New to Orchids and just inherited 4 cymbidiums, need advice.

[Jimmyb1982]

Hi there!

I've been gardening and caring for many kinds of plants for a few years now with pretty decent results. My grandmother was recently moved into a nursing home and gave me 4 Cymbidiums (I think that's what they are...)

A couple of the plants are at least 20 years old, and I'd REALLY like to keep them alive! Grandma has them planted in pots, with normal soil and can't say if she has ever changed that... They have bloomed every year as far back as I can remember, but the leaves have black spots and there's a lot of dead "bases"(?) from plants that were in the pots before. I can tell from reading through this forum that there are several things wrong with all this, but have no idea where to start

I water them 1-2 times a week depending on heat and wind. Also, I live in Southern California so the weather never gets very cold, but I have them positioned so they are under light cover from plants above as a precaution in the rare event that we get a frost.

I'll try to get pictures up as soon as I can, but ANY advice, help, etc. will be most helpful!

Thanks,
Jim