Blooms Wilting?

by Amanda
(Michigan)

I just received my Phalaenopsis orchid as a gift. The leaves are green and healthy and the roots look healthy as well. I received it in full bloom but after just a week two of my blooms are drooping and look as though they are ready to fall off soon. They are still a healthy color is this normal? Does it mean I am taking care of it wrong or is it just the end of its bloom cycle?

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Jul 16, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Why Are Blooms Falling Off?
by: Melissa

Sorry it took me a while to respond to your question, I was gone and traveling.

You just received a Phalaenopsis as a gift. What a lovely gift!

It sounds like it is healthy and if the plant had all of its blooms open then the fact that they are falling off could be in the natural order of things. In great conditions Phals. can remain in flower for a long time but of course, eventually the flowers will die off.

If the plant has been in flower a while this is normal. But since it was a gift there is no way for you to know, really.

The fact that they are a healthy color is good. Things that could cause the blooms to die prematurely could be:

1) A rapid change in temperature or humidity from where it was or where it was grown to your house or situation. This can cause blossom fall or the buds to blast. And this can easily happen when you first bring a new orchid into your home or growing situation.

2) The flowers are near ripening fruit like in a kitchen or in a store where the plant was near produce. Ripening fruit gives off a gas (ethylene) naturally that speeds other fruits to ripen and would do the same to the blossoms.

3) The plant is in a container where it does not drain so the planting medium stays constantly wet or very moist. In this case the roots would begin to die and this would cause the flowers to die prematurely. For this situation, make sure the pot the orchid is in drains well. If it is in a pot that does not drain it needs to be repotted. Or if it is in a decorative pot that does not allow the orchid pot your orchid is in to drain then it needs to drain after watering before being placed in the decorative pot again.

Hope this is helpful.

Melissa
www.orchids-plus-more.com









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