Question
Jim,

Thanks so much for all of your advice espcially the orchid meetings in my area I will follow-up on that. I am also going to buy a book.

I have one more question I am hoping you can help me with

One of the lower leaves the very bottom one on the orchid has turned yellow I want to remove it but do not want to damage the plant...I have asked at the nursery and a florist at the market and have received two different answers

First was to remove the leaf by carefully pulling it out much like for houseplants.

Second was to cut with scissors as much of the yellow leaf off as close to the base without jabbing the base as to avoid damaging the plant.

Which would you recommend?


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Followup To
Question -
Jim,
Thanks again for the advice, yes the orchid is placed in a southeast corner on my bedroom on a dresser the south window is very small and the blinds are always closed. However, the eastern window is larger as it is the main bedroom window and it has blinds tha I open in the morning and leave open all day.

Should I keep the blinds on the east window open or closed all day, half day?

One more question, how can I tell when the orchid needs to be watered, as I do not want to overwater it? Should I keep using the moisture meter?

I think I am going to leave the orchid in its original plastic pot wrapped with the decorative paper in the ceramic planter it came in as I don't trust myself to repot it at this time being new to the orchid world and all and probably hold off misting it to avoid any bugs.

As I mentioned before there is one large closed bud on the orchid, how long will it take for it to bloom do you thing it barely has a crack like it wants to open?

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Followup To
Question -
Jim,
I have placed the orginal plastic container that the orchid was in in a  planter that has a saucer attached I placed pebbles at the bottom of the inside of the planter and have filled with water up until the rocks so the excess water has drained in the attached saucer of the planter. The planter is glazed on the outside but not inside.


If I buy the "orchid" planter, how tall should it be I read it is not good to repot an orchid in a large planter should I use the original plastic container height that the orchid came in as a gauge?

Is it too late to repot as we are already about a month into Spring?

Do I still leave the fan on for this orchid as you mentioned before?

I have the orchid in a southeast location on a dresser.
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Followup To
Question -
Jim,

Thanks for your response I went to a nursery and saw the orchid it is called Phalaenopsis Orchid.

I was told to repot the orchid in an "orchid" pot basically a planter with slits all around it instead of keeping it in the original plastic pot. Is this true?

I currently have the orchid in its original plastic pot in a ceramic planter with a saucer bottom what if I place pebbles in the bottom of the ceramic planter and fill with water up until the pebbles?

Which is better to do repot the orchid, leave in planter with pebbles, or repot in new planter and place pebbles in the bottom of planter?

Also, I was told to mist the leaves daily is this true?

One more thing, why have all of the new buds fallen off except for one, is this something i am doing or did wrong?

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Followup To
Question -
Good Morning Jim,

I am hoping that you may be able to help me. I recieved a white orchid on Friday last week. It does not have any instructions or the name on it but the flowers are white with yellow and red speckles in the center of the white petals and it had several yellow bulbs on it but I noticed that the new bulbs began to fall off. So this morning I moved it and watered it.

I did not water it until this morning and let the water drain out of the bottom of the pot. I checked the potting mix with a plant meter and it read dry so watered it.

I initally had it downstairs in my dining room for the holidays which has a North facing window but yesterday moved it to my bedroom upstairs and placed it in a corner by a east and south facing window both of these windows have blinds do I leave them closed or open all day. I also have a ceiling fan in my room should I leave that on all day. The a/c is set to 78 and I live in Las Vegas Nevada.

Please advise.


Answer -
Good afternoon Sylvia,

Too bad you don't have the name of the orchid, but from your description of the plant and flower my guess would be it might be from the oncidium family.  

If it is from the oncidium family of orchids, it likes daytime temperatures between 60 to 85 and nights in the 50 to 65 range.  It prefers bright sunlight but since you live in Las Vegas, you might want to keep it in an eastern exposure window, south or west window would be too bright and hot for it.  Yes, keep the ceiling fan going at low speed, it will appreciate the air movement.  Water in the morning hours when the potting mix becomes barely moist.  Feed it a balance type orchid fertilizer at least once a month, I prefer feeding mine at each watering but at 1/4 the fertilizer amount.  If possible, place the pot on top of a plastic tray filled with small pebbles and keep water in it, this will help raise the humidity around the orchid.  

Wow!  You live in Las Vegas!  I was there 2 years ago and was amazed at all the new hotels and casinos built since my visit 5 years prior.  Now there is the Wynn and I hear a few others are in the planning stage or being constructed or remodeled.  One big disappointment was the smog!  From the Stratosphere it was hard to see the mountains in the distance.  The wife and I don't do much gambling but we enjoy cruising through the casinos and the attractions, even doing a little window shopping at the stores.  

Good luck with the orchid.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.
Answer -
Hi again Sylvia,

That's great! You found out what type of orchid you have. When you said it had bulbs, that made me think it might be an oncidium. I think you had meant to say the buds had turned yellow. Phalaenopsis do not have bulbs but rather thick fleshy leaves.

Why did the unopened buds turn yellow and fall off? There are many causes for this, but the main causes are a sudden temperature change greater than 15 F, exposure to direct afternoon sunlight causing sudden heat build up, ripening fruits nearby. The one open flower may have already opened or was beginning to open, so was not affected.  

You can repot it back into the same plastic pot if you wish, no harm will come to it if you do. The ceramic pots with slits is nice as it allows more air to circulate through the potting mix which is beneficial to the roots and also helps to minimize the affects of over watering. I use plastic pots with holes in the bottom and my orchids do fine. The primary difference is that the potting mix will remain moist longer in plastic which then allows you to not have to water as frequently if in a ceramic pot.

You can use a ceramic saucer with pebbles and water in it but be sure it is one with a glazed finish, unfinished ceramic will slowly become saturated with water and can cause water damage to your funiture.  Also, if you wish, you can use marbles or glass beads instead of pebbles in the saucer. The choice is yours.  (grin)

To repot or not to repot. Phalaenopsis orchids are one of the orchids that loves to be repotted annually and the best time to repot is early spring. Use a potting mix that is open while retaining some moisture. Many orchid growers use medium to large grade fir bark but there are many other materials that can be used, the main thing is it allows water to drain though while retaining a little moisture.  

Misting of the leaves does help a little but be careful to not mist late in the day or evening.  Water droplets left overnight on the leaves is an open invitation for a fungus infection which can cause a slow death to the phal. As I mentioned earlier, water in the morning and if you mist do not mist after mid afternoon and only mist very lightly.

Good luck.

Jim
Answer -
Hi Sylvia,

I would be leery of putting the pot inside the planter as it may restrict the flow of air around the pot. But, with that said, being that you live in Las Vegas where it can get pretty warm (grin), the planter may help keep it slightly cooler and also help maintain humidity around the phal. The attached saucer sounds fine but be sure to check the bottom to make sure the glazing is over the entire bottom surface.

The planter should cover the plastic pot but just barely. Also, the pot should just fit inside the planter with maybe a half inch clearance around the pot.  

Oh, I think I forgot to mention that the bottom of the pot should not be sitting in water when placed atop the pebbles.

Yes, you can repot it now. Keep it in a warm semi-shady place for several weeks afterwards then move it to your dresser. Since it is a southeast location, be watchful of the temperature there as things warm up. Does the window have sheer curtains or blinds? What you want to do is reduce the amount of direct sun exposure once temperatures exceed 85.  

It would be a good idea to have the ceiling fan going during the daytime, this will help keep things a bit cooler as the air circulates around it.  

Hope this answered your questions. If you have other questions, write and I'll try to answer them. Good luck.

Jim
Answer -
Hi Sylvia,

With a small window by the dresser, you probably can leave the blinds paritally open during the day to allow some sun light in. What you want is for it to be out of direct sunlight from around 9 AM once temperatures are above 85 there in Las Vegas. In winter you can leave the blinds open all day.

When to water? Simple, when it needs it. (grin) Actually, I use the lift and feel method in determining when to water my phals. How do you do this? Good question! (grin) When you think it is dry, lift the pot to see how heavy or light it feels and if it feels pretty light then it is time to water. After you water it thoroughly, lift it again to feel how much heavier it feels. After you've done this several times, it becomes very easy to tell when to water.  

I'd suggest removing the decorative wrapper from the pot, unless you punch holes in it to allow excess water to drain out and also to allow some air to circulate up through the pot. I normally discard any wrappings as soon as I get the orchid home but you can leave it if you wish but just make drainage holes in it before putting it in the decorative pot.

If the unopened bud is begining to show signs it is about to open, it should not be long before it is. It can take from 1 to 5 days for the bud to fully open. If it seems to be taking longer, you can try to manually open it by gently lifting the petals apart. It should then fully open by itself.

Hope this helps. By the way, there is an Orchid Society in the Las Vegas area. If you wish, try going to one or more of their monthly meetings, maybe even become a member. There you will meet a lot of really nice people and as a bonus be able to see what types of orchids are being grown by orchid hobbyists in the area. Here is the information:

Greater Las Vegas Orchid Society
Meeting Info: 1st Sunday, monthly, 2 pm  
AOS Rep: Carol Siegel
8601 Robinson Ridge Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89117  
USA
Tel:702-254-4168  
E-mail: [email protected]  
Web: www.glvos.com  

Take care,

Jim  

Answer
Hi Sylvia,

How about a third alternative?  Leave the yellowing leaf alone and it will fall off on its own.

With that said, I would recommend you take a close look at the base of the leaf where it connects to the plant for any evidence of a black sooty area. If there is, that would indicate that fungus grew there due to some water being there a while back. Also, check the underside of the leaf to see if there are any mealybugs and/or scale living there. Phals. are a favorite for both of these pests! Mealybugs can be safely removed with a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alchohol, scales may take a bit of rubbing with the Q-tip. If either pest is present, you will have to be diligent in keeping after them every 2 weeks or so. Remember, if you see one there probably are many more in hiding and waiting to come out to feed on your phal.

That's great! I think you will find the orchid meeting to be a lot of fun.  Don't be shy, look around and introduce yourself to the members.  There may be a guest registry for you to sign in and they may call out your name during the meeting and have you introduce yourself.  Since the society held their orchid show recently, there may some discussion about it during the meeting.  Also, there probably will be some orchids displayed from members collections, maybe even some orchids for sale (usually for less than you'd pay at a store).

By the way, I believe a lady I knew now lives in Las Vegas, at least I heard she did about 7 years ago. Her name is Clydette (can't remember the last name), 50-ish, about 5' 6", blondish hair.  I haven't seen her in about 8 years, so she may have changed hair color. (grin)  

Hope all is well.  Take care,

Jim