Mealybugs on Phal - Repot asap or after blooms fall?
heather1023
8 years ago
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heather1023
8 years agoRelated Discussions
phal leaves falling (but not dry), flowers wilted :(
Comments (6)Caring for houseplants, and that is what orchids in the home are, is not intuitieve nor 'easy'. It can be easier than it is sometimes made (i.e. 'it's easy when you know how) but specialist knowledge needs to be on hand. Someone with basic knowlege of houseplant culture would know that a 1/2 cup of water (4 ounces) is nothing. Nor would repeating an application of four ounces of water in 24 hours be cause for alarm. When I get new plants I hit each of them with a full quart (24 ounces) because I don't know when they last had a drink and also I want to get them started on my schedule. The lions share of that quart will run out of the pot but I can be certain the bark is well wetted. I am not certain of what could cause new plants to decline so spectacularly in so short a time but it is probably environmental: draft, too close to heat register, too cold, too hot, etc. I think the present plants are a write-off. If the o.p. really wants to get involved with orchids and try again I would suggest getting the "All About Growing Houseplants" by Ortho as well as their "All About Growing Orchids". I've seen the houseplant title for 99 cents. FWIW. H...See MoreHelp! Phal flowers dropping after 3 days
Comments (9)If the new buds are opening and falling after only a few days,it can be humidity,phals like to be a little moist.but I am also wondering about the alcohol spray,did you also spray the unopen buds or the roots? Remember the roots acts like a sponge so if the roots were sprayed then it would absorb the alcohol. Not good.i think if you could post a pic so we could see the plant then someone could be of better help.velleta...See MoreRe-potting Phalaenopsis while in bloom
Comments (12)I think if your plant is so root bound you feel it needs to be repotted, then do it. I’ve repotted all of my orchids (I have to phal, a zygopetalum and a beallara) when they were blooming and they didn’t miss a beat. It’s in how you handle them when repotting. Be careful of the leaves, don’t break roots, etc. I hold the plant in one hand while repotting- i don’t set the plant down unless it’s in a stable pot so that doesn’t tip over and allow the plant to hit the ground. Prep work is important. Get all set up beforehand so you don’t have to stop during repot. But if you do have to stop to get something, make sure you have a temporary landing spot set up for the orchid where it’ll be safe from mechanical damage (tipping, bumping things, etc). And have fun during the repot. You’re helping a plant have future (healthy) blooms that you can enjoy!! PS Jersey Girl- while I don’t like sphagnum as a potting medium that I would add, one of my orchids came packed in sphagnum. It’s doing well, but I wouldn’t wait too long to repot in a bark mix. I waited almost too long, and the roots were rubbery feeling. It was close to the edge of thinking about rotting. A little sphagnum is ok, not a lot for long term- like in your photo....See MoreSerious CHC concerns after repotting.
Comments (19)Blue, you talk about watering "as I thought needed" and you refer to "I think they get enough lighting". For some of us such 'seat of the pants' flying is unacceptably instinctual. If it works at all is fairly easy to determine but if there are problems then perhaps a move to more objective methods is in order? Beginning with light, of course, it rarely is enough in North America in the best of places. Indoors is even worse. There simply is no leeway for niceties like 'diffused' or 'dappled' or 'bright shade'. Truth be told, greenhouse growers in the north latitudes use shadecloth to control temperature not to reduce light levels!! So, no, I don't think you have sufficient light unless you are supplementing the dappled west window light with artificial light. I find that a fixed day of the week (or two) on which to water does less harm than the catch as catch can approach. With CHC, or any medium for that matter, you are not so much waiting for the medium to reach a certain level of dryness before you water again as you are topping up the reservoir of water held in suspension before it runs completely dry. Read that again, everyone. It is key to the overwhelming misconception about watering orchids in North America and similar environs. In situ when an orchid receives rain the many crannies in the bark of its mount and the overgrowths of moss and the usual high humidity of the sub/tropical environment all conspire to ensure that rarely if ever will the roots see anything approaching total dryness. Not just phals but Catts too. Climb a tree some summer afternoon when it hasn't rained in days. The bark will have a vaguely damp feel to it and this is quite enough. In a tropical environment the bark would be damper still. When you water a pot full of bark the moisture level will still be quite high the next day, the day after that and maybe even the day after that. In nature although still not totally dry, the root environment will admittely be much less soggy than in the pot. Do you really think that waiting seven days to water again gives the roots anything approaching a natural wet/dry cycle? No it doesen't. Nor do you want it to for in North America, especially indoors, we haven't the humidity levels nor the guarantee of daily rainfal or dew, etc. We may as well learn to rely on the inbuilt capacity of the medium to ensure that adequate gas exchange is possible regardless of the amount of moisture present and water as often as neccessary to ensure that the moisture level never falls below zero. But as far as there being a maximum, there is no such thing. Every day watering while wasteful of water should not be harmful if other aspects of culture are exemplary! In North America, however, things are rarely exemplary and a whole regime of countermeasures has arisen to compensate for reduced light, low humidity, temerature extremes, etc. I haven't seen these measures work to my satisfaction so I am trying (and preaching) a method of creating the environment that promotes vigorous growth and development of the orchid like natural conditions do rather than attempting via water starvation regimens to forestall problems brought about by insufficient light and/or insufficient daytime max temp (in winter), low humidity, etc. Finally, from Blue's language I am pretty certain, like Clara, that s/he is referring to CHC and not coir. And I do believe CHC can be obtained pressed into bricks though mine did come loose in a bag. H...See Morejane__ny
8 years agoBill
8 years agoheather1023
8 years agoBill
8 years agoheather1023
8 years agoheather1023
8 years agoBill
8 years agoheather1023
8 years agojane__ny
8 years ago
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