The Orchid Garden

Orchid flowers

Question:

How long do the actual flowers live?  They do die eventually, right?  I have a Phal which I brough home about five weeks ago.  Just yesterday, I noticed one flower was wilted.  When I got home two more were wilted.  Am I in trouble? Should I repot? Thanks for your help….

Response:

Some Phal flowers can seem almost ‘plastic’ with regard to long live.  They can live for months.  Others last only a few weeks.  Before you repot, check the condition of the roots and the condition of the ‘media’ in the pot. Also feel the leaves.  Are they plum and firm or do the feel soft?  The frequency of watering is important.  Let us know… I believe Venger’s Orchids has a file available with repotting information. It has excellent advice.  (I can’t remember the URL, but stand by I suspect it will come to you…) -Al-

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -How long do the actual flowers live?  They do die eventually, right?  I have a Phal which I brough home about five weeks ago.  Just yesterday, I noticed one flower was wilted.  When I got home two more were wilted.  Am I in trouble? Should I repot? Thanks for your help….

Response:

Some Phal flowers can seem almost ‘plastic’ with regard to long live.  They can live for months.  Others last only a few weeks.  Before you repot, check the condition of the roots and the condition of the ‘media’ in the pot. Also feel the leaves.  Are they plum and firm or do the feel soft?  The frequency of watering is important.  Let us know… I believe Venger’s Orchids has a file available with repotting information. It has excellent advice.  (I can’t remember the URL, but stand by I suspect it will come to you…)

Right again, Al! Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/

Response:

Some Phal flowers can seem almost ‘plastic’ with regard to long live.  They can live for months.  Others last only a few weeks.  Before you repot, check the condition of the roots and the condition of the ‘media’ in the pot. Also feel the leaves.  Are they plum and firm or do the feel soft?  The frequency of watering is important.  Let us know… I believe Venger’s Orchids has a file available with repotting information. It has excellent advice.  (I can’t remember the URL, but stand by I suspect it will come to you…)

Right again, Al. The URL is http://vengers.com/culture/booklet.htm Section II is the article on repotting. -Rod- Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/

Response:

and here it is: http://vengers.com/faq/faq14toc.htm -Al-

Response:

One of my Phalaenopsis has held the same flowers since December! It is a huge unknown pink hybrid, and is now in the process of forming new flower buds at the end of it’s 3+ foot long spike! Geez. How long have others had their Phalaenopsis stay in bloom without cutting back the stem? Scott Mcphee

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Some Phal flowers can seem almost ‘plastic’ with regard to long live.  They can live for months.  Others last only a few weeks.  Before you repot, check the condition of the roots and the condition of the ‘media’ in the pot. Also feel the leaves.  Are they plum and firm or do the feel soft?  The frequency of watering is important.  Let us know… I believe Venger’s Orchids has a file available with repotting information. It has excellent advice.  (I can’t remember the URL, but stand by I suspect it will come to you…) -Al- How long do the actual flowers live?  They do die eventually, right?  I have a Phal which I brough home about five weeks ago.  Just yesterday, I noticed one flower was wilted.  When I got home two more were wilted.  Am I in trouble? Should I repot? Thanks for your help….

Response:

How long do the actual flowers live?  They do die eventually, right?  I have a Phal which I brough home about five weeks ago.  Just yesterday, I noticed one flower was wilted.  When I got home two more were wilted.  Am I in trouble? Should I repot? Thanks for your help….

It depends on the type.  My Grandparents gave me a Taipe Gold x Fortune Budda in January.  It was in full bloom at the time and it still has 2 flowers left on second of the 2 spikes.  It has been the most amazing plant.  It did start to worry me when the top most leaf turned black at the base and fell off.  I covered the wound with cinnamon and the rest of the leaves seem okay so far.  The was almost a month ago. Take care!                       _..              ;-._   .’   `            .’    `/       ;         .–;   . ( .’      ’.         Pass the Tissue!        / _  _  ’./ _.       `-._       {= (|  )     /`.         /       ( =_/  )__..-         .’            }/    / ;.____.-;/         ‘–’ |  .’   |                      ’    /       |.               )    .’`-.    /       jgs      /__.-’     _.’    

Response:

Phals can easily bloom for 2-3 months without fading. It all depends on how old the flowers were when you purchased the plants. If all flowers were open, chances are the earlier blooms (lower down the stem) will fade first and fall off. They may look good, but they may have been in bloom for several weeks already.  If you find that the more recently opened blooms are falling off, it could be a number of things, including insufficient moisture, excessively dry air, too high temperatures, or pollutants in the air. Sometimes if a plant has poor roots or is unhappy it will be unable to sustain its blooms. If your plant has  turgid green leaves and appears to be healthy, then I woudn’t worry. If it does not look happy, I would cut off the flower spike (put in water) and repot the plant in fresh mix. An unhealthy plant can die under the burden of maintaining flowers.  I hope this helps. Yassir Islam ARGUS ORCHDS ’specializing in sensational slipper orchids’ http://www.argusorchids.com * weekly specials* – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How long do the actual flowers live?  They do die eventually, right?  I have a Phal which I brough home about five weeks ago.  Just yesterday, I noticed one flower was wilted.  When I got home two more were wilted.  Am I in trouble? Should I repot? Thanks for your help….

Response:

One of my Phalaenopsis has held the same flowers since December! It is a huge unknown pink hybrid, and is now in the process of forming new flower buds at the end of it’s 3+ foot long spike! Geez. How long have others had their Phalaenopsis stay in bloom without cutting back the stem? Scott Mcphee

I’ve had an unknown Dtps hybrid that’s been in bloom since Jan. and 2 Phal hybrids that’s been in bloom since Nov.  Of course the blooms on all 3 were sequential and I would guess the most current blooms are only a week or so younger that the first blooms.  On one of the Phal, I’m experiencing the same thing as you, Scott.  The flower bud has been forming for the past month and is still getting bigger. Carol

Response:

I have a Phal that has flowers that can each last 5 months. More often they only last about 4 months probably due to less than ideal conditions of one sort or another. I bought that plant in 1975 and it was my first ever orchid. Of all the plants that came later none can last as long. Steve

Response:

I have a Phal that has flowers that can each last 5 months. More often they only last about 4 months probably due to less than ideal conditions of one sort or another. I bought that plant in 1975 and it was my first ever orchid. Of all the plants that came later none can last as long. Steve

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – I have an unnamed hybrid that stayed in bloom almost that long once. Then immediately formed a new bloom spike six months after the first. Next year it did not bloom at all, and this year held the blooms only for a couple of months because I offended it in some way.   It is extrememly sensitive to a zillion factors in its environment  (Iight, temp,  esp. temp of the water I use,  fertilizer, and what it’s climate was like for the past year.   Now it’s lost half it’s leaves because the power was off last winter,  it got a chill and stupid me gave it a drink of cold water. Congratulate yourself.  You must have given your plant  exactly what it wanted for several months.  Keep doing it if you can figure out what it is.  Then clue us in. –Carroll

Response:

Hi, My favorite phal species is Phal. schilleriana  Unfortunately it’s flowers last about a month or so (maybe a bit longer)  and open up along the spike almost sequentially, so that old flowers are fading as the last starts to bloom.  Unfortunately it also passes on a bit of this trait to many siblings in a grex to the first and second generation, (personal observation).  I got a stem prop of "pink butterfly" AM/AOS which is getting pretty big.  I am hoping that it might show off just a little longer than others of the same species… -Al- Phals can easily bloom for 2-3 months without fading. It all depends on how old the flowers were when you purchased the plants. If all flowers were…

-snip- – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Yassir Islam ARGUS ORCHDS ’specializing in sensational slipper orchids’ http://www.argusorchids.com * weekly specials*

Response:

Filed under: Phalaenopsis Orchid

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