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Staking Phal Flower stalks.

14 years ago

HI, I'm an old hand with houseplants, but a rookie with Orchids. I bought 4 Phals last winter to help me deal with the winter blahs, blooms died, I cut back the stalks, and now 3 of the 4 are about to bloom again. My question, the stalks (sorry I'm not sure of the correct terminoglgy for this), do they need to be staked, or should I just let them do their own thing? Also, one of my Phals has 2 stalks coming, but I noticed the newest leaf is starting to turn yellow-brown, and the leaves are maybe not as firm as they should be, like the others. Am I over watering? I water once a week, letting the water run through the pot, draining out the bottom. They don't sit in water either. I'm starting to panic, I've never had Orchids bloom for me before, I don't want to kill them with kindness. Any advice for a rookie? Thanks...Relli

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Comments (4)

donaldb
14 years ago
Staking them is the growers choice. The stake is called a spike. Needless to say in nature they are not staked. As far as the leaf goes when you water them do you make sure not to leave water in the crown of the plant? If you do it may be crown rot that caused your new leaf to yellow. When you do water check the growing medium that your "Phal" is in and make sure it really need water. Insert a wooden skewer of wooden pencil into it and check to see if it's wet. Check out the link I have posted for further information. Happy growing and don't panic. http://www.orchidaceae.com/techSheets/Phalaenopsis.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Phalaenopsis Culture
relli
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks donaldb for the advice and the correct terminology ( I should have known that). I don't water from the top, I learnt my lesson doing that to a couple of favorite violets, which developed crown rot so I'm pretty careful about that. I'm pretty sure I'm overwatering.I was going by advice I got from a book, "water weekly, weakly", maybe it's been too much. I'll let it dry out a bit more before I water again, I really want to see these Phals bloom. I'll stop obsessing about them now, and just wait and see. Thanks again..Relli
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Congrats on getting your phals to spike. That's a lot of good growing, and you should feel smug about it :). As to the single flower: Flowers on a phal spike do open one at a time. So it may be just the normal opening. Look real close at the tip of the spike: is there a little tight roundish tip? That tip often lengthens and forms additional buds, which will open while the 1st flower is still on. However, that's not the only possible scenario: it could be it's a newish plant and one flower is all it has strength for. I've had that a couple of times. In that case, be patient and your next blooming should be a lot bigger. It could be, depending on the genetics, one of those summer-bloomers that keeps developing one flower at a time over a long period of time. I've had this, too. So I would say, enjoy your flower and take it as a sign you are doing things right. Be a little patient and you may still get lots more flowers. Be a lot patient and you will get another spike with more flowers next year. As long as your phals are getting good light and put out new leaves regularly, you'll get lots of flowers from them Enjoy
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arthurm
14 years ago
Hi Relli, many of the plants you see at shows are staked, the choice is up to you. Maybe stake your plant if it has many large flowers...... the material most used is wire of appropriate thickness to achieve graceful arching of the spike.
orchid126
14 years ago
Watering weekly, weakly is good advice, depending on what the orchid is planted in and the conditions it is in. Sometimes sphagnum moss can stay very wet, even though it looks dry on top. So can other types of mixes. So can mixes that are breaking down. Donaldb's advice about the skewer is a good one. Always check to see if the plant needs water before you water.

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