Question
QUESTION: I have an orchid and don't know what kind it is and there are some white spots on a few of the leaves kinda indented, two lower leaves fell off and were yellowish, it did bloom for me couple of times and the flowers are a light purple.  There are stems about three, I cut two (they were turning yellow) and now it is starting to push out buds again...please advise care and what could be wrong with my pretty plant?

ANSWER: I would have to take a shot in the dark Melissa as to which type of orchid you have.  My best guess is that you have a miniature dendrobium.  It is not uncommon for leaves to yellow and fall off as many of these are deciduous. I'm not sure what you are referring to as "stems".  The growths on minidendrobiums are upright canes and the flowers come from stalks that grow from the canes.  The canes on minidendrobiums are usually no more than 6 inches in height.  As long as the canes are healthy you should be fine.  Flower stalks naturally turn brown after flowering.  New canes grow from the base of the plant and these will be the basis for future flowering.  Old canes also can reflower on this type of plant.  So, if canes are dying, that could be a proble, but if flower spikes are dying, that is normal.

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QUESTION: I have looked around for pictures and my orchid looks like the phalaenopsis types.  The flower stalks do fall off after flowering.  After I cut the canes from where it was turning yellow, a new one has sprouted from where it was clipped.  I don't have any new growth on the bottom. The leaves are green, but have white spots on them that are indented.  The top cane doesn't show any new growth either and that one didn't turn yellow.  I don't know how much water or light this is supposed to get, but I try to keep it moist and by a window that is south east.  Please advise.

ANSWER: OK melissa.  If it is a phalaenopsis, then everything changes.  Phalaenopsis don't have canes but they do have flower spikes.  What you need to do is repot the plant in fresh orchid potting mix.  I suspect that you have root rot.  Obtain a bag of orchid potting mix and unpot your plant discarding all of the old potting mix.  Upon unpotting your plant you should find rotten roots that are mushy and collapsed (healthy roots are firm).  You need to remove all of the mushy roots before repotting.  Most of the problems with phalaenopsis orchids lie in the roots.  When the roots go bad they can no longer support the vegetative parts of the plant and you have leaf collapse and die off. After repotting, water only once per week until you have new leaf growth.  New leaf growth is a sign that new roots are growing.  After repotting, you may have a new plant beginning to grow at a node on the green flower spike.  The indented spots on the leaves may be a sign of mesophyll collapse.  This can not be reversed.  All you can hope for now is to get the plant into recovery mode so it grows new roots and leaves.  The leaves that are on the plant now will be lost in a few weeks or months. Growing the plant in the southeast window is fine but, in the winter, you will need to ensure that it doesn't get below 55 degree in the window as phalaenopsis do not tolerate temperatures below 55 degrees very well.

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QUESTION: I do apologize for continuous questions, but I have one more....I heard that you can't touch the roots with your hands due to some chemical imbalance.....is this true?  Are there any special cutting instructions?  Thanks again, I really love my flowers and miss them dearly.

Answer
Not a problem.  It is importanr that you ask questions.  That is the key to learning-- that's what I'm here for.  I don't believe there is anything to the rumor you heard about creating a chemical imbalance by toughing the roots with your hands.  Even if you break a root it can recover and grow branches. I would, however, encourage you to be as gentle as you can and cause as little damage to the root system as you can.  If your roots are long, I recommend that the whole root mass be inserted into the pot with a corkscrew motion which allows the roots to follow the inside walls of the pot as it is inserted down into the pot.  For cutting, I recommend a sterile instrument that has not been used on other plants.  Just remove those parts of the root that are dead or damaged and retain as much healthy root as possible.