My Paphiopedilum Petals Are Drooping, Is It Dying?

My Paphiopedilum has been doing very well for weeks. Suddenly,today,it looks as if it is dying.All petals drooping; green leaves look good.

Watered,fertilized "weekly,weakly",when dry. Kept indoors.

If dying naturally,surely would happen more gradually?

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Aug 06, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Paph. Probably Not Dying
by: Melissa

Thanks for your question.

Perhaps that the flower is just done with its cycle of blooming. You say that the leaves look good and that is a good sign. Flowers can die suddenly on Paphs. sometimes. They do so if an insect has pollinated them and they are tinking about setting seed.

I have a species Paph. that did not bloom for several years then gave me sequential blooms for a year and one half. It was like that. One day the flower was on. One day it was on the table.

So keep an eye on it. Paphs. like it generally a little less bright than some other orchids.

Also, it is great that you are fertilizing but make sure the roots of the Paph are damp and hydrated before adding the fertilizer. When I am going to fertilize I ALWAYS do it in conjunction with a watering. I water the plant first over about a 15 minute period and then water it with the dilute fertilizer. The roots of orchids need to be hydrated (the veleman) so they can uptake nutrients.

Yes, "usually" drying of the petals happens more naturally. However sometimes fungal or bacterial infections can move very fast.

Let me know how it goes.

Melissa
www.orchids-plus-more.com



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