Brand-New to Orchids - and a tragedy (fallen pot.. broken stem)! Pictures included.
 

Hello Everyone,

My name is Christine and I am brand-new to orchid-owning and orchid-care in general - as well as brand-new to this forum. :waving

However, I am not new to loving orchids. I've always (I know this is common) been too nervous to own one. My wonderful boyfriend gave me one for our anniversary last month - did not come with a tag, but I believe it is a purple Phal, but that is the best I can come up with.

Barely a month after I received it, a friend of ours accidentally knocked it over onto the floor. The stem of what appears to be the "main" branch snapped about 95% through, leaving only a tiny amount of skin attached. :yikes: Both my BF and I watched in horror - he dove to catch it, and when the damage was seen I burst into tears.

All that aside - It's been duct-taped because I just did not know what to do. It's got beautiful flowers and buds.

What do I do? Do I trim it at the point of break? What do I do with the remaining piece? I am so sad!

I've researched the boards and can't really come up with an answer.

Sorry if terminology/redundancy/idiocracy is in this post. Please be forviging! And definitely any words of wisdom, please. :help: :(

Pictures attached; duct tape at point of break is circled in red. Excuse the messy room (small apartment); notice the white orchid artwork. ;)

Thanks,
Christine

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...4190009001.JPG

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...4190008591.JPG

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...19000859a1.JPG

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...4190008581.JPG

Hello and Welcome to the wonderful world of the OB :D

Tricky...

Reasonably new to Orchids, so not completely sure.
With time some plants can recover, and splicing (as it were) trees or roses together has been done to produce varied fruit crops/colour displays.

So there is a chance that give care and attention the flowers you have now will continue for a time.

HOWEVER.... (Here it comes) The plant has had a bit of a shock to the system so the buds that exist may not Flower but die away. And to be Honest, I would expect that to be the case.

It may be that only time will tell. With extra care and attention you may just be lucky, but I wouldn't get your hopes up on keeping the Blooms.

The Plant itself should hopefully be OK and survive on to flower next year with a bit of TLC.

I suppose the Question is whether you want to see for how long the Blooms will survive for and/or if any of the buds will open OR cut your loses so to speak.

(I'd be tempted to wait and see, but that's just me)

Hello and welcom to the OB!
I would be inclined to wait and watch. If the buds above the break start going down hill, just snip the stem below the the break and put it in a bud vase. You'll get to enjoy the buds/flowers a bit longer. The buds from below the break should be fine either way. Good luck
Joann

I'm kinda new to this too, but having that break there on the spike and duct-taped over could open your plant up to infection. I guess you have to ask yourself which is more important (plant or flowers) and if you're willing to risk it. If I were you, I'd go ahead and snip that branch off (use clean scissors) and dab a little cinnamon on the cut. A week or two ago, one member posted how a solution of water and Superthrive (Home Depot has it for $8-$10) in a vase even made cut orchid flowers that were starting to wilt to perk up and look pretty again. If you take good care of your plant, it will bloom again within a year. :)

If you make the cut right under the duct tape you may be able to encourage another side spike that will make more flowers. Make sure to sterilize your scissors and dab a little cinnamon on the wound like Jen said. And if you don't have any Superthrive then try just plain water, the cut flowers might perk up. Good luck!

i have kept cut stems for weeks with a little sugar water....i think you are best cutting it at the break....you still have buds under the break which may continue to open....gl and enjoy your orchid!

Yes, don't cut the buds off. Sorry, I wasn't very clear there. Make your cut at or just below the tape but leave the rest of the spike.

That break on the inflorescence is nothing. No harm, no foul.

Just cut the inflorescence an 1" below the breakage with a sterilized pair of cutters. Sterilized cutters prevent the transmission of diseases (fungus, bacteria, protozoan, virus).

Viral infections are the worst, they force you to absolutely destroy the plant no matter what, since there is no cure for a viral infection. Bacterial and protozoan infections are tied for being the next most difficult to handle (there are cures, but they're very difficult if you don't know what you're doing or treating for).

If you don't know how to sterilize, then a quick and easy way to do it is to twist and snap it off.

Maybe new buds will appear, maybe not. But that's not under your control.

More importantly is to check the rest of the plant for real damage.

Real damage includes root rot, crown rot, etc.

Most of the times, when you buy Phals from a store, they aren't treated the way they should be. Chances are your plant may be on the decline without you knowing it.

Like I said, the "spike" is a cinch!

It's the real cultivation of the plant, I would be more concerned about. And this is just a heads up to prevent your plant from "dying for no reason".

Without the inflorescence, and if your plant is healthy and strong, in time, you'll end up with another one. If you lose the plant, it's game over. You gotta get another plant and start over.

Hi Christine, I feel for you, I knocked my mini Phal off and snapped the flowering stem right off a while ago! I almost cried too!. I then did cut the flowering stem 1 cm above the next node, it has survived the fall and the rest of the stem has stayed green. Now I am just hoping it will send another shoot out.

Welcome to OB Blondie. This is a wonderful place to learn. I just started a year ago and I have learned so much. But with orchids, you can't stop with just one!

Welcome to OB--what beautifully colored flowers! I agree that you are probably best off cutting below the duct tape and using cimmamon on the cut. You can also cut the removed spike a little above the break and place in a vase, hopefully you will be able to enjoy the blooms for a while.

Wow, you all are so wonderful - welcoming and full of knowledge! I came to the right place. Thanks, ALL of you!

Not five minutes ago, I did what you guided and used sterilized scissors, and cut below the duct tape. Actually, I tried unwrapping the tape first, and the flowering spike came off in my hand. Ugh. Depressing, but I did all my mourning yesterday. So now it's in a single-stem flower vase, haha, it's very sad but already during the day today the flowers had begun to wilt, so it was time to stop fooling myself, haha. (the accident happened last night) So we'll see what happens there.

The wound is cinnamon-covered, sounds delicious.. and now I will focus all my attentions on the four buds I have left!

I love the concern you give for the plant itself, I want to keep this for a very long time and I hope it's been cared for properly. I do not see any signs of rot, however I am concerned for the leaves:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...0419002128.jpg

The splitting isn't making me too happy. It's been that way since I got her. Thoughts?

Let me know if proper etiquette dictates I should put this issue in a new thread :)

Thanks again,
Christine

Thanks, Fiona! I feel better - misery loves company I guess? Haha, no we can stick together and keep our fingers crossed!

I did find some other postings of similar issues as mine, so I'm hoping all goes well. You all help SO much.

To me the split in the leaf looks more like mechanical dammage than anything else. I wouldn't worry about it but do keep an eye on it just in case. It looks like the phal is planted in moss, if that's the case be very careful not to overwater it. I usually repot a chid when I get it home, especially if it comes from a grocery or box store because more often than not they are suffering some root rot. I would recommend doing so, but since the phal is probably somewhat stressed, you may want to wait until it is done flowering--unless you think it may have root rot. Also, make sure there is good drainage in the pot.

:agree:

So true! :lol: "Please sir! May I have some more!"


And remember, if you have a question don't be afraid to ask. ;)
I think I can safely speak for everyone by saying "We are all rooting for you here".

Haha :) Thanks! The Darling BF already offered to get me another new one. I didn't say no.. ;)

Cool.

Same thing applies. Always check the entire plant for anything that may look off or severely damaged.

Particularly the crown and the roots.

Hi Christine and welcome to Orchid Board. :welcome:

You've had some great advice already. I read only recently that someone got some flowers that had started to wilt on a broken stem to revive when put in a vase of water so there is a chance yours will too.

I dropped a new-ish Phal on the floor three times in a row a few months back, the last time was when I knocked it off with the hover while cleaning up the mess from the previous time :blushing: I think your other buds should be OK, there is a chance they will suffer shock and loose them but mine carried on as if nothing had happened eve though the open flowers were physically damaged (those damaged flowers still stayed open for another month or so).

I agree with what you have been told about checking the health of the plant, but the split leaf is nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Oh an OB admin note, don't worry too much about whether you are asking in the wrong place. As one of the moderators I can say we are pretty relaxed. I sometimes move threads if I think they will get more answers somewhere else, or if they are in one of the alliance sections and it's the wrong alliance... but other wise it doesn't really matter too much. Only the other day someone pointed out that one of the threads I had started was in the wrong place, or should we say 'not the best place'. :blushing: We try to keep OB as relaxed and friendly as possible, so just enjoy yourself :biggrin:

:biggrin: In that case he get's a "Top Bloke!" cheer from me!