Hello, everyone--
We have really enjoyed DG forums, pics and all the other great information since we subscribed. Great site, Dave.
Our name -Barandy- is a composite of Barbara & Andy and we are transplants from FL to NC. We really love our valley and mountains and have begun to start landscaping, building a greenhouse, and collecting orchids among all the other things, i.e., roses, trees, shrubs, etc. Now for the question about our orchid - what is the clear, sticky excretion from our beautiful phal flowers? (one plant only) It looks like drops of moisture, but is very sticky. Thanks for helping.
Our Phal has sticky flowers Help
I'm surprised to hear you have it on the flowers, and not the flower spike. I don't know the details, but it is a sticky sap that appears especially if you have less humidity than the orchids prefer. There is no harm to this sap.
I've also heard that sap can be a sign of aphids, so I would check for those just in case. I haven't had an aphid problem, but many of my orchids have drops of sticky sap.
If you haven't noticed yet, I don't really know what I'm talking about - it probably isn't technically "sap". But anyway, if there are no aphids, don't worry about it.
Thanks. The orchids are in our dining room windowseat and in the kitchen garden window. The lighting seems really good for them, but the humidity is not always easy to control because of the heating system. We have a humidifier and keep a big pot of water steaming almost all of the time.Low humidity could cause them to stress, as you say. There's no evidence of aphids and they appear to be really healthy otherwise. We are just beginning and have everything to learn, so we will be researching and asking lots of questions as we go. We are so excited to have them. We are blessed!!
Thanks again, Keyring. BTW, I would call it "sap", too. (And it is on the spikes, too.) Just couldn't think of it when I posted. HeHe Barbara
It's called Honeydew, and if you give it a taste, you will find that it's very sweet. I'm not sure if anyone knows why some orchids plants produce it when they flower, but it's not caused by bugs or anything. (Although some insects DO produce Honeydew-- you may want to give your plants the once over just in case!)
Thank you, IndaShade--I have to admit that I couldn't resist tasting the Honeydew before you posted. Thought it looked like sugar syrup and it tasted like it, too. We check our plants closely when we water them. They all seem really nice and healthy at this point. Since we are just beginning, every little leaf, root, and flower and all the other parts we are learning about, is fascinating and we are quite addicted.We've collected about 50. We also planted our first lilies this year, too. I see you are really experienced in this field. I am really enjoying all the Q&A's on the forums and am very impressed by the wonderful comraderie. Hopefully we will talk again. Barandy