Hello Ive got 2 orchids to identify and one of them has lost 2 lower leaves out of four. They went yellow and fell off a couple of days ago when that happened I un potted it from from its PACKED moss. I let the moss and orchid dry out overnight then filled the bottom of the pot with the origonal moss and stuck the support wire into the pot and set the roots onthe moss and then covered with about 1 inch of moss. Its been 3 days and havent seen any more yellow on the leaves but are still losing blooms. This flower is white with a purple veining in it and a purple center. The other orchid ineed identified is white petals and a little yellow in the very center. if it works pictures of the 2 orchids should be attached. Any help in any of these matters would be much appretiated. Thanks much Bryan
Hey. Sorry to hear about your plants, but thtey should be okay. Both are Phalaenopsis. Did they come with any kind of tags? It would be impossible to tell you the hybrid names, as there are probably thousands of Phal. hybrids, and without a tag, you out of luck. But, that's not important. Google Phapaenopsis care, and you should get a ton of sites to check. I'll do what I can, though. When you un-potted it, what did the roots look like? Were they all spongy and black? It's good that you check the medium and tried to fix the problem. I would actually go for more of a moss/bark mix. Moss tends to stay too wet, but it all depends on your conditions and how often you like to water. Check your garden centres and big box stores for orchid mix. Phals like to be moist, but not wet, and the media should dry out slightly between waterings. If kept too wet, especially at the bottom of the pot, the roots will rot. When did you get the plants? Bud blast and flower drop can happen as a result of a change in conditions for the plant. This might be at the end of it's flowering, as you don't know how long the flowers have already been open. Make sure it doesn't get full sun, either. Do you have pics of the plant itself, since that is more of the issue? Maybe the roots too. I hope that is of some help.
Thanks for the response Kevind76. the only thing that is on the tags indicates that they are phalaenopsis but nothing further ive looked through all the pics i can find online and cant find these 2. i bought them about a month ago and have only watered them once about a week later i noticed the yellowing on the leaves. I un potted it from its container and got all the moss off the roots there might have been 1 0r 2 black roots but i removed them but the 2 bottom leaves still fell off. Since then I havent noticed any other problems with the leaves but it is still losing blooms. the other orchid whic is white with yellow centers i think is going through its natural cycle because the plant looks healthy but blooms are wilting and falling off. Ive attached some new pics of the plant and roots oh and also this is the plant that lost its lower leaves. thanks again for your advise 1977handy
You're not going to get any more detail than just Phal - not unless you can contact the grower. Most Phals need the same culture, so don't worry about it. I would say water it a bit more. The media should me moist, but not wet. Watering once a week probably isn't enough. Try putting the pot on a saucer of water with some pebbles on it, so the pot is above the water, not touching it. This will increase humidity. The pics of the roots look pretty good, though, but over time, if it is too dry, it will suffer. They like it warm too, so make sure you don't have it near cool drafts.
Thanks again for your input I will try giving it another drink. Iam just so afraid of over-watering it. I had one in the past and thats what happened to it, ( too much water) and i dont want to extinguish another plant. I have seen some plants that have been mounted on various things and am considering this as an option for the future. But for now i think i will focus on just trying to keep the plants alive. lol... thank you again for your help 1977handy
I understand your cautiousness. You just need to find the best balance of pot, media and watering regeime to keep the plant healthy. Mounting plants on cork or whatever is a great idea, but in the house, it is hard to keep them wet or humid enough. If it is mounted, place the mount on a tray of water, just like with the potted plant, to give humidity. Depending on the kind of orchid, it would probably have to be watered every day, or it will get too dry.
Well its been a couple of days and the rest of the flowers have fallen off and the top couple of inches of the stem have turned a light brown. The rest of the plant appears to be healthy, I moved the moss and the roots seem to be thick and and green. There are a few that look "new" light green and a few threads from old roots. The 2 remaining leaves are green/dark green. Oh am I supposed to cut off those thread roots? anyways thanks for all of your advise I appretiate it so much!! 1977handy
Yes, cut off those 'thread' roots. Also any that are mushy. What you have looks pretty good, though. Hopefully you get some new roots starting.
