Question
Hi! Mr King:

I had several Orchids, and one of it have brown color at the edge of the new leaf.  The other one have split leaves.  What is the reason?  How should I take care of it.  I used bark, and put 30:10:10 for fertilizer.  I use the recommand dose and once a month/once every two weeks.  I'm afraid I used too much, so I decrease the frequency.  All orchid are in the room and have 1 hour or so light from North side of window.


Another question is I had several orchids which grow really well but never bloom again.  Should I change the fertilizer?

Best
Evelyn

Answer
Evelyn, I recommend that you provide more light for your orchids. Insufficient light is  the principal reason why orchids fail to flower. Best place to grow them in the house is an east facing window where they can get some morning sunshine.  Leaves that are a deep green color are also suggestive of insufficient light.  Any sunlight they may be receiving in their north location will soon be gone as the sun shifts to a more southerly direction. Temperature near the windows can also drop to below 55 degrees in the winter, so plants need to be moved back from the window even further reducing the light they receive.  If you don't have the option of growing in another window, consider adding supplemental lighting close to the plant.  Be sure to keep the temperature near your plants between 60-80 degrees.

If you are growing your plants in just fir bark, I recommend that you change to a commercially prepared orchid potting mix which should have perlite. charcoal, etc.. Fir bark alone repels water when it is dry, hence the potting mix needs some ingredients that help with moisture retention (eg perlite).  Also, over time, the fir bark decays and restricts air movement in the root zone.  Orchid potting mixes often contain charcoal which does not break down so readily and helps maintain air flow to the roots.

Generally speaking, after each flowering, you should repot your plants in fresh orchid potting mix.  Soak you new potting mix prior to use and screen out any fine particles which can restrict air flow to the roots.  Remove the plant prior to repotting and discard the old potting mix.  This will give you a chance to check the root health of your plant.  Any roots that are mushy, are dead and should be removed prior to repotting.  

Repot to plastic pots with lots of drainage holes and be sure not to let the pot sit in water.