Evil thing wanna hurt orchid flowers...

[orchidaddict789]

This I found very interesting (and scary). It concerns:

ethylene gas

Ethylene gas is produced when there are ripening fruits, gas stoves, cigarette smoke, car exhaust fumes, etc... It can cause flowers to close, or buds to fall off. Even a tiny, tiny amount (0.1ppm) can "injure" orchid flowers .

And I have fruits in the fruit bowl sitting in the living room, where my orchids are! What is a "safe-distance" between fruits and orchid flowers? Which orchids are most sensitive? And just wondering, can ethylene gas affect orchid health (not the flowers, but the plant itself)

Just curious!

[LJA]

Very true. It's definitely not a good idea to grow your orchid plants in the same room you have fruit ripening, or where there's a chance a pilot light can go out, or where incomplete combustion of natural gas can occur. In other words, beware of the kitchen window! Buds will *definitely* blast under any of those conditions, and I'm saying this from personal experience when I first got started.

Lily, to my knowledge, the gas only affects buds and blooms, and doesn't hurt the plant itself if it's present in those tiny quantities. We've taken double-extra precautions when venting the fumes from our greenhouse heaters to make sure the fumes go *outside.* It's a serious consideration, so if you're growing in your kitchen and noticing your buds blasting regularly, this is a very probable cause. Thanks for bringing this up, Lily.