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Alien Orchid? Is this normal o.o

Discussion in 'Issues, Disease and Pests' started by Emilia Jayne, May 4, 2017.

  1. May 4, 2017 #1
    Emilia Jayne

    Emilia Jayne New Member

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    Hey everyone,

    So I've had this phal' for roughly 2 years now and this would be it's third bloom if I recall correctly and it has never looked like this before. I wanted to ask if there is something wrong with this orchid, has anyone seen this before or is this normal??

    WhatsApp Image 2017-05-04 at 21.41.37.jpeg WhatsApp Image 2017-05-04 at 21.41.37 (1).jpeg WhatsApp Image 2017-05-04 at 21.41.37 (2).jpeg

    Hope you can help, many thanks
    - Emilia x
     
  2. May 4, 2017 #2
    Fumiaki Takahashi

    Fumiaki Takahashi miniature orchidaholic

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    Holy cow!!!
    Never seen a deformation like that!!!
     
  3. May 4, 2017 #3
    naoki

    naoki Well-Known Member

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    Emilia, it looks like a form of fasciation (wikipedia). Plants have something called meristems, which actively divide to create new cells. So when the flowering shoot is stretching, there is an apical meristem at the tip. But this part was damaged somehow, and it became a different shape (e.g. linear meristem instead of point meristem). There could be different causes; somatic mutation (genetic mutations around the cells which formed the shoot), damaged by insects or some other physical causes, developmental imbalance due to some environmental factor (temperature, nutrition, etc). Here is a more details about different causes (link). Are you using some phytohormones (e.g. rooting hormones)? It probably will go back to normal next time, so I wouldn't worry about it. It will be interesting to see what kinds of flowers will show up with this shoot.
     
    annabanana1987, JohnF, Emilia Jayne and 1 other person like this.
  4. May 4, 2017 #4
    Fumiaki Takahashi

    Fumiaki Takahashi miniature orchidaholic

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    You can always depend on Naoki to explain every intimet detail of every sub-atomic particle in the universe.
    He can tell you everything about the little brown spot on the Tatami under the table or if Oswald acted alone.
    He's smart!!!
     
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  5. May 4, 2017 #5
    KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Emilia, that is cool in a weird way. I agree with Naoki that I definitely want to see photos when the flowers are open. Should be a very interesting arrangement.

    I have never seen this in orchids but have seen it on other plants both in the wild and under cultivation. Certainly not "normal" but not horribly rare either.
    Thanks for the post.
     
  6. May 4, 2017 #6
    Emilia Jayne

    Emilia Jayne New Member

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    Hahaha wow guys thank you!! Honestly I haven't done anything to this phal', I've hardly ever fed it only with baby bio - Just sits on my window sill 24/7 with the the rest of my bizarre plant collection :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:

    It'll be thoroughly interesting to see what happens to it, as it's been growing it's slowly ripped itself because it was trying to curl round into a circle but was too fat...

    I'll be sure to post on this forum again in a few weeks time once it's bloomed :smiley:
     
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  7. May 5, 2017 #7
    AnonYMouse

    AnonYMouse aka Ree, the not-so-stealthy lurker

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    Ditto on pix!
     
  8. May 5, 2017 #8
    Fumiaki Takahashi

    Fumiaki Takahashi miniature orchidaholic

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    Do you know the name of the orchid?
     
  9. May 5, 2017 #9
    Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

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    I think she said it was a phal (short for Phalaenopsis).
     
  10. May 5, 2017 #10
    Fumiaki Takahashi

    Fumiaki Takahashi miniature orchidaholic

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    I was wondering about the species/hybrid.
    Or it may be a No-ID Phal.
     
  11. May 5, 2017 #11
    Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Do you think knowing the species or hybrid name would make a difference to the cause of the malformation?
     
  12. May 6, 2017 #12
    Fumiaki Takahashi

    Fumiaki Takahashi miniature orchidaholic

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    No.
    I was just curious.