Orchid Accidents

[Ross]

Just to renew this, seemingly valuable , thread I have the following story.

I posted a while back that my Miltonidium was once again in spike. I figured I would move it to the fore-front to allow the potentially massive spikes to mature as normal. Ever since then, I have been brushing the spike with my fleece top (it's winter here ) and rocking the plant. Guess what? Yesterday, I not only brushed it, I knocked it to the floor breaking the pot and scattering the bark mix! Being the reactionary I tend to be, I threw it down the cellar steps stating in no uncertain words "It's ruined". Later when I cooled down, I went down and surveyed the damage (I thought again and took off my fleece top ) and it appeared to have come through perfect. I repotted it and placed it back on the shelf but back from where the "orchid monger" could hurt it again. Oh, and I kissed it and told it I love it just the same. Think that will help?

[shakkai]

I'm sure it will accept your humble apology - and knowing your luck, it will bloom its head off!!

[Orchidophile]

I have a really good memory except where I put things. It was a nice warm and rainy spring day and i decided to put some of my orchids outside to get some nice rain water. And then it started getting colder so I brought them all inside, so I thought. I left one of my little Restrepia antennifera's out there and it was freezing rain now! IT LIVED!! I thought it was going to die for sure but I dont think the rain even damaged it. Its the biggest Restrepia I have now.

[Tindomul]

Temper....temper.....temper.
Sounds like something I would do.
You wouldn't happen to be an only child would you?

Originally Posted by Ross

Just to renew this, seemingly valuable , thread I have the following story.

I posted a while back that my Miltonidium was once again in spike. I figured I would move it to the fore-front to allow the potentially massive spikes to mature as normal. Ever since then, I have been brushing the spike with my fleece top (it's winter here ) and rocking the plant. Guess what? Yesterday, I not only brushed it, I knocked it to the floor breaking the pot and scattering the bark mix! Being the reactionary I tend to be, I threw it down the cellar steps stating in no uncertain words "It's ruined". Later when I cooled down, I went down and surveyed the damage (I thought again and took off my fleece top ) and it appeared to have come through perfect. I repotted it and placed it back on the shelf but back from where the "orchid monger" could hurt it again. Oh, and I kissed it and told it I love it just the same. Think that will help?

[cb977]

Okay...I have a new entry for this thread too!

I have a Mtdm Hawaiian Sunset 'Exotic Flame' which, for some unknown reason, was mad at me and decided to hold back on a blooming cycle for me. It usually blooms in Feb and then again at the end of summer...it skipped the summer blooms this year

Anywho...
I was checking it out a few days ago and found that there were two spikes enclosed within a new leaf that was kind of "stuck" closed I carefully opened the first one and released the spike ...then I did the same to the second one...just not so carefully

So sad to be looking at a spike on a plant one second and then looking at that same spike in the palm of your hand the next

[IdahoOrchid]

What an "interesting" thread.

I was going to keep this to myself and just move on, but....

Watering my reliable noid white phal the other day. Nice, big, fat, lengthening, 6 inch spike. While putting it back on the shelf the tip caught a vine growing from a higher shelf.

You know where phal spikes break? Yup, right below ALL the potential bud spots.

There is one node left down lower and I will leave it until it is obvious a new spike will not form.

================

Last year while going out the door with a plant destined for our clubs plant sale the three foot spike was 1.5 foot long after the door closed. The other part was still in the house.

[Island Girl]

Ooh, I know this is old, but that's rough IdahoOrchid! Closing a spike in the door!?!

So I'm reviving this thread, to share an experience of mine... I'm sure that others will come along as well, cuz accidents seem to happen to all of us! This was one of those times, where I'd been working so much (two different places & my own business to boot) and I finally had two days off, where I could get stuff around the house done... And apparently UN-done too... Lol I had waited a while to be able to have the time to get my clay pots hole-i-fied too!

EDIT: Warning!: This is sarcastically written

This past summer, I had gotten some clay pots, and some drill bits so I could drill holes in these pots, b/c I haven't been able to find any clay "orchid pots" (you know, the kind that come with holes in them all down the sides of the clay pots?) anyways, I was ONLY able to find the really cheap kind of tile/ceramic/glass drill bits, -Literally all they had-. So, it took ALL DAY to drill like 10 holes in One 4in pot (I did it gently, cuz I didn't wanna break the pot )... Got that done, potted up my new Phal hybrid, in my ~fancy new orchid pot~, in freshly soaked, brand-new media. So, the next day/afternoon, I realized my porch needed cleaning, so I mixed up a 10% bleach solution, took all my orchids off the porch & inside ~to protect them from the bleach - just in case~ and went to it.... At this point, I was feeling good about myself... Look at all this stuff I was getting done in this short time! ..Ha!! When I came back inside, I had a dustpan full of stuff to dump in the trash, (& of course I come ~inside~ to use the trash can.. instead of easily throwing all that old media, & dust bunnies, out in the yard! ) I opened the trashcan cabinet, to dump the dustpan ~which meant that the countertop that held the up-side-down crate -that hung ever-so-slightly over the edge- while my orchids innocently sat there on top of it was right behind me~ and when I dropped a piece of bark on the floor, I backed up too fast and too far trying to pick it up and..... ~Oh, did I mention that I had JUST that morning vacuumed, and mopped the whole house?~....and... everything came crashing down to my nice, clean floor... The clay pot ~my fancy new orchid pot~ had shattered, and landed on top of the Phal that was planted in it, of the four small (deliciosa - chibae hybrid) leaves, only half of one leaf was not crushed/mamed (sp?) and it was the outer half/end of the leaf. After a month of babying, heat mat, in a plastic tent... It died a slow death

I think I left that mess there (I moved the plants out from under any heavy things.. Etc. but still left everything on the floor) for like 30 min... I needed a cigarette... And to scream, I didn't wanna touch the broom or mop.. I'd just done the WHOLE HOUSE!!! Aggghhh! Lol it's laughable now, but then? Not-so-much!



Lol (I like that "evil" smilie Hehe )

[Redcliffs]

So my friend just shut a phal spike in the car door yesterday.
It was an orchid he just bought.
My biggest "accident" so far would probably be leaving a phal outside in full sun, 115 degrees and less than 10 percent humidity for a weekend. Needless to say its top leaves were fried. It did survive, took a couple years to recover though. It was just a cheap Home Depot one but it was my first orchid. That was six years ago.

[Ordphien]

My most ridiculous accident.

I entered the kitchen holding my phal amabilis, which had just sent out its first ever happy spike after a year of intense recovery.
Apparently I came in to fast, because my fiance (who was at the sink washing dishes) thought I was attempting a sneak poke attack.
He promptly turned around and victoriously performed a karate chop to fend me off.
He deftly chopped the spike off.

Did I mention that it was my first ever orchid? And first ever rescue mission? And my first time ever getting an orchid to rebloom?
I was more than a little angry.



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[escualida]

Well, not 5 minutes ago I was repotting a L. Tenebrosa which is fairly big but has never bloomed before and I broke off the brand new lead that I was sure it was going to bloom from. It's not the first time it's happened but it doesn't make it any easier.

I needed to share with you all who I know can feel my pain