leaf flop on phal
 

ok, so i've got this golden peoker daughter that i bought in bloom in
april; it's currently blooming off the 2d spike, fat, green, happy,
looks screamingly healthy, and grew a new leaf--which is falling over.
the leaf is not soft, yellow, mushy, black or any of the other things
that indicate some sort of rot--it's clear green at the base and
darker green towards the body, and looks lovely--except it wants to
flop over sideways. (and i mean WAY over sideways. like, i'm afraid it
will actually break off.) the plant is in a plastic pot in sphag with
peanuts in the bottom; when i dunked the pot and got it all very wet
last sunday, the leaf stood itself back up within about 36 hours.
last night when i came home from work, it had flopped itself over
again. clearly, there's a hysdrostatic pressure issue here--but my
concern is that if i keep the sphag (which is still wet to the touch
on the surface) wet enough to keep this leaf happy, it will cause the
roots to rot.

thoughts?? repot? stake the leaf and leave it be? this is my current
favorite plant and i don't know much about this sphag business (my
other plants are in bark and clay pots) and i don't want to kill it.
:(

thx in advance...

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

Hi Janet, Just a thought. Could it be that the leaf is trying to turn itself
for more light?
Do you turn your plants? Can't help re the sphagnum moss, don't use it.
Cheers Wendy
"janet_a" wrote in message
om...
ok, so i've got this golden peoker daughter that i bought in bloom in
april; it's currently blooming off the 2d spike, fat, green, happy,
looks screamingly healthy, and grew a new leaf--which is falling over.
the leaf is not soft, yellow, mushy, black or any of the other things
that indicate some sort of rot--it's clear green at the base and
darker green towards the body, and looks lovely--except it wants to
flop over sideways. (and i mean WAY over sideways. like, i'm afraid it
will actually break off.) the plant is in a plastic pot in sphag with
peanuts in the bottom; when i dunked the pot and got it all very wet
last sunday, the leaf stood itself back up within about 36 hours.
last night when i came home from work, it had flopped itself over
again. clearly, there's a hysdrostatic pressure issue here--but my
concern is that if i keep the sphag (which is still wet to the touch
on the surface) wet enough to keep this leaf happy, it will cause the
roots to rot.

thoughts?? repot? stake the leaf and leave it be? this is my current
favorite plant and i don't know much about this sphag business (my
other plants are in bark and clay pots) and i don't want to kill it.
:(

thx in advance...

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

Janet,

I see this all the time on Phals and other orchids that put out a burst of
growth. This is the time of year where some of these plants grow really
fast but the new growth isn't turgid enough to hold itself up.

Be careful with it at this point because it's tender and subject to damage
by clumsy gardeners, curious pets, and hungry insects.

I have been successful with putting a small bamboo stake in the pot near the
floppy growth and lean the leaf against the stake. This gives it a bit of
support until the leaf matures. BE CAREFUL....you can damage the leaf if
you handle it too much.

Left alone it will mature and probably look great but sometimes these fast
growing leaved get cockeyed on the plant and look a bit funny. That's why I
like to encourage them to grow the way I want them to grow. I'm so picky!

Good Growing,
Gene




"janet_a" wrote in message
om...
ok, so i've got this golden peoker daughter that i bought in bloom in
april; it's currently blooming off the 2d spike, fat, green, happy,
looks screamingly healthy, and grew a new leaf--which is falling over.
the leaf is not soft, yellow, mushy, black or any of the other things
that indicate some sort of rot--it's clear green at the base and
darker green towards the body, and looks lovely--except it wants to
flop over sideways. (and i mean WAY over sideways. like, i'm afraid it
will actually break off.) the plant is in a plastic pot in sphag with
peanuts in the bottom; when i dunked the pot and got it all very wet
last sunday, the leaf stood itself back up within about 36 hours.
last night when i came home from work, it had flopped itself over
again. clearly, there's a hysdrostatic pressure issue here--but my
concern is that if i keep the sphag (which is still wet to the touch
on the surface) wet enough to keep this leaf happy, it will cause the
roots to rot.

thoughts?? repot? stake the leaf and leave it be? this is my current
favorite plant and i don't know much about this sphag business (my
other plants are in bark and clay pots) and i don't want to kill it.
:(

thx in advance...

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

In article YNAPa.19$Ze.6@fed1read03, "Wendy" wrote:

Hi Janet, Just a thought. Could it be that the leaf is trying to turn itself
for more light?
Do you turn your plants? Can't help re the sphagnum moss, don't use it.
Cheers Wendy


nope, definitley not phototroping; i have a den that's trying to
phototrope itself into a pretzel. :-)

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

In article ink.net,
"Gene Schurg" wrote:

Janet,

I see this all the time on Phals and other orchids that put out a burst of
growth. This is the time of year where some of these plants grow really
fast but the new growth isn't turgid enough to hold itself up.

Be careful with it at this point because it's tender and subject to damage
by clumsy gardeners, curious pets, and hungry insects.

I have been successful with putting a small bamboo stake in the pot near the
floppy growth and lean the leaf against the stake. This gives it a bit of
support until the leaf matures. BE CAREFUL....you can damage the leaf if
you handle it too much.

Left alone it will mature and probably look great but sometimes these fast
growing leaved get cockeyed on the plant and look a bit funny. That's why I
like to encourage them to grow the way I want them to grow. I'm so picky!

Good Growing,
Gene






i thought it might be that; i've got it hooked with a tie tape to the
stake for the flower spike, so we'll see what happens. i don't mind if
it looks funny, as long as it stays healthy. :-)

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

Janet,

One other thing.....keep the water out of the crown when it's in this
condition. My personal belief is that phals are more susceptable to crown
rot when these leaves flop over. The water can't evaporate when it gets in
the fold and bacteria and other nasties start growing.

Good Growing,
Gene



"test" wrote in message
...
In article ink.net,
"Gene Schurg" wrote:

Janet,

I see this all the time on Phals and other orchids that put out a burst
of
growth. This is the time of year where some of these plants grow really
fast but the new growth isn't turgid enough to hold itself up.

Be careful with it at this point because it's tender and subject to
damage
by clumsy gardeners, curious pets, and hungry insects.

I have been successful with putting a small bamboo stake in the pot near
the
floppy growth and lean the leaf against the stake. This gives it a bit
of
support until the leaf matures. BE CAREFUL....you can damage the leaf
if
you handle it too much.

Left alone it will mature and probably look great but sometimes these
fast
growing leaved get cockeyed on the plant and look a bit funny. That's
why I
like to encourage them to grow the way I want them to grow. I'm so
picky!

Good Growing,
Gene






i thought it might be that; i've got it hooked with a tie tape to the
stake for the flower spike, so we'll see what happens. i don't mind if
it looks funny, as long as it stays healthy. :-)

--j_a

leaf flop on phal
 

In article ink.net,
"Gene Schurg" wrote:

Janet,

One other thing.....keep the water out of the crown when it's in this
condition. My personal belief is that phals are more susceptable to crown
rot when these leaves flop over. The water can't evaporate when it gets in
the fold and bacteria and other nasties start growing.

Good Growing,
Gene




oh i never get water in the crowns--i only have a dozen plants, so i
water them with a watering can and just water the medium, not the
leaves. i wipe the leaves down occasionally with a wet paper towel, and
sop up any water that accidentally gets in the leaves. that's one
lesson i've taken well from this group. ;-)

--j_a