Orchids

[Deleted]

ok i have read the website.
it looks like apart from watering i am doing everything else wrong.
i hope i can manage to save it.
xxx

[Rosefriend]

Yellow leaves points to perhaps too much water RBJ. As far as light is concerned a East or West window is good - having said that I have mine on North and South. On the South side I make sure that the blinds are down when the sun shines which hasn't really been a problem this summer.

I feed them every two weeks, water sparingly and ignore them. When I first had Orchids many many years ago now, I loved them to death - quite literally.

The main Orchid killer is too much water - the roots rot very easily.

RF

[chickadeedeedee]

Yep. Usually getting over watered will kill them faster. I water my potted orchids weakly weekly that is to say a weak solution of plant food with a swig of water once a week.

If you get the crown wet or water standing at the base of the leaves after watering, dab the area dry with a tissue or paper towel to remove the water. I'd pull the yellowing orchid out of the pot and check the roots. Hold the roots in a bucket of warm water and swirl them around to clean them from the potting medium. Cut off all the dead and rotting roots. You can sprinkle a little cinnamon over the roots when done. It will decrease fungal infection.

You can leave the orchid out of the pot for a day or so if there is evidence of a lot of rot. Re pot the orchid in fresh orchid medium (your choice), place in your sunniest location and wait. Generally orchids are tough customers and *VERY* forgiving.

[Deleted]

thankyou for helping me chickadee and rosefriend.
the thing is i have very rarely watered it.
do you think it actually could be lack of water.

i think where it is is too draughty and dark.
it doesnt get direct sunlight in fact it doesnt really get any.
i have moved it out of the dark and draught and have sprayed it a little.
i will just see how it goes in its new postition.
i will be soooo pleased if it ever flowers again.
xxxx

[chickadeedeedee]

Are the leaves wilted or look wrinkled? If so then it is a lack of water. If they are not wrinkled it may be they are too cold. If you have a Phalaenopsis they like bright light to bloom but not a direct blast of sunlight as they will burn.

[Deleted]

thankyou that is very helpful.
i think it has not had enough water and has not had enough light.
poor thing.
xxxx
hopefully it will be happier in its new home.
xxxxx

[chickadeedeedee]

Here's someone else that is blooming:

Restrepia brachypus



A native orchid of Ecuador and free flowering all year. Sorry the pic. is out of focus. The flower is TINY! Shorter than the length of your pinky finger nail!

Thrives in bright indirect light and strong shadowing. (2000-3000 Footcandles.)

A cool temperature orchid preferring a range of 52°F min. to 80°F max. The plant likes to remain slightly moist and is planted in an orchid mix rather than soil. Easily grown on a kitchen window sill.

There may be a better picture of the flower at www.ecuagenera.com

[Chuckles]

At last my Orchids are snug inside the house again. Have spent all summer in the poly and they seemed to have liked it. 2 look like they are growing flower shoots

[Rosefriend]

My orchids were fantastic and flowered for months and months. Now that they have all died down, I have just noticed 2 of them have flower shoots again - they really are marvellous this year.

RF

[chickadeedeedee]

Someone else that keeps blooming:

Encyclia bractescens ...

A native of Belize and I have him mounted on a chunk of wood.



This is a marvelous mini-Encyclia with conical 3/4" bulbs each topped with 2 or 3 very narrow 6" leathery leaves, wiry arching 12" spikes emerge from the top of the bulb in spring, up to 12 long-lasting 2 1/2" starry-shaped flowers per spike, red-brown sepals and petals are narrow and pointed, the broad lip is white with fine lines of purple radiating from the center.

Sorry that the photo doesn't show the details of the flowers. I don't have the proper camera for it.

This orchid commonly blooms in Spring and Summer needing *very* bright indirect light. (2500-3500 Footcandles)

The orchid likes warmth, 58°F min. to 88°F max.

Generally Encyclias are an "easy" orchid. Allow them to dry some between waterings. Water, if mounted, 2-3 times a week.

[Rosefriend]

That looks marvellous C3D, I bet I could find a place for that in the house.

Do you buy them mounted or do have to find the right materials yourself - I must admit that I have never seen them here.

RF

[chickadeedeedee]

Thanks RF. I have my mounted orchids, and those in baskets like the Draculas, in the kitchen over the sink. The one pictured above came mounted. Many orchids are naturally epiphytes and grow attached to trees high in the jungle canopy.

The mounts are easily found like bits of interesting drift wood or willow branches. One can also use purchased mounting material like different woods and tree fern bark. About one half of the mounted orchids I have were purchased in pots and I transferred them to an epiphytic style. I've done that with hoya plants too.

[isabella]

I paid £2.00 for this orchid about 18 months ago - it didn't have any flowers then but has flowered twice since without me doing anything special
They are easy plants but don't look it

[chickadeedeedee]

Oh how beautiful!!!!!!

My very first orchid was a pure white Phal. It bloomed for 11 months out of the year for almost 20 years before the plant died. Lovely plant, Isabella. Enjoy it for many, many years!

[Pip]

What a beautiful plant Isabella. My DIL bought me a lovely one but I am a little heavy handed with water and I think that it is the one thing that they don't forgive very easily.

Pip

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi Pip.

Potted Phals. don't want to be soggy. Is it in sphag. moss or some chunky potting medium? The sphag. moss will hold water longer and you may need to only water once every 2-3 weeks, depending on temperature and humidity.

If the plant is in the chunky type of medium like charcoal, bark, and other chunkies ... it is a more free flowing situation. I water mine once weekly, weakly. That is to say once a week I put the pot into some tepid water that has a ***VERY*** weak solution of plant food added to it. The pot sits in the water for 2-3 minutes then is removed, allowed to drain and placed back where it was growing.

If in bud or blossom, try to NOT turn the plant so the flowers or buds do not become twisted and distorted as they will seek the light source. If the plant remains facing the same directions the flower display will be much nicer and neatly arranged.

[Rosefriend]

I must admit C3D that one thing that has always annoyed me about Orchids are just how exceptionally light sensitive they are.

We do have a rather wide window sills in our rooms and even so I find that I have to try and tie (I use ornamental clips actually) my Phal. up as high as I can to avoid having to turn the plant or it gets jammed against the window or chopped off by the blinds.

RF

[chickadeedeedee]

...one thing that has always annoyed me about Orchids are just how exceptionally light sensitive they are....

LOL! They are sensitive with that aren't they? But generally they are a tough lot to kill.

[Pip]

Thank you very much for the tips C3D. I seem to have been doing quite a few things wrong but above all I have been watering too much.

Pip

[Chuckles]

WOW just spotted this when I loaded up T & M

plants.thompson-morgan.com/product/82158

[Deleted]

Howdy all! My moth orchid, which is still blooming beautifully, has developed a problem. One of the leaves is turning yellow and rotten looking. I don't water it as such, I have a spray bottle with a weak feed solution in it and I zap it once a week. It's currently residing on top of the telly. Could it need more light?

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi RM. Is the yellowing leaf a large one at the bottom of the plant? Your orchid will have a normal loss of aged leaves. They yellow, dry up and drop off.

Is the yellowing leaf *mushy* at the base where it attaches to the plant? If so it may have crown rot or a fungal infection. After watering take the corner of a tissue or paper towel, roll it up and use that to wick out and dry the area where leaf meets plant. If water is allowed to stand there, particularly with the Moth Orchids, they will rot. Once the leaves are dry, sprinkle some ground cinnamon at the suspected problem area. Cinnamon has a natural anti-fungal and somewhat anti-bacterial properties.

Are the other leaves crispy or soft? Are the leaves looking wrinkled? If soft the plant needs to be watered and not just misted. If the leaves are wrinkled the plant needs regular waterings and increased humidity.

The tip of the flower spike ... are more flowers being produced? Are there buds developing at the end or has it stopped producing buds? If the buds continue to develop and open, your lighting is fine. If they stop developing the plant may need to be in a sunnier window but NOT in any kind of cold drafty area, like near the front door.

Hope that helps some.

[Deleted]

Thanks c3d! I'll keep an eye on it. I think it's done with flowering (currently supporting 15 blooms!!! ) and it'll soon be time to remove the spike

[chickadeedeedee]

rosemother said:

Thanks c3d! I'll keep an eye on it. I think it's done with flowering (currently supporting 15 blooms!!! ) and it'll soon be time to remove the spike

Eeekkkk! Do you cut the spike right when it's done blooming?!

Often if the spike is left another spike will emerge and you'll get a rebloom. I leave my flower spikes on the plant until they are brown and dry. Then I know the plant is done.

[Deleted]

Oh I was going to remove the spike to the third bud from the base when the flowers dropped. Is that not right?

[chickadeedeedee]

You certainly can do that. The plant will look tidier. If you don't mind the long spike without flowers on it just set it in the sunniest spot and wait. It usually doesn't take long for more spikes to form as branches along the original. They could form anywhere along the length.

I need to start getting ready for work now but will take some photos of my old spikes that are growing new spikes and try to post them tonight. There's no hard and fast rules for where to cut the spike or when.

My OH once cut the flower spike when all the flowers had gone but it was still green. As an experiment we placed it in some sterile water and did some things and it formed a new little plant on that cut spike! A keikei! WooHoooo!

[Deleted]

Hi, orchid expert!!! ;D (Cd3)

My moth orchid is looking a bit bedraggled now. The flowers are done I think (all floppy andd flimsy). Should I just let them drop naturally and leave well alone, or should I pick them off? Oh, and does it need to stay warm, or go somewhere cool for a rest? There's so much conflicting advice!!

I also have another orchid (supermarket bought by OH, and helpfully just called 'orchid' : It has a kind of central cane with leaves coming out of nodes along it's length. When it was in bloom, it looked like the moth orchid's flowers, but it's stem structure is very different. The leaves are kind of pointy at the ends, and the cane's top layer has a papery texture (like an onion?) When it had finished flowering, I removed the whole flower stem back to the cane (oops!) It has now sent up a new cane from another part of the pot. Any ideas what it might be?

Thanks in advance!!!

[chickadeedeedee]

Hi RM. Thanks for the compliment although I am *FAR* from being an expert.

I think your new orchid is a type of Dendrobium or Cane Orchid. The flowers look like a mini-Phal? Those guys DO need a period of rest / drying out to get them to bloom. When they are done blooming they are done blooming and you can remove the flower spike.The timing depends on the species. New canes come from the base. Any chance you could post a photo? I'll see what I can find out about them.

These are supposed to be some of the easiest orchids to grow. Oh I can grow them but have only had one re-bloom for me. But we do keep buying one here or there or my orchid friend sends me a box with them in bloom ... then we wait the eternal wait for signs of a single flower. Still waiting. ;D

I remove the faded flowers from the Moth Orchid spikes rather than have them drop and maybe get stuck to the tables or plants below. If the very tip of the spike shows no growth the choice is yours. You ~could~ snip the spike back to whatever length you like. You could just leave it and see if the spike will produce a branch and sent out new flowers.

If the flower spike is dried up and brown it is 100% done and can be cut to the base.

In the Fall the Moth Orchids do like a cooling period to get the plants to bloom. I've not heard of them needing a second cooling off period at other times but I honestly don't know. Once mine are inside they stay warm and keep blooming for months and months.

[Deleted]

Thanks cd3! I've just googled dendrobium, and I think that's what it is ;D As it's sending up a new cane, maybe I'll get lucky It was a gift, so don't want to give up on it

[chickadeedeedee]

That's great that he's sending out new growth! Oh no! Don't give up on the plant even if it is not in bloom. You described the plant *perfectly*!

I'll see what I can find out about them and post later. I have photographs of some of mine and will post those later today as well ... if Photobucket lets me!