I must be doing something wrong here.
Some of my phals are experiencing intermittent bud death.
See photos...
Any ideas as to whats going on?
Thanks, Karl G.
There are many reasons why there's a bud blast but the most common, in my understanding, is low humidity. Can you give us more info? Humidity, min temp, light levels, etc?
Dragon tree eagle is s/h, Brenda Matthews is moss and bark.
RH is 55%, grow lights and morning sun.
Temp is 72 > 76, direct fan on low.
R/O water, MSU food.
No obvious signs of bugs, though that remains part of my suspicion - due to the randomness involved...
I think it's low humidity. Exposed roots look like roots in low humidity. Don't point the fan at the plants. In that relatively low humidity and cool temperatures for this kind of plant you don't need it. Fans help prevent diseases when humidity is high, and they prevent sunburn. Otherwise you don't need them.
__________________ May the bridges I've burned light my way.
In my experience 55% humidity is fine for most Phals, even if not ideal conditions. I say most, because I do have a couple that routinely blast some buds. I agree about not having the fan blasting air directly on them as this increases the transpiration rate, especially in low to average humidity.
Strong day-night temperature swings at this time of year (even indoors) also seem to cause more buds to blast.
__________________ Camille
Completely orchid obsessed and loving every minute of it....
The idea is to prevent pockets of stagnant air, not to create a breeze.
When growing in the home, unless you have a lot of plants literally jammed together, it is quite rare for such pockets to exist, precluding the need for fans.