Question
I have an orchid that I inherited from my grandmother. she had it for a very long time--25 years or more. I have had it for about 5 years now. I have no idea what type of Orchid it is. It grows in a ball and has small white flowers that resemble a Callas lilly.The leaves are only 3-4 inches long, and about 1/4 inch thick. They grow along a root system in somewhat of a linear form. The problem is that some of it is drying and turning purple/brown. I have no idea if it is drying out too much or if it has a disease. I wrapped moss and orchid potting mix around it. When it seems that it has out grown it's previous, and have done this twice in the past 5 years. The first time it seemed to love it, but this time I don't know. The first time it started having problems was when I brought it in the house for the winter two years ago and was dried out too much. I keep assuming it is drying out too much, I just brought it in from the green house, because it was dry from the heater, and to monitor it more closely. I am at a loss. I have no idea if I should take it apart, trim roots, and reattach it or leave it alone, but it is not like the other orchids that I have that grow in pots with soil. My mom says it used to grow on a piece of wood, but I have also tried to research where I could find that. Please help before I lose this family heirloom.

Answer
Hello Mindy,

Too bad you don't have a name for the orchid, that would really help.  Do you have a photo you could send?  

There are several orchids I think it could be but I'm not quite sure and don't want to give you advice that would be wrong for it.  

If no photo is available, maybe if you describe the structure of the orchid plant along with what and how the flowers grew, I might be able to narrow it down.  Of course, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.  (grin)  

Sorry I could not help much at this time.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.