Really upset

[eaglssong]

Yesterday, I brought home my first orchid, Phal Baldan's Kaleidoscope Golden Treasure...... or at least, that's what we think it is, since there was no tag to be found.

Now, I was trying to secure one of the spikes, because it looked like it was sort of slipping down a bit through the butterfly clip. That's the spike where one of the flowers was already looking like it is ready to drop off, and now a second one is starting to fold up a little. Well, while adjusting the clip, the entire spike just came right out of the pot. It wasn't attached to anything resembling a plant!!! And I'm fairly sure that's the way it was when I bought it. No wonder it looks pale and brownish. Someone just stuck it into the medium.

The good news? There's another spike that seems firmly affixed, and is a lovely shade of deep green, and very healthy looking.

So, hopefully, my beautiful Phal and I will have a long and happy relationship. Me and my local big box store? Not so much!!

[ischel1]

A piece of unsolicited advice. If your new phal is planted in moss, I would change it immediately to orchid bark. Growers ship orchids with sphag packed around the roots. This has a tendency to rot the roots in no time. At least this has been my experience. Good luck.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

A very similar thing happened to me at an orchid society meeting. A boxstore that had a bunch of phals that were loosing their blooms were throwing out the plants. A member of the society asked if they would donate the 'dieing' plants to our orchid club. They did and we sold them to our members. I purchased two phals with labels. I immediately unpotted the one that still had a few blooms on it and found that in fact it was two different plants in the same pot. One plant had healthy leaves and ok roots, but the other was the one with the spike and it was wired to the healthy plant. It had no leaves and the roots were all rotted off. Someone literally wired a dead plant with spike to a plant that had healthy leaves. I was so surprised. Of course I threw away the dieing spike and its dead plant and potted up the phal. The other phal in a separate pot was fine. Both survived.

Cheers,
BD

[eaglssong]

Thanks, but all I see is bark in the pot. I would presume it goes all the way down to the bottom of the pot.

I'm going to leave that spike where it is for now, for as long as the two remaining flowers live. Funny thing is the top is nice and green (where the flowers are). And like I said, the other spike looks really healthy, as do the leaves, so all is not lost. I'm just upset at the thought that they would just stick that spike in the pot and pretend it's growing (if that's indeed what happened).

I think that from now on, I'll got to a greenhouse or nursery in the area, even if I have to travel further than I did.

[eaglssong]

A very similar thing happened to me at an orchid society meeting. A boxstore that had a bunch of phals that were loosing their blooms were throwing out the plants. A member of the society asked if they would donate the 'dieing' plants to our orchid club. They did and we sold them to our members. I purchased two phals with labels. I immediately unpotted the one that still had a few blooms on it and found that in fact it was two different plants in the same pot. One plant had healthy leaves and ok roots, but the other was the one with the spike and it was wired to the healthy plant. It had no leaves and the roots were all rotted off. Someone literally wired a dead plant with spike to a plant that had healthy leaves. I was so surprised. Of course I threw away the dieing spike and its dead plant and potted up the phal. The other phal in a separate pot was fine. Both survived.

Cheers,
BD

Sorry Bruce. We were typing at the same time. You were lucky. Mine isn't even wired!! I'm sorry it happened to you, but I gotta tell you, it makes me feel a little better to know I'm not the only one!!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Sorry Bruce. We were typing at the same time. You were lucky. Mine isn't even wired!! I'm sorry it happened to you, but I gotta tell you, it makes me feel a little better to know I'm not the only one!!

I really was surprised that someone would do that. I suppose s/he thought it would help sell a plant that did not have an spike. I guess s/he was right. I am happy with the orchid though. It is actually blooming now. It is a wedding song phal.

Cheers,
BD

[playtime8978]

that is terrible for both of you. I hate deception and lies and these two cases showed both. One note of consolation the stem I cut off my sick orchid lasted 4 weeks in water at least, we added a mini amount of feed to the water and let it be and I just threw it out monday.

[eaglssong]

that is terrible for both of you. I hate deception and lies and these two cases showed both. One note of consolation the stem I cut off my sick orchid lasted 4 weeks in water at least, we added a mini amount of feed to the water and let it be and I just threw it out monday.

Carrie, there's actually still some green (and new growth) at the top, so I'm going to just leave it be until it really gives up the ghost. My friends are all yelling that I should bring it back to the store, but I'm not going to do that. The plant itself (and the other spike) looks green and healthy.

[playtime8978]

thats good, and you like the plant, so you can look forward to it re blooming, but a big part of me think that they should not be allowed to get away with this kind of behaviour, what if it had been a gift to someone! oh well you will still have a lovely orchid to enjoy in the years to come and so long as your happy with it that what counts.

[eaglssong]

The plot thickens, and while I still think the store did it, there's another possibility.

Take a look at what was peeking out from under a leaf this morning:



See that break? It looks suspiciously like the bottom of the broken spike, which is now residing in a bottle of water (thanks Carrie). So, I'm wondering if perhaps a customer actually did the damage, and stuck it back into the medium so nobody would realize the plant was broken? It's a possibility I suppose. Of course, the fact that it was propped up and clipped to a stake makes me feel that it actually was the store.

Oh well, like I said.... the plant seems healthy and happy. I was going to feed it this morning, but there's still plenty of moisture in the medium, so I'll wait until it dries out more....... that is what I'm supposed to do with a Phal, right?