Unhappy Orchid

[southlondongardener]

I think you are right. Any ideas on how I killed it ? Possibly too much water ?
I have 2 orchids one at work - which is doing fine and another one which I have had for years.

[Matt.]

2 sticks??????

I know it is wholly inappropriate to laugh at anothers misfortune... but Nicos' response has had me in tears laughing. For some reason that really flicked my humour switch. I know I am bad but blimey that was a good chuckle!

Southlondongardener - I wish you all the best for future growing and who knows your orchid may well recover. In my opinion though I'd assign it to the same place as the dodo and have a crack with a new one. Good luck.

[Protea]

Erm, yes. Well as the others have said, i'm afraid it looks terminal for your orchid. By the look of the flowering spikes it looks like it might have been a phaleonopsis orchid (moth orchid).

Can i ask - did you repot it after you were given it? It looks like its in a large black pot which it highly unusual. Phaleonopsis orchids are arboreal (i.e. in the wild they live in trees) and their roots need to see some light. They also absorb moisture from the air which is why you don't need to water them too much. Additionally, they like to have their roots constricted, don't repot them until they're bursting out!

For future orchids i would suggest my method described in my earler post: treat them mean, water infrequently unless they're flowering, keep them in light, but not direct sunlight positions, give them a period of cold to initiate flowering (i have a cold kitchen windowsill in the winter which does fine).

Good luck with your one at work.

[nick the grief]

Sorry to hear of your loss SLG, I bought a couple for Mrs G and the small one ( about 4" high in a 2" pot) she thought was dead as it had stopped flowering and she threw it in the bin just before christmas I rescued it the next day ( having been a real good frost overnight and now it's loving it's new position in the kitchen window which is really shady most of the year and has grown about 1" so they are tough ( well that one was)

I think Protea in the guru on here for Orchids so I'll be trying the same plan of attack. I did get a little book the other day only about £3 or £4 so I'll try reading that but I can see the little greenhouse being taken over with orchids as they are real beauties in flower.

I'll see if I can get a shot of our big un.

[southlondongardener]

Erm, yes. Well as the others have said, i'm afraid it looks terminal for your orchid. By the look of the flowering spikes it looks like it might have been a phaleonopsis orchid (moth orchid).

Can i ask - did you repot it after you were given it? It looks like its in a large black pot which it highly unusual. Phaleonopsis orchids are arboreal (i.e. in the wild they live in trees) and their roots need to see some light. They also absorb moisture from the air which is why you don't need to water them too much. Additionally, they like to have their roots constricted, don't repot them until they're bursting out!

For future orchids i would suggest my method described in my earler post: treat them mean, water infrequently unless they're flowering, keep them in light, but not direct sunlight positions, give them a period of cold to initiate flowering (i have a cold kitchen windowsill in the winter which does fine).

Good luck with your one at work.

Yes I did - that was a mistake and the one in work is in a more crowded plot.
What type of pot would be good for these and where can I buy it from ?

[Protea]

Yes I did - that was a mistake and the one in work is in a more crowded plot.
What type of pot would be good for these and where can I buy it from ?

It varies from species to species, but phaleonopsis (moth) orchids need a clear or opaque pot, you can usually get them from garden centres, although you may have to try a few to find one. I'm sure you can buy them online as well but i haven't looked. When you buy an orchid it will normally come in a suitable pot and you can just sit this on a pot saucer filled with gravel (ensuring the gravel is wet creates huimidity which they like).

I'll go and take a picture of my large phaleonopsis which is currently flowering for the second time this winter, i repoted this in the autumn as it was bursting out of its small pot. I expected it to not flower for a year or so as the only larger pot i could get was huge. however, it seemd to have taken to its new pot very well, so you never know!

I have a good orchid book, i'll did it out and see what its called.

[Protea]

Here we are, pic of my flowering phaleonopsis.

This is the first time this orchid has produced a 'side shoot' of buds, on the main flowering stem, its only had single spikes before.

Once orchids have finished flowering you need to cut the stem off at the base where it joins the leaves. There are many books that tell you to cut it off just above a node on the stem, but in my experience this just produces kiki's (baby orchids) rather than more flowers. However, it probably depends on the age of the orchid, i may try it with this one.

Before they re-flower they will usually produce one or sometimes two new leaves and you may find older leaves turn yellow and drop off, although again this should really only be one or two - not the whole lot!

[southlondongardener]

Well I think I will get a new one from Sainsburys soon.

[nick the grief]

Found me book it was this one

Orchids - practical advice on buying and growing indoors and outdoors by Jorn Pinske (Aura Garden Guides)

it looks quite a good one although a quick search on Amazon brought up a Dummies guide to Orchids and an Orchid Expert by Dr hessayon

[nick the grief]

... and dug the camera out

These are our 2