What has happened to the petals on my roth

[emydura]

I have flowered my roth 'Anisha' clone for the second time. Sadly it has turned out nothing like the first flowering where it got an AM award. The problem is the petals have not flattened out. They have just stayed very wavy. The second photo is the first time it flowered. Very disappointing to say the least. Any idea what has caused this? I did repot the orchid 6 months ago as I wasn't expecting it to flower this season. Hoping it is just a one-off but a little worried that it has happened on all three flowers.

 

[SelectOrchids]

Stress during the buds formation, it can be even when the buds were still deep inside the growth, not yet visible.

 

[big923cattleya]

I agree, most likely cause is stress early on. Probably a lack of enough water. Perhaps a little more fertilizer, but that is less likely. Chances are it is NOT insects or disease. Probably not temperature related either.

Check out the size of the fan. Are the leaves smaller, leaf spread shorter, fewer leaves? That might tell you "culture" was the cause. When it blooms with AM flowers, it is not going to regress to unawardable flowers unless the culture is off. People are always asking me in my beginners orchid classes, why don't my flowers look like those in the catalog? Lesser culture is the answer. These guys are, what, 95% water???? If the water availability is off as they form, you can't logically expect maximum potential. You could be right in the sense that repotting was the reason.

 

[emydura]

I agree, most likely cause is stress early on. Probably a lack of enough water. Perhaps a little more fertilizer, but that is less likely. Chances are it is NOT insects or disease. Probably not temperature related either.

Check out the size of the fan. Are the leaves smaller, leaf spread shorter, fewer leaves? That might tell you "culture" was the cause. When it blooms with AM flowers, it is not going to regress to unawardable flowers unless the culture is off. People are always asking me in my beginners orchid classes, why don't my flowers look like those in the catalog? Lesser culture is the answer. These guys are, what, 95% water???? If the water availability is off as they form, you can't logically expect maximum potential. You could be right in the sense that repotting was the reason.

Thanks for your feedback. The growth is beautiful and large. It would be larger than the first flowering growth. Maybe it was the repotting. I use Orchiata bark which can be a little water repellent at the beginning. So maybe a little water stress just as the buds were being initiated.

 

[Ozpaph]

i guess a bit more water but the weather has been very erratic, too.

 

[Royal Rea]

I think repotting a multi-floral needs a bit longer, a year or so to re-establish for a good flowering. The plant may struggle at 6 months, especially over a Canberra winter, the growth has slowed down, even with heat to flower in spring. Just my thoughts.

 

[PhilaGardener]

I does seem cultural, maybe humidity or watering. Third time's the charm . . .

 

[emydura]

I think repotting a multi-floral needs a bit longer, a year or so to re-establish for a good flowering. The plant may struggle at 6 months, especially over a Canberra winter, the growth has slowed down, even with heat to flower in spring. Just my thoughts.

Yes, I don't think the multi-florals like repotting. It sets them back a bit. For my bigger plants, I try and wait at least 3 years before I repot. This plant needed repotting and I wasn't expecting it to flower for at least 18 months as it had no new lead, so I thought I was safe.

 

[emydura]

I does seem cultural, maybe humidity or watering. Third time's the charm . . .

I had quite a lot of multi's flower at the same time and this was the only plant where the flowers didn't develop properly. So I don't believe there was a general cultural problem.

 

[Royal Rea]

Yes, I don't think the multi-florals like repotting. It sets them back a bit. For my bigger plants, I try and wait at least 3 years before I repot. This plant needed repotting and I wasn't expecting it to flower for at least 18 months as it had no new lead, so I thought I was safe.

When you have to repot you must re-pot. Your plant, I guess decided to give you a flowering unexpectedly. Not to worry, next flowering.