Help save my Orchid (flowers, cold, plant, sale)

[Coolcin]

My son bought me this white Orchid for my Birthday. The minute I saw it I knew it was doomed.

I've only had it a few days and already have lost half of the flowers.

I read the directions that came with it. Difussed sunlight, water once a week...well I have done those things but I feel it's not going to last long.

Anyone have any advice?

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by Coolcin

My son bought me this white Orchid for my Birthday. The minute I saw it I knew it was doomed.

I've only had it a few days and already have lost half of the flowers.

I read the directions that came with it. Difussed sunlight, water once a week...well I have done those things but I feel it's not going to last long.

Anyone have any advice?

do you know what type of orchid? Is it in a bark medium?

[Sam I Am]

Coolcin, also see if it is set in a regular pot and is in one of those plastic planters. If it is, the pot may be holding water in the bottom and it will rot in a heartbeat. It will need to be transplanted into a more appropriate container with really good drainage.

I'm sorry - I have little luck with them myself - but I do know I've killed more than one with too much watering or from letting them keep wet feet.

[dens]

I am having a similar issue...I think mine is called something like the Moth Orchid and in a glass contrainer with moss and rocks...at a loss.

[HB2HSV]

I bought my wife an orchid last year and it is still alive and continue to bloom. No ideas what type it is just know of produces purple flowers. I kept it in the same plastic container from the store and it survives fine.

As another poster said, Orchid does not like to get wet. I only water it once every 2-3 weeks and make sure to drain out any water that accumulate at the bottom of container. Orchid's roots breathes air. So just leave it "dry" and it wil recover and continue to give you years of enjoyment.

[11thHour]

Don't fret the flowers dying off. Orchid flowers and buds get 'blasted' easily. If it's too drafty, or cold, or dry, or just differs greatly from the conditions they formed in they fail. But the next time they bloom, in your conditions, it should go better. I bet your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, google it and see if the pics match. If so you can google care directions. They are fairly hardy.

[Coolcin]

Originally Posted by 11thHour

Don't fret the flowers dying off. Orchid flowers and buds get 'blasted' easily. If it's too drafty, or cold, or dry, or just differs greatly from the conditions they formed in they fail. But the next time they bloom, in your conditions, it should go better. I bet your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, google it and see if the pics match. If so you can google care directions. They are fairly hardy.

Yes, it does look like that type of Orchid.

It came in a glass container. I will try not to water it for a while to see if it get's better.

Thanks!

[motordavid]

No orchid expert, but we have several, some of which are a decade+ old...I do very little to them: if I remember to, I change out the orchid medium every couple years.
I rarely fertilize. They 'stay' here now, at our FL house, outside on our lanai, unattended for 7 months, yet bloom every year, and sometimes twice a year.

All bought on sale from the local big box hardware stores over the years. Nearly indestructible, imo.

Sometimes the newly bought ones, when brought 'home' simply don't like the 'change' or, the house conditions. Fwiw, less water(ing) is more, esp initially after the 'move',
and as they are usually brought home in bloom, I feel they need even less light when fully bloomed out.

Ours stay outside 24/7 here at the FL joint, though we used to have them 'in and out' at our NY place, and our NC home. And, the OP's orchid may have been a dud to start with...
for ~$15 or less, they are easily replaceable, and if you get a 'good one', and it likes the situ, they are very, very tough plants. When I first got an orchid, I read alot about their care,
but I just went with basic common plant sense.
GL, mD

Pic of four, of the seven out of eight, currently in bloom...the white one is on its last leg, bloom-wise, but that moth has been in bloom for nearly 6 months.

[jimboburnsy]

If I put any effort into keeping an orchid alive it dies.

I've had one that has done well for about four years. I put it on a window sill that faces East and doesn't get much sun because I couldn't think of any other place to put it. My wife puts one ice cube in its container once a week.

[HB2HSV]

Another thing. Do not cut the stem off after the flower dies. They will rebloom in a few weeks.

They do not like sun. Keep them in the shade and "ignore" them you will do fine.