Question
Dear Sir/Madam:

I was given an orchid as a gift a year ago. It was immature with two healthy shoots.

I am not sure what kind of orchid it is. It may be Dendrobium or Cattleya. It is definitely not Philanopsis.

It has grown two shoots. One after the other. Both have yellowed and died while immature. There were two healthy shoots when I received it. These seem to remain healthy.

I fertilize weekly with an orchid fertilizer. This is 25-10-10. It is in cocoa mulch. (coconut shell).

What should I do so that new growth is sustained and matures?

Thanks for your time and attention,

Derrick Keene


Answer
Hello Derrick,

Glad you eliminated Phalaenopsis from the possible list of orchids, that only leaves 30,000 other possibilities.  (grin)  Actually, there really are over 30,000 different species of orchids, but most are not available at retail stores but rather at specialty orchid nurseries.  

Without a photo of your orchid, it would be difficult to say what type it is.  There are some Dendrobium orchids that look similar to many Cattleya orchids, but as you probably know, they are very distinct orchids requiring somewhat different growing environments.  

Which is it?  I suggest taking a look at the roots, Dendrobiums have thin wiry roots while Cattleyas have thicker roots almost as thick as a wooden pencil.  

Once you have determined which type of orchid you have, could you write back and I'll try to give you some guidelines on how to care for it.  

Lastly, I would suggest stop feeding it the 25-10-10 orchid fertilizer and get a blance type orchid fertilizer instead.  The 25-10-10 is a high nitrogen fertilizer that continually promotes growth and not much flowering if at all.  

Let me know what you find out about the roots.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.

P.S. My suspicion is that you have a Dendrobium but I may be wrong.