Question
I received an orchid from my boyfriend in March and the flowers were beautiful. I am not sure on the type of orchid, but the flowers were white in color and lavender. Eventually the flowers died off and understand that this is normal. The stem has withered and browned, but the leaves remained thick and green; grew another leaf. I have noticed today that one of the leaves closer to the soil has died and a couple of the roots have died. What can I do to make my orchid healthy again. I live in San Diego, CA.

Answer
Hi Sharon in San Diego,

It would be easier knowing what type of orchid you got from your boyfriend, but I believe it might be a phalaenopsis orchid.  Do the leaves look like elongated ovals and grow outward from the center of the plant with leaves alternating from one side to the other, etc. and there is no bulb at the base of the plant?  

If it is a phal, you can remove the dead stem by cutting it about an inch or two from the bottom.  As long as it is the bottom leaf that died and fell off, that is normal as phals will lose one or two leaves during the year.  Also, during the year it will produce one or more new leaves from the top or crown.  New leafs should grow to be as large or larger than the older leaves, if not that could indicate there may be a problem with the roots or nutrition.  

Roots exposed to air can become shriveled and dry unless there is very high humidity present or you lightly mist them each morning, just the roots and not the leaves.  

Phals need bright indirect sunlight, humidity above 50%, some light air movement around it, temperatures between 60F to 85F.  Water and feed it when the potting media becomes barely moist, this may be as often as every 3 days in summer to every 10-14 days in winter.  

You are fortunate to live in San Diego with such a beautiful climate.  My kids used to love vacationing there so we went there for almost 10 years in a row.  Now they're all grown and take their families there every couple of years.  Hmmm, they haven't invited the "old" folks to tag along!  (grin)  Actually, I've been watching the grandkids from the time they were 2 months old onward for over 13 years now so having a break when they're on vacation is nice.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.