Phals drying up!!

[Smitha]

Hi,
I bought a Phals in March which had a few flowers & a few buds on it...except one all the buds bloomed.so I thought the plant wasn't getting enough light and placed it near a window with the glass door open thinking that the mesh of the window would give it indirect sunlight...Because of temp variations all the flowers wilted & the unopened bud also wilted....I noticed it and shifted back to its same place after repotting it into a clay pot.....the plant showed signs of growing with fresh green bud like growth...But then being in the clay pot,the bark dried up within 3 days ...As i've read that these plants should b watered once a week,I din't water it & waited for atleast 5 days to water..So yesterday I watered it & did fertilise it also ..
Today morning it looks the the new green growth is a little dry.....The roots of my plants r doin fine & r green.....My worry is that I would lose this plant.....Pls help me & let me know what goin wong with my plant??.......i used miracle gro to fertilise the plant .....

[Royal]

Hi Smitha, and welcome.

First, orchids get kind of adapted to their environments as they grow. Moving it from one spot to another can stress the plant. The trip from the grower's greenhouse, to a truck, to a grocery store, then to your house puts a great deal of stress on a plant. Don't be disappointed if it shows a bit.

Second, since they're slow growing, they are slow to show signs of stress - or happy new growth. Give it at least a few weeks in one spot before switching things around. While my plants are blooming, I usually don't worry about the perfect conditions for the plant. I just stick it somewhere to enjoy the blooms. Once the blooms fade, I resume concentrating on growing it well.

And last, watering schedules (and everything else about growing orchids) will vary depending on your conditions. The medium will dry at different rates depending on lots of things. A plastic pot may hold moisture longer so once/week may be perfect. But change to a clay pot and three days may be the longest you can go before total dryness. Some grow Phals mounted on pieces of wood or bark. These dry out fast and need watering daily.

As for fertilizer, apply a weak mixture on a regular basis. The type isn't as important as the strength and the frequency. As the old saying goes, "fertilize weakly, weekly."

[nutgirl]

Welcome,

Is it possible to send a picture? It always helps.

In general, new potting material (I assume you used bark) dries out faster at first, even if you soak it before potting. The clay pot will absorb moisture also. This mean you may have to water more frequently.

There is no hard and fast rule for how many days to wait before watering. It all depends on your growing conditions. You may have to use some trial and error to get a feel for things.

The bamboo skewer method is very helpful especially if you're using clay and can't see the roots.

Maureen

[Smitha]

Thank u for the reply..as u said,I might have been shifting the a little 2 much without allowing it to settle down......I will post the pics of my plant shortly..

[RosieC]

I agree with the advise above.

I've you've not come accross the bamboo skewer method, it basically means sticking a bamboo skerer in the pot and leaving it there. Pull it out when you want to know if the plant needs watering and if the stick is dry it does, if the stick is still wet it doesn't. The reason for doing this is that sometimes the dryness of the top of the medium is not a good indicator of how it is doing lower down.

[RosieC]

Oh yeah... forgot to say welcome to OB... so

[Smitha]

Hi again,
Sorry to ask u a dumb question......How do I upload my photos.......I have a macbook & can't find any version for uploading!!

Smitha

[RosieC]

We have some tips for posting pics here.
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...chidboard.html

I've never used a macbook though and I don't know if there is anything specific you need to do to get it to work on that.

[Smitha]

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[Smitha]

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