HELP!!!! Phal leaves and spike seem to be filled with water. HELP!!!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Guys, the reason that most Phals are so "susceptible to crown rot" is because, not only are they being over watered, but many of them are not positioned correctly in artificial cultivation.

In cultivation, most sellers grow all of them upright. Many of them don't grow like that in the wild.

If you want to grow a Phal the right way, find out how it grows in the wild. Most Phals grow horizontally off of trees or pendulously off of trees. Their leaf tips usually point towards the ground. In a large proportion of Phals, the crowns are often pointing down as well. This design was meant for water to dribble off the leaves, away from the crown, to prevent crown rot when it rains.

Along with reducing the amount of water given to the Phal, if you lean a Phal that does not contain genetic material from Phal pulcherrima, against one side of the pot, so that the plant is pointing to the side, and the leaves are pointing down to the ground, crown rot can be practically eliminated completely without any kind of chemicals whatsoever.

[RandomGemini]

Just because I am curious, why could you not do this with Phal. pulcherrima's descendants?

I agree, all of this is true, no argument from me. I still grow my phals upright, but am careful to keep the leaves dry when I water them.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

Just because I am curious, why could you not do this with Phal. pulcherrima's descendants?

I agree, all of this is true, no argument from me. I still grow my phals upright, but am careful to keep the leaves dry when I water them.

Because Phalaenopsis pulcherrima is one of the few, (if not, currently, the only Phal that actually does grow upright in nature).

Phalaenopsis pulcherrima is not really an epiphyte, it is a lithophyte.

---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------

I don't really know what kind of rocks they grow on, but they grow on rocks with leaf litter on top. Sometimes they are found alone on rock outcrops or near the bases of trees. They do not grow on the tree itself.

Want evidence?

Here it is:

A garden's chronicle: A lithophytic orchid

I'm leaning on the idea that those are a type of limestone rock.

[RandomGemini]

Cool!! Thanks for the info!

[Brooke]

There are other Phals with the upright growth habit besides the pulcherrima. Phal cornu-cervi and its closely related species grow this way. They never lean down. The species fasciata also grows upright.

Some Phal species such as schilleriana and stuartiana leaves hang down but the crown area actually grows in a more upright manner with the leaves "kind of" extending downward.

Brooke