Orchid 101...help please Deanne.

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Author Message   Pixc  My Favorite Photo My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 05:45 am EST :    Here's my orchid from when it was happy and blooming last September. Now after some month spent in the greenhouse-(minimum temp 60°F the high can get up 80°F on a sunny day with solar heat through the roof) he is a sorry sight-yellowing leaves falling off-no new growth. The light is slightly shaded by by shade cloth giving an average of 500FC. I grow bromeliads successfully and I think I was just treating him the same way in care. It umm...didn't work. I want to try another orchid but will wait until I have a better understanding so I can take better care! Here's the bloom. Phalaenopsis? It was a leftover at the growers and didn't have a tag. I'm usually a bit more adept with my flowers! Is there one that is the best to start with? I'm ready to learn! Carol Ont. Canada Z5b   Deanneart  My Favorite Photo My Weather My Garden Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 11:23 am EST :    Hi Carol, yes, phalaenopsis it is and the news is that they are a good starter plant! They are happiest with bright indirect light, 1,000 to 1,500 FC. The 60 degree min temp at night is perfect and they like days to be between 75 to 85 but can tolerate temps up to 90 or so if they have adequate humidity. That being said mine are quite happy here and the winter day temps never get over 70 degrees and the nights can get down to 55 so they are very adaptable that way. It is just widely fluctuating temps can cause bud drop. What is essential to the phals is keeping the humidity over 50%.... They prefer 50% to 80% and are unhappy when the humidity gets much below 50%.... They need to have a very open potting medium and require careful watering. If you get water in the axil of the leaves you can get rot in there. Especially if it stays wet over night in chilly temps. When I water I usually give the leaves a good spraying as well but I make sure to tip them so that any water caught in the leaves drains out. The phals don't have pseudobulbs like cattleyas and so do not have any reserves if they dry out. They want to be watered well then allowed to almost, but not quite, dry out before another watering. I take all my orchids to the kitchen sink to water, usually once sometimes twice a week in the summertime, so it is quite a production but you must make sure the plant is thoroughly watered. Some people dunk the whole pot in a bucket of water for a bit then pull it out and let it drain. It is also imperative that they do not have soggy broken down potting medium... Their roots need air or they will rot. I fertilize mine with an orchid food every other week or so a bit more in the summer when there is more light. It sounds to me like your plant is stressed from either watering issues or humidity issues. I'd knock it out of the pot and check out its roots. The roots should be whitish and plump and not brown!!! From what I remember about bromeliads they have a water reservoir and so are tolerant of infrequent watering??? Phalaenopsis do require regular attention to their watering needs because, as I mentioned above, they do not have pseudobulbs and no ability to deal with drying out, especially if the humidity is low as well. If the plant has lost roots from either infrequent watering or broken down potting medium you need to cut off the dead roots with a clean pair of shears (I hold mine in a flame to sterilize so as not to spread any virus etc.) and repot in fresh large fir bark or whatever orchid medium you are using. Just make sure not to use the medium for the terrestrial orchids like the paphiopedlium. The medium for phalaenopsis is much more 'chunky' and open and free draining because they are epiphytic... Phew, I think that is it for now. Let me know if you have any questions. Deanne New Hampshire Zone 5   Pixc  My Favorite Photo My Garden Journal My Garden Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 01:05 pm EST :    Whew-great info! Thank you Deanne! I actually have five orchids...two are phalaenopsis then. I'll have to dig through my photos for the other three so you can ID them too. None of them had any tags when I acquired them. They had very tiny flowers in a spray. I've cleaned them up and cut off any bad stuff as you described. I gave them all a good soak in some room temp tub of water as they were very dry! I was watering them but as the moss they are planted in was very dry the water was likely going right on by! The moss medium is now nice and plump. I brought them over to my house so I can keep a closer eye on them. They are in a south window but with a filtering blind in front that I can lower when the sun is very bright. I checked them out closely and there are no fungal diseases (yay!) There are quite a few healthy looking sprouts. They certainly look a lot happier already all tidied up. Q: Should I wait until they are a bit more settled before I fertilze them? Q: One has lost all his leaves! But he does have healthy looking sprouts on the stem. Hope? I'll start digging in my files to see if I have pix of the flowers of the others. I'll keep you updated! Carol Ont. Canada Z5b   Deanneart  My Favorite Photo My Weather My Garden Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 02:34 pm EST :    Yea! There is life in that orchid.... Yes, do wait until you see signs of active root growth before fertilizing. Yes if you still have roots growing on the other one keep an eye on it and it might just recover. Contrary to popular opinion orchids are pretty rugged individuals. Do make sure not to let them get into any direct southern exposure sun as they probably will burn. I have to be very careful this time of the year because the sun is getting stronger very quickly and even plants that have been in the same location all winter can get a sunburn. I normally lower my sheer curtains the middle to end of Feb. to keep that from happening. Were the other orchids you have sprays of small yellow flowers? Those would be oncidiums and are another very popular house plant. Glad to hear they are going to recover that is a very pretty phal... Deanne New Hampshire Zone 5   Markvs  Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 - 02:16 am EST :    I would be interested in a follow up if at all possible, please let us know of the fate of the five? Markvs - Waiuku, Zone "9 down to -5 C"

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