Phal petel and lip closure - Orchid Board

Clarence Wood · #1 12-12-2010, 01:48 PM

I am not a beginner but every time I get into trouble I feel like one. The problem is that over night the flowers went from open to closed. I have seen this happen on non orchid plants when preparing for night or daylight or for danger. There are 18 flowers and 14 buds. All of the flowers are affected except the 2 oldest flowers on each stem. The thought travels thru my mind that the plant has the strength to manipulate the flowers and is therefor not dying.
If anyone has any suggestions they would be welcome.
The plant is new to my collection and has been repoted. I soaked the roots in a root stimulator for about an hour before repotting.I know that some Phal's are extremely sensitive but I have never seen such an orchestrated reaction of a plant that was near to full bloom.
Elfin King-2 is the before closure photo. The lip in the 'after' photo's is hard to see because of the deep maroon color but it has actually lifted itself up. Really strange. I hope, not fatal.

Thanks for your time,
Clarence

Clarence Wood · #2 12-12-2010, 01:55 PM

The third sentence should read:
I have seen this happen on non orchid plants when preparing for night or daylight or for danger.

camille1585 · #3 12-12-2010, 02:15 PM

You say the plant is new to your collection, i'm assuming that you got it maybe a few days ago and it was already in bloom? In that case the fact the the blooms are already fading may be normal, sometimes the temperature/humidity different between the place you got it from and your home can cause blooms to blast. I got a Phal a few weeks ago, and the blooms dropped only a week after I got it. Didn't like the cold trip home.

If you've already had it at least a week, has it been exposed to strong temperature differences? (near a cool window, or in a draft). How were the roots on the plant when you repotted?

BobInBonita · #4 12-12-2010, 09:03 PM

Couple of questions to help understand what happened. What is the timeline? (How long have you had it? How long since the repot? how long before or after the repot did the problem occur?)
When you repotted, was there an issue with roots or the medium? (I generally try not to repot an orchid while in bloom because of the stress and potential for dropped blossoms.)

I suspect the stress might have caused it, but like Camille said - it might have been near the end of its bloom when you bought it. Also, just the change in conditions (the grower to the store to you) could adversely affect it.

CTB · #5 12-13-2010, 05:57 AM

Looks like it was shocked, I woudn't have used any root simulator on anything that is in bloom. If it's in bloom and I can't wait for the blooming to finish, I am super gentle and careful repotting.

Clarence Wood · #6 12-16-2010, 09:57 AM

Thanks for all the help! I am sure you are all correct. Shock
is probably the answer. I transported from the store to the cold car thru very cold weather (even though covered with thin plastic bag). And then repoted and soaked the roots in root stimulator.
By the way CTB, could you explain why root stimulator would hurt a plant in bloom; I am very interested. The solution I used was 'Quick Start' by MiracleGro which claims to 'helps prevent transplant shock'. I am not a MiracleGro fan and only use this product.

Call_Me_Bob · #7 12-17-2010, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarence Wood

Thanks for all the help! I am sure you are all correct. Shock
is probably the answer. I transported from the store to the cold car thru very cold weather (even though covered with thin plastic bag). And then repoted and soaked the roots in root stimulator.
By the way CTB, could you explain why root stimulator would hurt a plant in bloom; I am very interested. The solution I used was 'Quick Start' by MiracleGro which claims to 'helps prevent transplant shock'. I am not a MiracleGro fan and only use this product.

i dont know about that particular product, or about how roots stimulators affect the blooms. but it used on plants in spike it will cause the blooms to be distorted or the spike to abort

brush · #8 12-17-2010, 08:14 PM

I have to agree with everyone on this one , looks pretty much like plant shock due to sudden temperature changes . If you transported it in a plastic covering , in cold weather , that will surely affect it and make it even colder .

Working in retail , we are dealing with customers that purchase plants in winter . This requires us to wrap plants in a paper sleeve to protect them from the cold winter air . Paper keeps them warmer .

weng · #9 12-18-2010, 11:43 AM

Clarence, in pic 643, I notice that the flowers are dangling over the radiator. I think the droopy ones are being cooked.

Weng

Clarence Wood · #10 12-18-2010, 04:31 PM

Bob; thanks for the info.
Brush; will use paper in the future.
Weng: Plant is sitting on a wire rack that raises the plant to get more light.
The main curiosity that I tried to address was the way the blooms closed themselves up. On most of my orchids the blooms would die in a very inelegant and ugly manner. This plant, Elfen King, acted as if it was trying to protect the bloom. We use natural gas and I have thought that might have been the cause but, I have grown a lot of Orchids with natural gas without problem. Shock has to be the cause of the bloom closing, I just wish I could pin point the cause of the shock. Oh well, thank you all for your help.

Clarence