Something's wrong with my Orchid

I bought my first orchid, a Phalaenopsis, at Stop & Shop a couple months ago. I was a bit bothered by the fact that I couldn't get the plastic pot that it was is out of the decorative clay pot that it came in to check the roots. I didn't want to over water it, so I sprayed water into the pot with a spray bottle daily. Also, because the air is so dry right now in my office, I placed the clay pot in a plastic lid (from the containers Chinese food comes in) and put some water in the lid to help with humidity and would mist the leaves in the morning. A few hours before I would leave work, the leaves would be dry and the following morning, the lid would be dry too. I was always careful to check that, especially the leaves. But, I read somewhere that I shouldn't mist the leaves so often and that I should let the plant dry out between waterings. I stopped misting the leaves, and tried watering the plant like a regular plant, pouring in a little water and waiting a week, and I guess my orchid did not like that. The flowers drooped and died. They did not dry up, like they usually do when they are spent. They were still moist and droopy. One of the top leaves, the second from the very top, turned a redish brown color, and is soft, and slightly see-throughish. I brought it home from the office, and bought some new orchid potting mix by Miracle Grow. When I took the orchid out of the pot, the plastic inner pot came right out. I was happy to see that the inner plastic pot did not go all the way to the bottom of the clay pot. There is about an inch or two of space between the bottom of the clay pot and the bottom of the plastic pot, so I know that the orchid was not sitting in the water. When I took the orchid out, I noticed that it had some dead dry roots and some moist, yellow roots. I trimmed the dead and some of the unhealthy stuff off and right now, it is just resting on top of the pile of the bark from the pot. I figured I would only mix a handful of the Miracle Grow mix with the bark because it looks more like soil than the bark the plant originally came in.

That is the story. Can anybody please tell me what I did wrong and how to fix it?

 

Can anybody help?

 

Pictures are usually very helpful so we can see exactly what you are talking about. Phals seem to like a larger sized mix than what I have found with the Miracle Grow orchid mix.

What you have described with the blossoms sounds a lot like blasting, which sometimes happens to orchid flowers when there is a change in their environment. I try not to mist either the flowers themselves or the leaves of a phal. They like intermediate to warmer surroundings and never full sun. You did right to trim off any very dry or mushy roots. If it was originally packed in long-fibered sphagnum moss, this may have contributed to the problem as it can either keep your plant too wet, not provide enough air to the roots (I like using true orchid pots) and can be nearly impossible to re-wet if it does dry out. You can see if the MG works for you, but I like using one of the chunkier mixes for my phals. Also, check that there is good air circulation, but no direct draft on your plant. It may need some time to recover, but I've had some bloom again fairly quickly after stress, while others took several years!

 

Thank you both.

I did a lot of research before deciding to buy the orchid. Some links say they like to be misted, other say not. I guess that the timing of the problem also made things confusing. I stopped misting and watered the regular way, and that is when the problem started. But, it seems to just be a coincidence. I found out that my office gets a blast of air at night and dries up everything. It must have gotten a real rough blast to make everything go crazy like that. I have decided to keep it at home since my office seems to have a hostile environment for delicate plants like orchids. I'll stick to snake plants and peace lilies for my office. Maybe I'll bring in an African Violet for some color.
I ended up cutting that soft leaf. I figured I should have the plant focus it's energy on the healthy growth instead of trying to recover a lost-cause leaf. I repotted it in the same pot, with the same bark and only mixed in a little bit of the MG for some extra nutrients.

Any other thoughts and/or advice about what I am doing and/or should do next?

 

If you do mist the plant, be sure to do it early in the day. Never let any water stand in the crotch of the leaves as this contributes to rot. My regimen for the orchids is to check them daily, water judiciously sometime in the middle of the week (more or less often, depending on the season) and fertilize on Sunday - 3 weeks with regular orchid fertilizer and the 4th with a bloom booster. Most orchids seem to do best when they have a good 10 degree drop between the day and night temperature, with phals preferring more warmth than, say, paphiopedilums. Sufficient light, but not full sun. (By the way, paphs seem to do especially well in northern climates.)

Wipe the leaves with a soft cloth periodically and check for pests such as mealy bugs.

Phals sometimes will rebloom from the same spike after the first flush is done if you cut it back to the node just below where the first bloom appeared. Sometimes not! Occasionally, you will get a keikei instead of flowers and you can then propagate a new plant. I had this happen and the keikei has finally produced flowers! Of course, it did take 5+ years for it to reach maturity..... and the mother plant didn't make it.

If you stand the plant on a moisture tray (the lid), I'd use some gravel and not let the plant or pot stand in water.

Watering: try to use either rain water or distilled as they are closer to what the plant would receive in nature. Some people actually dunk their orchids in a large 'vat' once a week to be sure the medium is sufficiently moistened, and then let it drain. Be careful using non-orchid pots as they sometimes hold too much moisture and don't let those roots breathe properly. Terracotta works well as do orchid baskets.

African Violets are nice plants for an office setting, just be sure they have access to bright light but not full sun. Fertilize regularly with a good AV fertilizer. They also benefit from a pebble-filled moisture tray, as they like humidity, too.

 

Wow, thanks for the info.

So far, I see that I haven't been fertilizing. I thought shouldn't because the flowers died off. But I will find some orchid ferts and bloom booster and start feeding. I was misting in the morning and making sure it was dry before I left my office, so I did okay there. I also would clean the leaves of dust and dried waterspots. I noticed the water at the office leaves a chalky white residue, so I stopped using it and brought water from home just to be safe. I didn't notice any change in the behavior of the plant.
About the pot:
When I took the orchid home to check on it and try to figure out what was going wrong, I took it out of the pot and checked the roots, like I said before. There aren't a lot of roots, and, of course to me who am a total newbie with orchids, they looked strange. I guess I should post a picture. Anyway, the pot is a deep clay pot with no drain hole, and the orchid is in a small clear plastic pot that sits with the bottom a little more than half-way down the clay pot. It doesn't go all the way to the bottom. I thought that it makes sense because you don't want the orchid sitting in water, but you want the plant to have the humidity. What do you think? I am getting a bit nervous because another leaf's color is fading. It seems to be getting spots of lighter green/yellow, which is a different reaction from the leaf I cut that made me start this thread.
Ugh, I thought I was doing so good by researching and reading everything I could find online about orchids before buying one, and I still can't seem to get it right.

 

It really is difficult to diagnose a problem without a photo. It could be that the plant has a bacterial problem and/or some type of cultural issues. How long have you had the plant? If it was purchased at one of the 'Big Box' stores, you may be able to return it - I have done this with a few purchased from them after bringing the plant home to discover the roots were completely rotted (you can't always pop them out of their pots in the store). Online sources will not do this unless your plant arrives damaged and you let them know immediately. It's always a good thing to save your sales receipt in the event of a problem.

Sometimes, no matter what you do, a plant just doesn't make it. I've killed more than my share of them, but try to use each one as a learning experience.

Many people who collect and grow orchids subscribe to the old saying, "Benign neglect". It took me several tries to stop loving mine to death!

 

I finally figured out how to fix the pics.

The roots don't look very good. Can it be saved?


( photo / image / picture from Beeker's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Beeker's Garden )

 

Oh dear. Those roots do not look very good. If they feel soft, mushy or dry and brittle, they are probably not viable. Any that are good will feel firm and be white to green. From what I can see, there are a few good roots and the leaves look decent. What I would do is cut off any roots that are bad and then pot the plant in fir bark (which has been soaked overnight in distilled or rainwater) in a terra cotta orchid pot (which has also been soaked for a while so it doesn't draw out any moisture from the mix or plant) or a slat basket. If using a clay pot, I'd add in a few packaging peanuts at the bottom to aid in the drainage, but make sure they are the type that doesn't "melt" when wet. [Since I like to make up my own potting medium, I'd also add in some little long-fibered sphagnum moss, horticultural charcoal and sponge rock - but keep in mind that I have over 100 orchids and tailor the medium according to the type of orchid and the size of the roots.] I think using a medium - to- large grade of orchid bark should be fine if you have just the one plant. Place it in a bright location and wait to water it for about 6-7 days, but check to be sure it's doing all right. You can give a light watering midway through, but make sure it isn't soaking. You can also place the plant on a pebble filled tray with some water just below the top of the pebbles to provide additional humidity if you find the air is dry. Some general advice: water the plant about every 6 -7 days. When you notice the roots are growing, then you can add some weak fertilizer to the water (I'd hold off on the fertilizer until you know the plant is recovering/growing). It is better to under water than to over water. A phal likes warmer temperatures, and all orchids need a good 10 degree drop in temperature at night to help set buds. Right now, I wouldn't worry too much about flowers and would concentrate on getting some root growth. Please send me a private message if you need more details or additional information. I do have a succession of photos for repotting an orchid and other info which was part of a tutorial used on another site. I can always attach photos to show what I am talking about! - Lynn

 

Beeker, I have added a new album on my profile called "Repotting An Orchid". Go there to see some of the pictures of roots and some of the things involved in caring for your plant!

 

Re:

Its not a big issue you know, it can be possible that the planet you have bought is out of season so wait for the next season, i hope it will be alright.

 

There may be a few problems. One is you should not be using Miracle Grow mix. It may contain urea which damaging to orchids. You need to get a potting mix similar to what your orchid came in. If it's bark and your soil is too dense, then the roots cannot breath or get a chance to dry out. My advice is to go to a nursery that handles orchids and bring your orchid.

 

You definitely need to fertilize but only during the orchid's growth cycle, not when it's blooming. Another thing about watering, make sure your orchid gets a chance to dry out before watering again. If not the roots will begin to rot and or fungus will set in.

 

I'm sorry to say that I had the same issues with my first orchid ( not a Phalaenopsis). The roots where soft and mushy in places. it clung on for a couple of months before it gave up completely. I did alot of research to try and figure out what had happened with it, but there are so much contradicting information online it was hard to figure out who was providing the right information. to this day I still don't know what caused the demise of my orchid. The only think I can think of is that i was feeding it with tomato food, could this of been the cause. I'm still apprehensive of getting another because of what happened with this one