Anyone know what it could be causing this?

[Phallgirl]

I have what is suppose to be a Phal Pantherina and it has a spike with forming buds. When one starts to come out it turns brown and dies. Only the bud dies. Anyone know what sort of bug/disease this could be??? I saw a silver colored bug in the bark with my magnifying glass, could that be the culprit? I noticed a tiny bite like mark on the spike distal to the buds forming too. It's really frustrating as you all know-----waiting for a spike then having some bug eat them !!!! The leaves and spike are healthy looking.

[Ray]

I suppose it could be insects, but it might also be a growing conditions thing. Phal. pantherina is from equatorial Borneo, so naturally grows really hot and humid, in heavy shade. We're talking minimum nighttime temps around 80°F, and essentially 100% RH

[Phallgirl]

Thanks Ray, I'm going to move it to the kitchen under lights since that is the most humid/hot area. I heard it grows under stressful conditions but didn't know it needs heavy shade. I flushed it out to see if there were any pests and saw a few tiny thrip looking bugs swimming around. I used a magnifying glass but still could barely see them. It might be a combination of both conditons and thrips. I would like to get at least one flower just to see for sure if it is a Pantherina.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Phallgirl

Thanks Ray, I'm going to move it to the kitchen under lights since that is the most humid/hot area. I heard it grows under stressful conditions but didn't know it needs heavy shade. I flushed it out to see if there were any pests and saw a few tiny thrip looking bugs swimming around. I used a magnifying glass but still could barely see them. It might be a combination of both conditons and thrips. I would like to get at least one flower just to see for sure if it is a Pantherina.

Those tiny "wire-worm" looking critters could be fungus gnat larvae which would indicate breaking down potting medium. In other words there is some fungus there to get them going, but as has been presented here before, if there's not enough fungus for the larvae to eat, they could turn to the plant roots. It's a possibility this is stressing out the plant as well. I grow my Phals in pretty low humidity (40-50%) and pretty high light (500-1000 foot candles) with occassional sunlight hitting the leaves. They grow and bloom just fine. So I am thinking something with the roots.

[Phallgirl]

Thanks, Ross. I changed the bark today just in case so that would lower the larvae too. Here is a pic as you can see the undeveloped buds are dark shadows and you can see the chomp mark on the spike too. Let me know what you think guys-----Should I cut the tip off or not????? Or, just wait and see?

[Ross]

I'd let it go and see what happens. The more you keep messing with things, the more stress for plant.

[Lagoon]

Is this 'chid normally grown outside?
Food for thought ... Deep shade doesn't meen deep darkeness inside the house - just very filtered sunlight.

[Phallgirl]

No it's been under lights in the house. There was no indication of any problems until the brown buds. It could be any number of things that caused it from what I'm hearing from the board feedback. I just panic easily.
As with all orchids you have to be patient, right?? I may get a flower before it's all over. In any case it's a learning experience.

[Ray]

Another consideration: if this is a relatively immature plant, it might be spiking, but aborting the buds spontaneously, because it just doesn't have enough energy stores. That is pretty normal for phals that bloom repeatedly from the same spikes.