Psychopsis Mendenhall "Hildos" dropping flowers much sooner than before :( - Orchid Board

judith_arquette · #1 12-05-2015, 01:58 PM

I got this in bloom August 10th from Marlow's Orchids, I don't recall exactly how long the bloom lasted but it seemed like several weeks to maybe a month. Immediately after dropping the bloom it began to form a new bud. Once it opened it only lasted a couple of weeks. At the time, I attributed it to being too close to a cold window pane so I moved it back from the window several feet Again, it began developing a new bud. This bloom opened maybe a week ago and is already browning...I'm a little concerned about its overall health now...
I've heard that they can really sulk when repotted but I've also seen several members here do it without them missing a beat. It has a new growth (front right in pic) so I'm thinking this might be a good time to at least check out the roots to see what's going on under there...

Any suggestions or advice appreciated.

Leafmite · #2 12-05-2015, 03:55 PM

Good luck! You will have to let us know how it fares!

PaphMadMan · #3 12-05-2015, 06:14 PM

Shorter flower life is probably due to lower humidity more than anything else. If you are concerned about the roots just slip it out of the pot with minimal disturbance if you can. If they are mush go ahead and repot with fresh media. It may or may not lose the spike. Otherwise it is fine in that pot for another year, or consider a slightly larger pot, just putting some coarse bark or gravel around the existing root ball.

silken · #4 12-05-2015, 06:53 PM

Mine seems healthy and has 4 blooming spikes. but I don't think the blooms ever last a month. Maybe a couple weeks. I don't have super high humidity but 50 to 60% most of the time. I find mine likes a fair bit of water. I do keep it in a small pot and it has lots of roots, so there is a lot to take up the moisture. Those big broad leaves likely need quite a bit to drink.

judith_arquette · #5 12-05-2015, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

Shorter flower life is probably due to lower humidity more than anything else. If you are concerned about the roots just slip it out of the pot with minimal disturbance if you can. If they are mush go ahead and repot with fresh media. It may or may not lose the spike. Otherwise it is fine in that pot for another year, or consider a slightly larger pot, just putting some coarse bark or gravel around the existing root ball.

Thank you for the info! I may try to see if it'll slip out easily. Can I assume the roots are probably ok if the pbulbs look good and aren't shriveled? I just hate to disturb them if it's probably due to the fact that humidity is just dropping due to the change in seasons...