I left my phal in the care of my flesh colored thumb stepmother. When I
left her, there were 9 blossoms, and three buds. two weeks later, I
find an empty flower spike, and a leaf filled with water. By that I
mean, the leaf was actually squishy and at the tip there was a bubble
filled with water, about an inch thick, and two inches tall. The leaf
surface was holding this bubble of water in. What did she do to my
plant?

My other question is, I have another phal in the same pot (the grower
did that, not me) and it has a new leaf, which is about 4 inches long,
and what appears to be a flower spike, which is 3 1/2 inches long. Is
this a safe time to separate the two plants?

That squishy leaf is most probably a bacterial infection -- which might or
might not have been caused by step-mom..

The infected tissue _needs_ to be amputated if you want to save the plant --
and the liquid inside probably isn't just water; I expect it will have a
dark color and a foul odor. If so, it will spread the bacteria to anything
it touches]. So work carefully -- hold the whole thing upside down, if need
be, when you make the cut, so the infectious liquid doesn't hit the rest of
the plant(s) or run down into the potting mix. Dust the remaining "wound"
liberally with cinnamon if chemical fungicides are out of your budget or
against your "religion" G.

Chances are, a spike that short will go ahead and bloom even if you repot
now, although there is always some risk of blast. And certainly, the
healthy plant will have a better chance of long-term survival if you get it
away from the diseased one ...

Good growing,
--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids
http://www.jborchids.com

"Danielle" wrote in message
oups.com...
I left my phal in the care of my flesh colored thumb stepmother. When I
left her, there were 9 blossoms, and three buds. two weeks later, I
find an empty flower spike, and a leaf filled with water. By that I
mean, the leaf was actually squishy and at the tip there was a bubble
filled with water, about an inch thick, and two inches tall. The leaf
surface was holding this bubble of water in. What did she do to my
plant?

My other question is, I have another phal in the same pot (the grower
did that, not me) and it has a new leaf, which is about 4 inches long,
and what appears to be a flower spike, which is 3 1/2 inches long. Is
this a safe time to separate the two plants?

I pulled the leaf off as soon as I saw it, there was no reason to leave
it onm, it obviously wasn't getting any healthier. I just looked at it
and smelled it. It smells green, if that makes any sense. It doesn't
smell bad at all. and the liquid is clear? *sigh* I am never going to
figure this out...

oh, another question, since the flowers are gone off the big spike,
where should I cut it down to?

Danielle wrote:

I pulled the leaf off as soon as I saw it, there was no reason to leave
it onm, it obviously wasn't getting any healthier. I just looked at it
and smelled it. It smells green, if that makes any sense. It doesn't
smell bad at all. and the liquid is clear? *sigh* I am never going to
figure this out...


That is a weird problem you have described. I don't believe I've ever
seen anything even close to something like that. What other special
powers does you stepmother have?

Steve

That is a weird problem you are having.....if you don't know what happened
to your plant.....did you ever consider asking your step-mother,
Danielle.....?????

"Danielle" wrote in message
oups.com...
I left my phal in the care of my flesh colored thumb stepmother. When I
left her, there were 9 blossoms, and three buds. two weeks later, I
find an empty flower spike, and a leaf filled with water. By that I
mean, the leaf was actually squishy and at the tip there was a bubble
filled with water, about an inch thick, and two inches tall. The leaf
surface was holding this bubble of water in. What did she do to my
plant?

My other question is, I have another phal in the same pot (the grower
did that, not me) and it has a new leaf, which is about 4 inches long,
and what appears to be a flower spike, which is 3 1/2 inches long. Is
this a safe time to separate the two plants?

ofcourse i did she says she came in one day and everything was off,
except the buds. now the buds are gone, too.

shes really good at room decorating.... but she has no green thumb. I
gave her a cactus and she managed to kill it.... how do you do that?

....overwatering. I have frienda that do that too.

Cheers,
Xi

Danielle wrote:
shes really good at room decorating.... but she has no green thumb. I
gave her a cactus and she managed to kill it.... how do you do that?

Given the rather "uncertain" state of the health of the plant itself, I
suggest you cut the flower spike all the way down to prevent it from
spending energy trying to make secondary branches -- assuming you think the
plant is salvageable and want to put in the effort.

I say uncertain because clear, non-smelly liquid coming out of that type of
"soggy" leaf is a new one on me. Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea ...
Kenni


"Danielle" wrote in message
oups.com...
oh, another question, since the flowers are gone off the big spike,
where should I cut it down to?

oh its perfectly salvagable. (i think) Only one leaf and the blooms
were affected. everything else seems just peachy. or orchidy, i suppose

I asked an orchid grower near me and she said that it is most likely a
combination of overwatering and being too cold. Which makes sense,
except it only happened to one plant. Any comments?