogen peroxide into the water because it keeps the humidifiers cleaner for much longer. In the evaporative humidifier I use the recommended amount of bacteriostat. Could this be the problem? I had a mini phalaenopsis that spiked and was in full bloom by Christmas, but 1 month later it was all done. I was shocked. The norm for me is that they are in bloom from now through June often July.

---------- Post added at 11:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 AM ----------

The plant it's self is super healthy, with a basil keiki. The Spike that has the blooms wilting was the first one to bud and bloom, although the second one was very close behind. I'm wondering if I should cut this spike off? I normally only cut off a Spike if the mother plant is in trouble, in order to give her the chance to direct energy back to the leaves and roots. I just had to do this with a mini Phal that was in beautiful branching Spike, with buds opening-but the plant it's self was clearly in decline. With this little one, I think I had not watered it enough. I grow all my phals in bark, and it was in a 2" pot, on a warming mat. By the time I caught it, it was too late to let it continue to bloom. But this big Phal is not in the same situation. It's in bark, in a 7" Rand pot, and up to now, doing great...

---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 AM ----------

Is there a way to save these blooms? Should I be feeding these plants when they are in bloom? They are all getting a very weak solution of MSU, Epsom salt, and kelpmax at each watering. Is this what I'm doing wrong? Since I lost that many phalaenopsis well I didn't lose the plant but the blooms went by within a month, and it looks like this one is going the same direction, it's clearly something I'm doing that I shouldn't be. Last year nearly everyone stayed in bloom from late January to June July.

[fishmom]

It's cold in Vermont--do you have big temperature swings in your house? Cold drafts can damage blooms.

[greenpassion]

No temp swings at all. I keep it at 68 to 70 degrees. Humidity does swing a bit. 38% to 55%.

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------

And I have googled and googled about this issue. All I get is info about bud blast. Not what I'm looking for...

[Ray]

I really don't know for a fact if there's a connection, but KelpMax at every watering is excessive, and may very well be the issue.

You are driving the plant's metabolism to a higher level than what is normal.

Have you read the instructions I provide with the product? For normal use- that is, when not recovering from root loss or having been just repotted- is to add it to your fertilizer once a month, and no more often.

While we're at it, how much fertilizer and Epsom Salts are you using per gallon, and how often are you watering?

[greenpassion]

Originally Posted by Ray

I really don't know for a fact if there's a connection, but KelpMax at every watering is excessive, and may very well be the issue.

You are driving the plant's metabolism to a higher level than what is normal.

Have you read the instructions I provide with the product? For normal use- that is, when not recovering from root loss or having been just repotted- is to add it to your fertilizer once a month, and no more often.

While we're at it, how much fertilizer and Epsom Salts are you using per gallon, and how often are you watering?

The watering schedule depends on the size of the pot. The plant in question is in a 7-inch pot in bark. This plant I usually water around every 8 days. I'm using a half a teaspoon MSU, 2 teaspoons kelpmax, 1/2 tsp Epsom salts. I premix this ahead of time and keep several gallons on hand. I recently cut that back even more with no kelpmax this last watering -but as you say, it may have been too late. I did get the instructions but (stupid me) I thought that if one could water 'weakly weekly' it'd be OK to do it that way.