Odontoglossum leaves browning

[asfd]

I have an Odontoglossum for about 8 months and it doesn't look good at all these days. I don't know what I am doing wrong but the leaves seem to be dying. I water it less often now than before because at some point I saw a small white shroom emerge from the bark substrate. Earlier this summer, I had a new shoot growing but I think I didn't water it enough and it died and stopped growing. Could all my problems be related with not enough water and the high summer temperature?

See pics for more info. Thanks for your help!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Can you be more specific about growing conditions and care?

[asfd]

It is actually watered about once a week or 10 days. It is in a sunny window but always shaded by a light curtain. Weather in recent times has been quite hot (house is not air conditionned) with max of around 30°C and min of 24°C.

Best regards,

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Try watering twice a week and put it a bit further away from the window. Check the roots. I can't see what the pseudobulbs look like, but if they're shriveled, there might be a problem with the roots and the watering regimen.

Do you happen to know what healthy roots on an orchid looks like (curious, can't take things for granted, I didn't know when I first started out)?

[asfd]

I will take it farther away from the window and try to water it more often. The pseudobulbs are shriveled. I will try to find out how are the roots. Thanks a lot for your help.

[asfd]

I will also try to repot it tomorrow to make sure nothing is rotting and have a look at the roots (even though I am not totally sure how they should look).b

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Healthy roots: white with green tips, or silvery green with green tips, sometimes with a bit of brown, yellow, or orange on the tips.

Pic of orchid (probably in the same family as your orchid) with good, healthy roots:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QnO0SOfma...id%2Broots.JPG

Dead roots: beige or black, soft and mushy, often having the tissue that once covered the living roots (velamen) be easily pulled off revealing a piece of thread-like dead tissue.

Pic of dead orchid roots:

http://www.geocities.com/aussieorchid/cyms/B7.jpg

Check out these series of videos, great basic info on orchids.

Understand Orchid Roots: Orchid Care: Plant Structures and Development | eHow.com

[asfd]

So when repotting should I prune the dead roots and then sterilize all the roots with a light solution?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Trim dead roots. You may use hydrogen peroxide or ethyl alcohol, (I advise against using isopropyl alcohol on roots; leaves are fine but not roots), to disinfect the roots. Some people have even used Listerine to disinfect the roots (not sure how well this works). Cinnamon powder has also been used, but I find this to be rather messy and it's hard to clean off, (I still have plants with the sticky residue from 3 months ago).

All orchids don't really like chlorine. Some orchids are extremely sensitive to it. Especially in the form of bleach. Whatever you do don't use bleach to disinfect any living part of the plant.

When using ethanol or hydrogen peroxide soak the parts you want to disinfect for about 20 to 30 minutes.

I recommend working with wet roots. The chance of damaging roots are much lower.

When you repot, depending on how many roots are left, you may want to use either the same size pot or smaller. Try to shoot for keeping it pot bound, but the pot shouldn't be too small that you can't fit the roots in there properly or start snapping them off.

Clear plastic pots help out a lot because you can see what's happening with the roots and it allows the plant to utilize the root's ability to photosynthesize.

[richardb]

At the outset you mention catching a small white "schroom" crawling out of the compost. That might have been a Vine Weevil grub. The parent crawling insect lays eggs in composts and the grub feeds on roots. The first evidence to the grower is that the plant keels over because the roots have been eaten. Shall be interested to hear what you find when you get the plant out of the pot.
Richard