Question
Dear Jim,

I noticed that you are in San Jose and know a lot about orchids. I am in Mountain View - my husband gave me a phalaenopsis orchid for my birthday 2 weeks ago (bought it from a florist near Santana Row). The buds are gorgeous and still in bloom, but the four leaves do not seem to be doing as well. The smallest one is yellowing/withering away, another is drooping, another has a big white gash looking thing on it with yellow around it, and the largest one has what looks to be a big, squishy bruise. The instructions that came with the orchid said to water it from the bottom, but things looked really dry today so I pulled it out of its pot and it looks like the inner plastic pot is too short to be able to reach the water in the bottom. I've never had an orchid before, and I really want to keep this one alive. Do you have any advice?

Answer
Hello Tori,

What a nice husband!  Santana Row stores are too rich for me!  (grin)

For all the things that appear to be wrong with the phalaenopsis, my guess is that some of it was already present on it when he bought it for you 2 weeks ago.  My advice would be to take it back to the florist shop to show them (take the receipt along too) the condition it is in.  Most reputable stores and nurseries will replace defective plants if you bring them back within a short time.  

The main concern I have is with the squishy bruise area which could be a bacterial or fungal infection, both can slowly kill your orchid.  Droopy leaves can be caused by several things, some by you and others by the original grower.  The white gash sounds like it might be a mechanical damage or one caused during handling it while bringing it home.  If the smallest leaf is the bottom leaf, there probably is nothing to worry about but if it is the topmost leaf, that is not a good sign as it could be due to crown rot caused by water allowed to remain on it overnight.  

Many shops and nurseries place orchid pots in ceramic pots with no holes because it looks nicer but they can be an orchids worst nightmare!  The reason is that those pots limit air flow through the pot and potting media which is needed to maintain healthy roots.  

If the store will not replace it for free, write back and I'll try to help save it but I have to tell you that it might still die regardless of what is done to save it.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.