Question
Hi,
I bought a Phalaenopsis orchid (the mini kind) not even a week ago. It had one open flower and a bunch of buds. One of the buds opened a day or two after I bought it. Now some of the buds are yellowing and turning a bit reddish. I guess they will fall off soon. But for some reason the buds on top of the yellowin buds remain green (at leas for now.) What am I doing wrong? I live in LA, my apartment is always between 64 - 72 degrees. I keep it next to a window where the shades are partially open but light comes through during the day (but no direct sunlight.) What's going on? I love orchids, they're beautiful but cant seem to keep them alive. Please help!

Answer
Polina, since you have had the orchid for such a short time, it is not likely you have done anything wrong.  While there are many reasons for bud drop, there are three principal reasons. These are  1) strength of the plant, 2 temperature and 3) root condition.  If the plant was subjected to cold (eg while transporting it home) that could have precipitated bud drop. The plant may have tried to produce too many buds for its size and couldn't support all of them.  Often, plants are purchased in potting mix that has degraded causing it to remain too wet and preventing air from passing through to the roots.  The latter leads to root rot and compromising the plants ability to achieve its potential.

For now, I would wait and see if the existing buds open and/or new buds form.  While you do this, try to restrict your watering.  You can plunge you finger and feel of the mix a couple of inches down into the pot.  If it still feels damp, withold watering until it feels dry. Water only when the potting mix is dry.  That is a stop gap measure until you can repot the plant. It should prevent further root rot.  Phalaenopsis prefer to be placed in an east window where they can get morning sunshine.  Use a small thermometer to monitor the temperature to ensure that the temperature doesn't drop below 60 degrees.  When the plant finishes flowering, you will need to repot it in an orchid potting mix.  Since the flower spike could develop more buds, it may be some time before the plant stops flowering so repotting it could be weeks or months from now.  If you are uncertain about repotting, let me know when you are ready and I will walk you through the steps that I use.