Dying orchid. Any suggestions for revival?

[nottakenpersonally]

Beautiful large flowers. The leaves have steadily going brown and falling off, over the last few months. Now there are only two left . Help, anyone, please?

[NurseySA]

I have kept an orchid alive for 3 years which is a miracle for me. I was told by the lovely lady who gave it to me to always keep it in a clear pot as the roots do the photosynthesis. Also when I water it I use water from the condenser from my tumble dryer as it is softer and warmer

[Passmethecrisps]

What is the soil like? Hard to tell in the picture but the soil looks quite wet. Orchids don't like being overwatered at all and this will slowly kill them.

Have you been able to take a look at its roots? There should be lots of sort of see through roots.

I have recovered orchids by reporting in a see-through pot with special orchid soil. They need a bit of air round their roots and the roots need light.

[Passmethecrisps]

Oh! Poster above me reminded me what I was about to say. Water very carefully (with rain water if you are terribly keen) making sure you get none in the plant if hat makes sense. Water in the sink and allow the excess to drain completely away. The roots should not be left sitting in water.

Good luck!

[nottakenpersonally]

Ooooh no wonder it wasn't happy! Thanks! So if I repot it in a clear plastic pot with a bit if special orchid soil, it might survive?

What's an aerial root please?

Generally pretty dry as I rarely remember to water it

[Passmethecrisps]

It might survive. Some of mine have and some haven't. Largely depends on how rotted the roots already are. I have had orchids from supermarkets that actually arrive with no roots at all. In essence they are little more than cut flowers and there is nothing you can do under those circumstances. Well, I haven't found anything which works.

[Melfish]

Sorry OP for hijacking your thread. I've inherited a number of orchids from DM. She had a few of them in her room in the nursing home- they grew well there as it was nice and warm all the time. After putting them in coear pots, Should I feed them orchid food and would they be ok in a sunny spot (my house is a good deal colder than the nursing home)?

[RedBugMug]

is it in compost? they really don't like 'soil' that traps water.
take it out and put it in bark chips in a plastic container with holes in.

[hefzi]

Orchid food is a good way to get further blooms, Mel, and a sunny window sill is a good spot: my DF has them on a north-facing one, and they flourish. (Only room in the house, too, without a tropical temperature to match )

[RedBugMug]

the arial roots are those green witches fingers that come out above the soil.

[Melfish]

Cheers hefzi, I'll have a look in the garden centre for the food.

[RubbishWriter]

Keep it in the bathroom and never water it unless you have an efficient extractor fan.

[shovetheholly]

Orchids grow everywhere - they're an amazingly diverse range of plants - but the ones we tend to buy in supermarkets etc are often tree-dwellers. They grow on branches in moist conditions. This gives you a hint of the conditions they like: partial shade (sunlight filtered by leaves), humidity, but not too much water delivered to the roots. A bathroom that is fairly warm but out of direct sunlight can be ideal! I do water mine, but only occasionally.

Once my phalaenopsis have finished flowering, I deliberately deprive them of water for a while until the leaves just start to shrink. When I rewater, they regrow a new flower spike and start again.

[Tarrarra]

I was sent an orchid recently and it came with care instructions to water once a week, and only in the morning. Will be trying it on the dead looking one on my window sill!

[nottakenpersonally]

No problem Mel.
I have repotted it in a clear pot with special orchid compost. Anyone want to bet how long it'll last now? Root picture coming.

[nottakenpersonally]

The roots

[RedBugMug]

good luck!
it might recover, have patience. just ignore it for a month or so.

[Qwebec]

Normaly it is better not to uproot the plant when it is in bloom, chances are the stress will kill the blooms. The roots of your plant seems very healthy. It's easy to see: the dead ones look and feel like empty bags. Giving light to the roots does not make much of a difference IME. The poster above who said soak the plant once a week in the morning is spot on, the fastest way to kill an orchid is by crown rot that happens when the core is still wet by nightfall. The plant dies within a week.

Phalaenopsis orchids (what you have) are quite tough to less than perfect conditions, their weakness is deseases caught while they were in production before you got the plant. I may be wrong, but I suspect this is the case. I'm not 100% sure because these issues are rare, I have encountered a few over the years but not enough to be able to be absolutely convinced over a photo. A good book about orchids would help you be sure.

If i were you, I would cut off the sick parts (make sure to desinfect the blade before each cut) and hope for the best. You might save or at least postpone it's demise. Or bin it and have a fresh start with a new beauty (cut off leaves stay ugly for years).

[nottakenpersonally]

Really Quebec? I have had this orchid for about 3 years, it has almost continually bloomed with fabulous large flowers. Would a disease take that long to manifest? (A friend had it before me, she gave it to me when she emigrated)

[nottakenpersonally]

Poltergoose I didn't cut off any roots, the cut stems you can see are old flower spikes! I may have done everything else wrong though

[GreyStars]

Buy a fake one

It's the only thing that has worked for me.

But a lovely lady on here, when I begged for help with my sticks :) found orchids for dummies free on the internet.

[GreyStars]

www.orchidsusa.com/Culture-Guide.pdf

It's not the one I had in mind but can't find it on my phone, I will check on my computer later and post it if I find it.

I am beyond bad with plants, I've killed a cactus, so no book was ever going to help me!

[nottakenpersonally]

Wow, that's a lot of orchid information,thanks greystars.

2 flowers died today, perhaps due to the shock of being repotted. the rest looks ok though.

[GreyStars]

I never did find the other one but glad this helped

Sorry to hear you lost more flowers I'd love to be successful with plants, I am just not