One of my Phals just opened the first flower on its new inflorescence, and
it's missing one of the petals. I am wondering if this is necessarily a sign
of stress, or if this can just happen occasionally?

The Phal seems healthy otherwise. This is a multifloral Phal that still has
many buds on several branches of two spikes, one old spike with new branches
and one new spike, and this anomaly is on the new spike. Since this is the
first flower to open, I do not know whether the other flowers will be normal
this flowering season.

This Phal has flowered twice before in my home. The first time (in April
2004) it flowered it had some anomalies in its flowers (I don't remember
what kind of anomalies exactly), but since this was soon after I got it and
since I found a mealybug on it, I assumed that the anomalies were caused by
mealy related stress. The second time (in March 2005) it flowered normally.

Right now, this Phal has 5 healthy leaves and one lower leaf that is going
yellow (but since it is a lower leaf I assume that it's just aging). The
root system looks ok close to the surface and aerial roots are healthy and
numerous. It was last repotted about 2 years ago (as part of mealy
treatment), but the sphagnum moss still looks fresh enough to me.

What should I do (other than observe it more carefully from now on)? Any
ideas of what can cause such an anomaly?

Thanks,
Joanna

Joanna: I would be a little concerned that it could be stress from carrying
so many flowers, for so long, without a break. More so if it's a modern,
complex hybrid, less so if it's a species or very simple hybrid. The former
are more likely to "bloom themselves to death." If the rest of the flowers
on this new spike open normally, and you don't lose any more leaves, then
it's probably just a "quirk." If flowers continue to open malformed, or if
you see another leaf starting to go real soon, then you might need to
consider cutting some spikes to force the plant into "grow" mode. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:bmHMf.2071$DT.1514@trnddc06...
One of my Phals just opened the first flower on its new inflorescence, and
it's missing one of the petals. I am wondering if this is necessarily a
sign of stress, or if this can just happen occasionally?

The Phal seems healthy otherwise. This is a multifloral Phal that still
has many buds on several branches of two spikes, one old spike with new
branches and one new spike, and this anomaly is on the new spike. Since
this is the first flower to open, I do not know whether the other flowers
will be normal this flowering season.

This Phal has flowered twice before in my home. The first time (in April
2004) it flowered it had some anomalies in its flowers (I don't remember
what kind of anomalies exactly), but since this was soon after I got it
and since I found a mealybug on it, I assumed that the anomalies were
caused by mealy related stress. The second time (in March 2005) it
flowered normally.

Right now, this Phal has 5 healthy leaves and one lower leaf that is going
yellow (but since it is a lower leaf I assume that it's just aging). The
root system looks ok close to the surface and aerial roots are healthy and
numerous. It was last repotted about 2 years ago (as part of mealy
treatment), but the sphagnum moss still looks fresh enough to me.

What should I do (other than observe it more carefully from now on)? Any
ideas of what can cause such an anomaly?

Thanks,
Joanna

Kenni,

Thanks for the advice. I am thinking of cutting off both spikes if I see any
additional flower anomalies or if a second leaf goes yellow soon.

However, I may have not explained the "old" spike correctly, and given the
wrong impression. This spike was in bloom from March 2005 until May 2005
only, and since May 2005 it has remained green but not carrying any flowers
or buds, until recently (in January 2006) when it grew new branches. The new
spike (which the anomalous flower is on) was initiated in November 2005. So
this Phal has had a rest (between May 2005 and November 2005), unless a
green spike but without buds or flowers is not enough rest, but I thought it
was (?). So I would not think that flowering itself to death applies to this
orchid at this point.

This Phal also grew a new leaf at some point, although that new leaf is
smaller than the ones below it, and unfortunately I do not remember how new
the leaf is (since I do not track new leaves in my database), and thus I
unfortunately don't know whether the fact that it is not as large as the
others is a sign of non-optimal leaf growth or whether it is just not fully
grown yet and will be bigger than the older leaves with time.

As for what kind of a hybrid it is: I think it is a modern complex hybrid.
It's a "Dtps Taisuco Lotus x Dtps Taisuco Bobbie", so technically it is a
Doritaenopsis, not a Phal, but it's not really like a Doritis at all, so
it's far removed from that part of it's heritage. It's one of those that
have many branches and many flowers, and the flowers are pink with white
streaks in them -- those streaks make each flower look slightly different,
which is neat.

This is one of my husband's favorites in my orchid collection, and I am fond
of it too, so I would not want to risk losing it, and thus if I see
additional signs of stress, the spikes will both go. I can always put the
cut spikes in a vase, and I know that at least some of the buds will open
even on cut spikes.

Again thanks for your advice! If you (or anyone else) have any other advice,
now that I have clarified the misunderstanding about no rest from flowering,
please let me know.

Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Joanna: I would be a little concerned that it could be stress from
carrying so many flowers, for so long, without a break. More so if it's a
modern, complex hybrid, less so if it's a species or very simple hybrid.
The former are more likely to "bloom themselves to death." If the rest of
the flowers on this new spike open normally, and you don't lose any more
leaves, then it's probably just a "quirk." If flowers continue to open
malformed, or if you see another leaf starting to go real soon, then you
might need to consider cutting some spikes to force the plant into "grow"
mode. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:bmHMf.2071$DT.1514@trnddc06...
One of my Phals just opened the first flower on its new inflorescence,
and it's missing one of the petals. I am wondering if this is necessarily
a sign of stress, or if this can just happen occasionally?

The Phal seems healthy otherwise. This is a multifloral Phal that still
has many buds on several branches of two spikes, one old spike with new
branches and one new spike, and this anomaly is on the new spike. Since
this is the first flower to open, I do not know whether the other flowers
will be normal this flowering season.

This Phal has flowered twice before in my home. The first time (in April
2004) it flowered it had some anomalies in its flowers (I don't remember
what kind of anomalies exactly), but since this was soon after I got it
and since I found a mealybug on it, I assumed that the anomalies were
caused by mealy related stress. The second time (in March 2005) it
flowered normally.

Right now, this Phal has 5 healthy leaves and one lower leaf that is
going yellow (but since it is a lower leaf I assume that it's just
aging). The root system looks ok close to the surface and aerial roots
are healthy and numerous. It was last repotted about 2 years ago (as part
of mealy treatment), but the sphagnum moss still looks fresh enough to
me.

What should I do (other than observe it more carefully from now on)? Any
ideas of what can cause such an anomaly?

Thanks,
Joanna

It's really not that unusual for a hybrid to have a deformed flower, and the
number of leaves sounds about right for a healthy phal. I wouldn't rush to
condemn this plant, or change anything you're doing with it.
-danny

Joanna: I don't really have anything to add, but your further explanation
does make it sound more likely that this is just a "quirk" rather than a
serious problem with your plant. If a couple more flowers open normal, then
you can pinch that bottom one off and only you (and all of us you've told
about it G). will know about it. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:xEPMf.25556$3W5.18527@trnddc02...
Kenni,

Thanks for the advice. I am thinking of cutting off both spikes if I see
any additional flower anomalies or if a second leaf goes yellow soon.

However, I may have not explained the "old" spike correctly, and given the
wrong impression. This spike was in bloom from March 2005 until May 2005
only, and since May 2005 it has remained green but not carrying any
flowers or buds, until recently (in January 2006) when it grew new
branches. The new spike (which the anomalous flower is on) was initiated
in November 2005. So this Phal has had a rest (between May 2005 and
November 2005), unless a green spike but without buds or flowers is not
enough rest, but I thought it was (?). So I would not think that flowering
itself to death applies to this orchid at this point.

Thank you Danny and Kenni,
Additional flowers have opened by now, and they are normal, so I am assuming
that the missing petal is just a quirk.
Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Joanna: I don't really have anything to add, but your further explanation
does make it sound more likely that this is just a "quirk" rather than a
serious problem with your plant. If a couple more flowers open normal,
then you can pinch that bottom one off and only you (and all of us you've
told about it G). will know about it. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:xEPMf.25556$3W5.18527@trnddc02...
Kenni,

Thanks for the advice. I am thinking of cutting off both spikes if I see
any additional flower anomalies or if a second leaf goes yellow soon.

However, I may have not explained the "old" spike correctly, and given
the wrong impression. This spike was in bloom from March 2005 until May
2005 only, and since May 2005 it has remained green but not carrying any
flowers or buds, until recently (in January 2006) when it grew new
branches. The new spike (which the anomalous flower is on) was initiated
in November 2005. So this Phal has had a rest (between May 2005 and
November 2005), unless a green spike but without buds or flowers is not
enough rest, but I thought it was (?). So I would not think that
flowering itself to death applies to this orchid at this point.