Paph bud
- Thread starter qcia13
- Start date
Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:
did the clip crush the stem?
(and dont mist the buds)
(and dont mist the buds)
mrhappyrotter
Grand Chupacabra
To be honest, this is a situation where it's difficult for random online viewers to know for certain why this happened this time, so I wouldn't stress about it too much. Even the very best growers sometimes deal with buds blasting (another term for when flower buds suddenly die prematurely).
Misting the bud / spike probably didn't cause this, but I'm also of the opinion that it's not a best practice. Water droplets are one of the mechanisms by which pathogens can spread in a collection. From my perspective, it's better to focus on providing elevated humidity (let's say 50% or above) using a humidifier or other means if necessary and keep water off the flowers. Also, misting indoors is usually just a brief spike in humidity, which then quickly returns to the ambient humidity. Humidifiers keep the humidity a bit more stable and changes are less sudden.
If this is a newly acquired plant that was in bud/spike when you bought it, the change in conditions from the grower/seller to your home can sometimes be enough to cause buds and flowers to drop. That's especially true if the plant has endured the additional stress of shipping. Watering twice a week sounds appropriate, but your growing conditions and a myriad of different variables are at play, so it's hard to say with 100% certainty. Plus, watering needs can change over the course of time. If there's any chance the media and mix dried out a bit too much or that the mix is broken down leading to root damage, then those sorts of things can sometimes cause buds to blast.
Misting the bud / spike probably didn't cause this, but I'm also of the opinion that it's not a best practice. Water droplets are one of the mechanisms by which pathogens can spread in a collection. From my perspective, it's better to focus on providing elevated humidity (let's say 50% or above) using a humidifier or other means if necessary and keep water off the flowers. Also, misting indoors is usually just a brief spike in humidity, which then quickly returns to the ambient humidity. Humidifiers keep the humidity a bit more stable and changes are less sudden.
If this is a newly acquired plant that was in bud/spike when you bought it, the change in conditions from the grower/seller to your home can sometimes be enough to cause buds and flowers to drop. That's especially true if the plant has endured the additional stress of shipping. Watering twice a week sounds appropriate, but your growing conditions and a myriad of different variables are at play, so it's hard to say with 100% certainty. Plus, watering needs can change over the course of time. If there's any chance the media and mix dried out a bit too much or that the mix is broken down leading to root damage, then those sorts of things can sometimes cause buds to blast.
I don’t mist buds indoors… mrpotter is right… best to keep plant well watered and lots of air around it.
katzenhai2
Well-Known Member
So far I've only had problems with blossoms if they were already present at the seller. Not always, very rarely. But never in my own collection when the plant had established itself. But yes, moisture on flowers has no place there in my opinion.
So either the cause was wetting or, more likely in my opinion (if you bought the plant with a bud), a cultivation problem on the sellers side.
Personally I leave everything as it is until the stem is completely brown and dried out. It is usually the case that plants extract nutrients from wilting parts. In this respect I don't believe that it helps a plant if you remove wilting parts beforehand with the exception of parts that have turned brown or are even mushy because this in turn can be a gateway for germs. However this does not apply imho to flowers/buds.
So either the cause was wetting or, more likely in my opinion (if you bought the plant with a bud), a cultivation problem on the sellers side.
Personally I leave everything as it is until the stem is completely brown and dried out. It is usually the case that plants extract nutrients from wilting parts. In this respect I don't believe that it helps a plant if you remove wilting parts beforehand with the exception of parts that have turned brown or are even mushy because this in turn can be a gateway for germs. However this does not apply imho to flowers/buds.
