Haraella odorata bud blast
 

Advice please; my Haraella odorata, had been doing very well has until last month. Now the spikes and buds develop and then they blast.

It began happening after our society orchid show in at the end of October; I assumed it was just angry about being moved around.

Now this most recent round of spikes and buds has developed they are starting to blast too. It had been growing and flowering well to this point.

My current conditions where it has been growing are: medium light (average 13,100 lux, open top terrarium that maintains about 80% humidity and stays between 75-77f (20-25c). The plant does not really dry out and is currently not being fertilized.

I don't know... are you sure the humidity is staying up?

Yes. I am wondering if it is an airflow issue? When I got this plant it was not in the terrarium and bloomed regularly but the leaves seemed more wrinkles like it wasn't getting enough water. I'm going to pull it and move it into better light and airflow, see if it improves.


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In the second photo the leaves are quite wrinkled. When I've seen that on Phals the cause has invariably been overdrying, but you've kept the plants in a very humid place and they obviously are watered. Mine have been doing extremely well - growing, blooming, etc. - but I have them in somewhat different conditions. Mine are also stick-mounted, but are hung so that a fan blows air around them. Humidity levels are in the 60s% to 70s% range and the light level is to the higher end of what Phals tolerate. I water them in the morning and again in the late afternoon, but the roots get dry between waterings because of the fans. I'm fairly convinced that the air movement plays a big factor in how happy they are. As it happens, they hang in the little area alongside my Zygostates alleniana, which are also very happy.

Thanks so much for sharing your cultural info! I've moved it out of the terrarium into better airflow and higher light; hopefully that will correct the problem and make the plant happier.


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Good news! Moving the plant back to better airflow and has stopped the blast and while I lost most of the current spikes it is busy putting on new ones


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Yay! I'm convinced that the air movement (or lack thereof) was your problem. H. odorata is a pretty forgiving, easy to handle orchid. Both of mine seem to stay in bloom since they started - in fact, a new flower opened on my second plant just today! Any flower that looks like an orchid crossed with Gene Simmons' tongue is OK by me!