Bud Blast! Hate spag!
 

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to stop bud blasts from spreading. I got a phal for my 1 year anniversary with my partner (our love plant - have you seen the movie how to lose a guy in 10 dates hahah) and he'll be mad if I kill it. It's very tightly packed into spag, which is the norm here in Vancouver (I don't think Ive seen another phal with any other medium here).

Long story short, I got it, it was quite dry already. I waited another 2 and a half weeks before I gave it some water (and I used a stick to see if it was dry and it was). I measured the water out, 1/4 of a shot glass (1 ounce) of water, desperately trying not to overwater it. Seems I made a mistake, as it had three open flowers, and the next day after watering, two more opened (i thought this was a great sign). The following day, the three original flowers became blasted. So I took the plant out of the pot and placed it infront of a fan to dry it ASAP. Well, I've lost now three more flowers (for a total of 6).

It has a ton more buds that have yet to open. I'm worried that the blast will spread. Is there anything I can do to stop a bud blast in its tracts? Its got a little bit of root rot right now, but there are some roots that are doing very well. Unfortunately, the spag is really tightly packed in, so theres not much air circulation getting into the middle of the bulb, although I've taken the whole plant out of the potter and placed it in a softly lite area. What are the survival chances? I'd loved to change the medium, but I'm afriad I'll lose all of the buds. I have a mixture of bark/tight bit of spag & peralite I got from an orchid show a month ago.

If pictures are needed let me know. I'm posting this at work, so I'd have to post them later tonight.

Thanks for the help (trying not to kill another poor phal - my home is where they come to die).

Are you sure the roots are rotting? If it was dried out then it might be blasting buds for that reason. It's best not to disturb the roots during flowering, but it seems you've unpotted it now. I would go ahead and repot it with the spag just don't pack it in there super tight. When I water my phals I dunk them up to the top of the pot and let them sit for a little while to get nice and wet. Then I just let it dry out over the week and repeat once a week.

I'm fairly certain the roots are not overly dry - I'll let you guys decide on that... In the past, the problem I've had is overwatering my phals, causing root rot, and so now I've been paranoid about watering them at all! Ugh! I'll post some pictures tonight. I've unpotted the orchid, but I haven't removed the spag, so as not to cause further bud blast.

Read http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html
It will have the information you seek.

Pictures will definitely help with analysis. We also need to know your growing conditions (light, humidity, temps), pot type (terra cotta, plastic-slotted, plastic net, wood basket, etc) and anything else that might impact your plant.

There is a bulb in the middle? Phals don't have bulbs.

From your description of watering, I suspect it may be underwatered.

As a fellow sphag loather, I would immediately repot into my preferred media appropriate to my climate and habits. A healthy Phal will bounce back.

If you've only given it 1 oz of water when it was already dry(sphag is crunchy), I would soak the root mass for at least 30 minutes. As with all Phals, keep the water away from the crown.

I find when I bring a Phal home, there is an acclimation period that can be tricky. Over watering, or under watering, during the acclimation, can be big trouble. I agree with the others it might be under watered in this case. When the flowers are developing it needs a bit more - couple that with environment shock, and they can drop. I lost a half a plants worth of flowers this way once.

What you're describing is not bud blast, it's just flowers dying. Bud blast is when the bud turns yellow or brown and doesn't open at all. Orchids are most sensitive to environmental changes when they're in bud. Changing the environmental conditions while they are opening can cause the buds to fail or flowers to die prematurely. For some strange reason orchids are much less sensitive once the flowers are fully open. Any time you give a phalaenopsis as a gift, you're better off giving one that has the flowers already open rather than on that's in bud. At least that's my opinion.

I suspect that the flowers died because the orchid was too dry. Phals don't have pseudobulbs so they can't tolerate dry conditions for long. That's especially true when they're trying to bloom. Flowers are 90% water so the orchid needs moisture in order to open those flowers. You said the plant was fairly dry and then you waited two and a half weeks before watering. That sounds too dry to me. After all the stress on that plant, any flowers that do open, probably won't last long.

Repot in a good mix and give it good care. Next year it may reward you with some new blooms.

Tucker pretty much said it all. 1 ounce of water in a two week time period is not nearly enough to support a blooming orchid of any kind.

heres some pictures
what do you think

Its still hard to tell from the pics.

The roots look dried out (not firm and plump) and the leaves thin and floppy. I would definitely soak it.

I don't see any rot (still possible in the middle). Repotting is up to you. You might lose the blooms but you will find out what the center moss mass looks like.

Definitely looks dehydrated. That is why the leaves are droopy and it is shedding the bottom two. I would just repot now. If you are careful the spike may be just fine and continue to bloom. If not at least the orchid will live to bloom again.

Alright, I'm going heed some advice... I've let it soak for a little while, so I'll give it a week and hopefully it heals itself. The leaves have yet to wrinkle so there still may be some hope

Alrighty, so I soaked the spag yesterday morning, and came home to check out how my 'love' phal was doing.

The spag was still soaking wet, so I carefully ran water over it and loosened/pulled off the spag. The roots look very healthy, although overly a few are overly dry. I think the day of soaking helped the overly dry ones. After pulling the spag off, I gently/carefully repotted it in the same pot (perfect size still) with some orchid medium bark that I got last month at an orchid show (mostly bark, a little bit of spag, some perlite I think [little white spongey rocks).

So, I'm crossing my fingers that with some attention, more water (now that the medium drys significantly quickers), and the fact that I can see the roots, I won't lose anymore buds, and my new phal will thrive at home.

Since I've switched the medium, should I water the phal everytime the medium is dry-ish (for example, the roots appear dry, no condensation on the pot, the medium appears dry) or should I be cautious because this could over water the roots????

Give it a nice soak in some water. :) It is thirsty. Whenever I water mine I give them a good, long soak. Granted, they're potted in bark. I have no experience with sphag moss. But your orchid is thristy. And pretty.

When the roots look silvery, it's time to water. After a good soak the roots will be green. If you did not pre-soak the bark before repotting, your Phal. will need watering more often, but in time the bark will hold moisture better. Just look at the roots and you will know when to water. Good Luck!

Tucker is right....it is dehydrated.
You inherited it dry and waited two and a half weeks to give it an ounce of water??!!
Your plant growing insticts are way off....
I'd get it out of the sphag under flowing water in the sink carefully not breaking any healthy roots (make sure there is no moss ball at the center of the roots) and repot it with whatever media mix you mentioned. I think you can use the same pot.
The running water helping you clean the roots will help hydrate it but not rot the crown.
Then find your watering and fertilizer regimen according to your grow zone and your indoor environment.

---------- Post added at 08:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 PM ----------

you repotted already ...that is good

Even if you leave a newly bought orchid in the same pot it came with and disturb it as little as possible, the plant is still under stress from the shipping and time in the store, and needs to adjust yet again to a new environment and new conditions when you get it home. Some bud/flower loss at that time is very common. From the plant's perspective, the worst time to be sold is while it is in bloom-- but that's when they sell, so it happens all the time. Some folks actually chop off all the blooming spikes right away to encourage the plant to focus on new roots. Don't be too attached to the flowers; more will come if the plant is healthy. My new phals have kept most of the flowers they arrived with, but the new buds are all going kaput. I don't mind since the roots seem happy.

Phal leaves are usually very firm and stiff. For them to bend like what we see in the pictures, they're wilting. If the plant ever "seems dry", go ahead and water it! As long as the plant has good air flow around the roots, and the water can drain well, it should be pretty content.

I'm pretty new myself, so I like to use transparent containers so I can see what's happening in there.

I bought bamboo skewers at wally world it's like a dollar for a billion of them. I keep them in my orchids and pull them out every few days. If the skewer is dry, I soak. If not, I wait.

Give the bark a good soaking by setting it in water again and then mentally note how heavy it feels. In about a week or less it should be dry again and will feel considerably lighter. Using a wooden skewer also works, you'll eventually just get a feel for it by picking the pot up.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've killed a ton of orchids from overwatering (which is why I've underwatered this one pretty significantly).

I was wondering if anyone knows how long it takes for the leaves to become firm again? They're not wilted/rigid yet, just leathery and floppy.

I put it in new medium (bark mostly) on Wednesday after a good soaking. Came home yesterday and it was dry again (no condensation, roots appear white not green), so I gave it another soaking for about 5-10 minutes (roots appear plump and green). Hopefully when I get home, its dry-ish. . . Again, I'd rather have it slightly underwatered then cause root rot (seriously killed at least 10-15 phals in the past year from it). If its dry when I get home, I'll soak it tomorrow morning.

So, any idea how long it takes for the leaves to get firm again?

Many phals are sold here super tightly packed in moss as well. Sometimes they come in bark, which is much easier to deal with.
Anyways, I am lazy as far as repotting. so I only do it when it is absolutely called for.
Also I try not to disturb the plant in bloom.

With that said, two of the latest phals bought from Whole Foods Market about three months ago, are now out of bloom and started to grow new leaves. They are still in the tightly packed moss. I probably need to repot as some roots don't look that great.

Both plants were in bloom for about three months without losing a single flower. I watered them about once every week or ten days, but little bit, say, half cup. The focus was to keep them hydrated but not drowning them.

Flowers can prematurely drop for a number of reasons as Tucker pointed out above.

The best thing I would do in your situation, to take some of those moss out and put the plant back in its pot. was the moss very moist when you took it out of the pot? you mentioned you had to fan dry it.
I was surprised because you watered only 1 oz of water in two weeks.

I would also check if you have cold draft hitting the plant. Are there ripe fruits nearby?
These are also common reasons for flowers (and buds) drop.

I don't know that much about orchids but I will tell you that I soak mine for about 30 minutes. One of them has a weak root system so I dunk the whole thing for 30 minutes or so first thing in the morning so as the crown can dry. I'm also paranoid so I get in there with a q-tip also to dry it out. Every morning I mist them too before I leave. My one guy that gets very dehydrated from crap roots usually perks up within a day or two...but idk what your conditions are.

I dont think watering it every 10 days to 2 weeks is bad where you live in the winter especially. Vancouver is very damp and rainy in the spring. Im in Kelowna BC and im watering every 10 days to 2 weeks. I checked my orchids this morning and they are still damp in the centers and i havent watered for over 2 weeks (2 weeks and one day).My house is on the cool side 63-68f. Come summer and hot temps that would obviously change. Ive put bamboo sticks from the dollar store in all of them, it works wonders =) I think maybe you just waited a bit to long to water it if it was already dry when you got it=)