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Old 06-08-2009, 03:08 PM posted to rec.gardens.orchids
Ray B[_2_] Ray B[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2008
Posts: 198
Default What's going on with this phal?

Hi, Derek.

Such an apical inflorescence is simply a genetic hiccup that sometimes
happens, and as far as I can tell, has absolutely nothing to do with
culture, so don't beat yourself up over this one.

Unfortunately, it suggests that the plant will no longer grow normally,
so is - ultimately - a "goner". With some luck, you will get a keiki or
two that you can grow normally (I love venosa crosses), or a new growth
from the base. You might consider some "hormone therapy" using
Keiki-Grow or Keiki Pro to encourage that.

In an unrelated matter, many of us have had our ISP's drop their NNTP
servers, so these newsgroups are no longer easily accessible, so we have
begun participation in a free mailing list instead. If you join, and
post your pictures and questions there, more folks might respond:
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/orchidphotos



Ray Barkalow - First Rays LLC - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Equipment, Books, Artwork
Free Services & Lots of Info!

-----Original Message-----
From: Derek B. Noonburg ]
Posted At: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 8:57 PM
Posted To: rec.gardens.orchids
Conversation: What's going on with this phal?
Subject: What's going on with this phal?

One of my phals decided to freak out this year -- it flowered, but
very weakly, and then started growing a thin, spindly stem instead of
normal leaves.

I took a couple photos:
http://www.foolabs.com/tmp/orchid1.jpg
http://www.foolabs.com/tmp/orchid2.jpg

It's a Phal. venosa x Phal. Mount Mitchell, purchased from Odom's in
1999. It was doing great up until this year. I have three other
phals, growing in the exact same conditions (light, water,
fertilizer), and they're all doing fine.

What's wrong with this plant?

- Derek