Wow! Orchids are Surprising!!!!!!

[katychicago]

Hi orchid lovers

I'm Katy - just moved from the midwest US to northern California and bought my very first orchid last November. It is a Dtps Taisuco Beauty Hwafeng Redjewel X. It is the most lovely creation I've cared for aside from my children

Anyway. My orchid has been doing very very well, she had two closed buds when I got her, now they are open and she has a stalk with seven beautiful flowers. BUT today I noticed the first one on the stalk is droopy and the edges of the other flowers seem darker than usual, almost like they are getting ready to wilt. HELP. I love her far too much to not do whatever is necessary.

I have her in a room that gets indirect sunlight, I water her only when she feels dry. I've left her in the little green pot she came home it because someone told me not to transplant her wwhile she is in bloom.

Any ideas on what's going on with her and how I can arrest the problem - or is it normal for orchids to lose their blossoms at this time of year. In case location info is helpful, I live in the Sierra foothills on the California side. I was actually thinking of taking a photo and putting it on here but I don't know if it's Ok to do that.

Thank you, thank you thank you for any help you can offer.
thanks, katy

[Gwenchanter]

Posting pictures is always ok!

Dtps and Phalaenopsis do loose their flowers after a while, it's just their normal cycle. It can take them a while to open up all of their flowers so if you bought the plant with flowers already open, it's hard to know how long they have already been open for. They can last up to several months, but sometimes they do fall off early due to a chill or even just by being disturbed too much by a change in growing conditions. If the buds that opened up while in your care still look ok, I would guess there is nothing wrong, and those flowers should last several weeks at the very least. It's always sad when your flowers wilt and fall off, but the best thing to do is make sure the plant is happy and grows really good roots before the next blooming. The quality and quantity of it's roots directly relates to how spectacular the next bloom will be. If your Dtps grows one infloresence per year, that's concidered good because the whole blooming process can last several months! A well cared for plant can bloom two or three times per year, but orchids do need to rest between flowering because creating all of those beautiful flowers takes a lot of energy out of them.

[priz_m]

Katy welcome to the OB!

I agree with Gwen, perhaps your Dtps resented the move a bit. Don't worry I am sure there's nothing wrong with it, you may leave the spike untouched (it's completely optional though) some Phals and Dtps hybrids will rebloom from the old spike, so, who knows, you may be surprised!

BTW we love hoto here at the OB, we'd love to see your 'chid!