I don't know what happened but yesterday the entire section of leaves came right off my Phal. orchid. I've attached a picture is it dead?
Looks terminal! There should have been some kind of signs that lead up to this disaster. What change did you make or what did you water the plant with?
i didnt make any changes that i know of. I don't water it much. when i do water it i use food for the phal. orchid maybe once a monthly. i guess i should throw it out now? it bloomed beautifully than all of the sudden the leaves started to get very thick and mushy, what could that be from so the same thing doesn't happed to my others.
I really recommend that you check Goggle on the cultivation of Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchids. This kind of orchid is generally grown in a fast draining mix or either bark or nowadays inert materials. It should be watered every day or every other day if you keep it in the home where the humidity is very low. This is a plant that can occur on the cliffs above bodies of water in southeast Asia. It thrives on humidity and heat. Keep it in the 70s to 90s and if you can handle providing for humidity between 70% to 80% humidity. If not then do the daily watering (you can substitute a good solid misting of the plant). I can speculate that what happened is that you let the plant get too dry and then when you fertilized the salts in the fertilizer burned the dry roots and destroyed their ability to absorb water. So again check out the net for the cultivation tips on this orchid.
Wow, see I was told that it shouldn't be watered all the time. And I was afraid I was over watering it. I have the planting mix specific to this kind of orchid it is extremely fast draining and it's mostly bark. I knew about the humidity and when i thought the room it was in was too dry I moved it. But basically there is not a chance that this plant will come back and I should start over?
great thank for all your help, what do you know about a cattleya orchid? how often should I water that? Any tips?
Here is a link to the literature on culture of cattleyas prepared by the American Orchid Society. You may want to join this society and it has a website. http://www.taygeta.com/cattleya.html
It's important to know the changes that your Phal. had! If it started become yellow ,if you had watered it too much , if u changed the place of cultivation ! The most propable is that you had an attack of fungus! It is very common in Phal . that have really sensitive leaves ...try to put some cinnamon in the vase..this may help the plant to give new leaves!
If it bloomed two times in a row, the plant looses power...sometimes i have to cut the second blooming to keep the plant strong...try the cinnamon powder but it looks terminal situation!...
I am cultivating more than 500 species of Cattleya here in Brasil! It is a beautiful orquid! You must give 50% sun , water only when the soil is dry an take care to put 1/3 of the vase in the bottom small stones so as the water can come out easily! You have to give the a good nutricion..i am using daily a Fertilizer organic with many Micro nutrient Macro nutrients and organic substance ..named Humoflor i use 7,5 ml for 5lt of water and i mix it with 3 drops of vitamin complex B and 1+1/2 drops of superthive for 5 lt of water ! I water soil and leaves for all the plants! Using organic fertilizer every 3-3 months..i am having a very good result!
500 species of Cattleya!! Am glad to see you are enjoying good success with all your plants. How about sharing some images (photos) of them? Do you have a website? Do you grow other orchids other than Cattleya? What are they?
Hello my friend! Why dont u send me your email address so we can communicate much more easier! I dont have a Website no , but i have a lot of fotos that i can share with u if you are interested.. I am cultivating mach more species, Epidendrums,Dendrobiums,Phalaenopsis,Denphal,Brassias , Brassavolas , Laelias , Coelogynes,Masdevalias ,Arundinas ,Phalaenopsis etc. total of 930 different species from which about 400Hybrids! I am cultivating in flasks too.. If you want send an email :rotgr2002@yahoo.com Where r u from? Me i am Greek but i am stayin' in Brasil where i have my green house!
Thank you all for your help, sorry it took me so long to respond, I never got an email to tell me I had replies! As far as putting stones in the vase, could you be more specific on how to do that? I have stones, do i just put the pot on top of the rocks in a vase? Thank You.
Hello again! i am attaching some fotos showing how to put the stones...the stones must cover the 1/3 of the bottom of the pot! Depending in the kind of Cattleya it may be better to fix her on a brunch of a tree cuted ..like the other foto or bark of a brunch of tree! Foto shows u how! The foto is of 3 plants C.Walkeriana 3 years old! Species that prefer that kind of cultivation are. C.Walkeriana , C.Nobilior, C.Warneri all of them go well in pot too but those 3 can breath better with nude roots. I am using for soil a material that it's named xaxim it is the inside of the trunk of a tree i will search for the cientific name and send you because xaxim is the name in Brasil so i dont know if it is the same in English! I am sending a foto to see how it is ...you have to unthread it before you use it ..when unthreaded it becomes like a thick fiber! Instead u can also use fiber of coco or even bark of pine tree cutted in small pieces like 0,2 cm each piece! I am mixing one of those three with broken vegetable carcoal carcoal without chemicals! Some people use those small stones mixed with carcoal as a soil... i am using this in 50% carcoal 50% small stones like the foto . I am using it more in Laelias but in Cattleyas works too. It is good because it doesnt spoils like the other type of soil that u have to renovate them every 2 years!I hope u will make it with the cultivation of Cattleya ..it is a wonderfull spiece of orquid! C ya !
mine came in a small plastic pot w/ drainage holes, i was told i should NOT repot it for quite a while so do i just place it in what it's in on top of rocks in another pot?
Send a foto of th plant can u? I think that the best time to repot its when it gives new roots green ones! Send a foto to see is better !
Plastic pot gives more moisture ...clay pots dry faster..depends on the umidity of the city that u r! In plastic pot water less the plant than in clay that u must water it more often!
This is what i have right now, i can get a better picture later on in the day, in the picture it is inside of a larger pot. I will post a better photo later.
I didnt knew that it was with flowers opening...in that case it is better wait till the flowering finish and the plant starts to give a new bud...then when the new bud makes some new roots u may transplant it! Nice one...whats the name? do u know? If u dont take a good pic of the flower and i can look for u the name!
ok, great. thank you. all i knew is Cattlyea, something maybe with "firework" too in the name? I'll check it out tonight.
