Why is this happening to my orchid?

[FlowerGirl72410]

My orchid was beautiful until about a week ago and than the blooms started wilting and falling off one by one, and the slick from a certain point is brown the rest of it is green. I've done everything I know to do for this orchid. I've spent almost $100 on it to keep it happy and it is still dying. This is my second orchid, my first my grandmother accidently killed and now I'm on my second and this one is a phalaenopsis. I repotted it after buying it and it was beautiful for about a month or so than it started this. I've bought it special dirt that promises to keep the water at just the right amount, two bags or orchid mulch, a big pot, orchid food, I water it about once a week and mist the leaves and blooms daily as instructed on the tag it came with. I gets plenty of sunlight it's in a room with two windows so it gets light. I keep my house at 72 all the time. I don't really know why this is happening? Is it natural? If it's natural will my orchid ever bloom again? If it's not natural all i have to say is these orchid are not as easy to take care of as the tag says because to me this is turning out to be costly and hard to do.

Heres a photo of it when I first got it and it looked like this up until about a week ago.


Here is what it looks like now, the flash made the photo suck but you can tell whats left of the blooms is wilting slowly one by one.


Here you can see how my stem looks

[Carpe Diem]

Hi FlowerGirl, you bought your Phal. in full bloom. Nobody knows how long it had been blooming before you bought it. It may be at the end of it's bloom cycle and the flowers wilting and falling is normal. The leaves look good to me, it also looks like there is a new leaf coming. Although the pot looks a little to big imho. I'm a beginner, so please wait until the experts had a look at your pics and a chance to comment on it.

[FlowerGirl72410]

Thank you for replying so fast. To be honest even though this is my second orchid I really know nothing about them. My first orchid didn't live long enough for me to learn much about them. I'm glad to hear that the blooms dying off is natural, I was afraid I killed it somehow. I bought a big pot because I read somewhere that i should get a big enough pot for two years growth, so I didn't know how big it would get so I decided that would be a good size just incase it wanted to get much bigger. One of my bottom leafs did die off about two weeks ago maybe. I didn't think much off it, it turned yellow and fell off. Again i assumed it was natural considering at the time my flowers looked beautiful. If you or anyone else has any tips for orchid growing I'd really apperciate it. I've put a lot of money (well a lot of money to me anyway) into it and i'd hate to see it die, it's such a pretty thing all bloomed out.

[Carpe Diem]

The bottom leaf turning yellow and falling off is normal too, in most cases. Phals. shed 1 or both of the bottom leaves (the oldest leaves) at times. The pot should be just big enough to fit the roots in comfortably. For some reason, orchid roots like to be cozy. Also, if the pot is to big it takes to long for the bark to dry out and root rot could set in. I started out a year ago knowing nothing, but there is so much info here and all the ppl are so helpful and patient. Again, please wait until the experts come to your aid!

[bballr4567]

Read the phal abuse ends here thread. Lots and lots of information in there.

Your inflorescence (the flower spike) just looks like its dying naturally.

[Leafmite]

Just be careful not to overwater or get water on the leaves. The one reason you will have people recommend a smaller pot is because, often, in a larger pot, the medium in the middle and bottom of the pot remains too wet and the roots rot, leading to plant death. A cheap way to avoid this is to use styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom and middle and broken styrofoam peanuts mixed into the bark. Phals grow on trees in the wild, roots bare. The purpose of a tree-growing orchid's 'dirt' is to lend humidity to the roots, not to keep them wet. This is very different from other plants, sometimes a bit confusing for those new with orchids. Good luck, that is a beautiful phal. Don't worry, it will bloom again but that is another thread. : )

[Bud]

you can still use the old pot it was in...but use the bark media...
dont cut the spikes if its still green, chances are some new buds will come out of the second node under. Dont be scared to repot while the plant is in bloom.
Welcome to the Board!
I am glad you found us.

[The Mutant]

I agree on the pot part - it looks too big. Also, to my newbie eyes, the bark looks to be a bit too fine graded for a Phal, but maybe that's just me.

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by Bud

you can still use the old pot it was in...but use the bark media...
dont cut the spikes if its still green, chances are some new buds will come out of the second node under. Dont be scared to repot while the plant is in bloom.
Welcome to the Board!
I am glad you found us.

I agree too that the pot is way too big. I made that mastake with my firdt orchid too! And it died from root rot. In my opinion it is better to cut the flower spike all the way off even if it stays green. Why? Because if you keep letting it branch and bloom from the old spike the plant puts all it's energy into blooming and not into producing new leaves and roots. It could actually bloom itself to death. I find if you cut the spike after the blooms fall, it will grow new leaves and get strong enough to bloom again next season with a bigger spike. If you do let it branch from the old spike the flowers will be smaller and it will have less of them. I just think it is healthier for the plant in the long run. But since your spike is turning brown, you will have to cut it off anyway. Welcome to the board! Good luck with your beautiful orchid.

Wynn Dee

[sweetjblue]

Flowergirl,
As others have said if you brought your plant in bloom it is possible it is just at the end of it’s blooming cycle. It is not unusual to lose a few bottom leaves. Remember these plants were grown in a greenhouse under optimum conditions. They’ve undergone a lot of stress lately . First to the store and then to your home.

I agree that the pot is way too big . Looks like you went from a 4-5” pot up to an 8”. It should probably go back to the same 4-5”. Use a size that will just fit the root mass in comfortably. The bark you used should work out ok, it doesn’t look all that fine, just looks smaller because of the large pot. Question is when you repotted what were the roots like ? Were they nice and plump or were they dried up or mushy? Also did you soak the bark before you repotted? Bark will dry out very quickly if not soaked before use. I also notice that it was previously potted in moss. Going from moss to bark is a big change. Moss stays wet a lot longer so your plant is used to being wetter. So even tho the pot is too big and your watering once a week it is possible it’s not getting enough water.

Humidity is probably another issue for you too. The buds will wilt faster without some humidity in the area. You could try using a tray with pebbles and water to raise it around your orchid. Only put in enough water so the potting isn’t sitting directly in it.

For future growth, your temps will be fine and to induce blooming in the fall give it two weeks of temps approximately 10-15 degrees cooler.
You’ve said that it is in a room that has 2 windows, are you growing it near one of the windows? Phals grow really well if placed in an East facing window or either a South or West window with a sheer curtain or blinds.

Sorry if I repeated advice already given and that this is so long. Just trying to cover as many bases as I could think of to give you and your phal a fighting chance!!

Good Luck!!

Judi