Orchid Novice

[shakkai]

Patricia, You've just made a whole bunch of new friends by find Orchid Board.

Don't worry about the computer stuff, if you get stuck with anything, just ask and someone should be able to help. The reply that you just sent gets posted to the discussion thread that started with your introduction post - all of the replies to the original post go there, that way everyone can follow a 'conversation'... So you're doing just fine!

As for your Oncidiums, it may not be any big problem... They have a tendency to get spots on their leaves if you mist the leaves when its warm. This is just cosmetic damage and, if you don't mist, won't show up on new leaves as the plant grows. The wavy/wrinkled leaves are also something that happens to this family of plants, I think. It comes from the plant drying out just as the new leaf was developing. (Though in general, I believe, these plants like to dry out in between waterings....)

The thing you need to do is check the roots and the growing media. You can gently tip the plant out of the pot and see if the roots look healthy (white, firm, with green growing tips) and check that the potting media hasn't broken down into really small bits around the roots. (This blocks out air circulation - which the roots need - and hold more moisture around the roots causing the roots to rot.)

Let us know what you find when you inspect the roots, and we can go from there.

Also, keep going on!! By all means! That's what we're here for.