Hi lady, I am sorry no one has tried to answer you questions before now but to be honest I have over 20 phals and have never encountered this happening with any of them. Maybe you watch to see if the other blooms develope the green. Or check to see if the roots are ok, or how does the plant look overall? I am sorry I can't be more help but as I said I hve never dealt with this before. I hope someone else with more experience will chime in. Velleta

It looks like it could be Botrytis which is a fungal disease. You haven't given any information about where you live (zone, State) how you are growing the plant (light, air, temps).

It usually affects plants grown in damp, cool locations with poor air circulation. It won't harm the plant, the flowers will be spotted. It suggests you need to change the growing environment and provide a drier place with better air circulation.

I run into this in Florida during the winter months. I bring my Phals inside when they are budding to prevent the problem.

Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Botrytis

Hi Jane, thanks for the link to that article. Very interesting, I was wondering would lysol spray help to prevent this? Since it sends out spores. I usually spray my green room( a little porch on the north-west side of my home) with Lysol about twice per week. I grow: African violets, phals,dens,catts,epiden,oncidium. We are having the rainy season here( I live in jamaica) and would hate. To have this. Velleta.

Thanks for your replies. I appreciate the information.

My plant lives in an apartment in Chicago. I put it about 1 meter back from a south facing window, so it gets quite a bit of light, mostly indirect, but in the afternoon the sun hits it directly for a little while.

Living in an apartment, the temperature and humidity are fairly stable. I don't often open the windows, so I would say there's not much air circulation, but it's not damp or cold.

This is my first orchid and I find different information on the web ... there is the ice cube method, but some people say one ice cube won't be enough water. I've also seen instructions for 3 ice cubes. Another method is to soak the plant in the sink once a week but let the water drain out before putting it back. I tried that last week and a whole flower almost immediately feel off. I'm guessing that was too much water.

Do you have a recommendation?

Thanks again.

Hi lady, this I can answer. First you have to look on the media, what is it? Bark or moss, bark is free draining while moss hold on to water. If it is potted in moss then you have to wait ntil the moss is next to dry before you water, then you water and let it gets next to dry again. Bark you will need to water often becase it dries more qickly every seven days seem fine to me with bark and ten to twelve with moss bt you have to watch and see, also when its hot more water, cool less water. One more advice, you said its your first orchid when it finishes blooming you might want to repot it, this gives you a chance to look on the roots and see the condition they are in. If it comes in a clear pot then that's easier. Bt its always good to give it fresh media, phals love being repotted. I repotted 20 of mine and they all started putting out new leaves and roots. VELLETA.

Hi, I should have address the ice cube issue. While there are a lot of people who like this method, and I have nothing against it. I personally prefer the drench and drain method which I explain above, this works for me but you have to experiment to see what suits you better. With ice cubes the sudden change from warm to cold could cause wilting so I play it safe. Also adding a bit of fertilizer also helps I use 20-20-20. Orchids loves to feed so once or twice per month is fine BUT make sure yo use plain water once per month to flush the accmilated salts out. Velleta.