Sue,

I agree with Kenni that your plant definitely sounds like a Phalenopsis.

When you say that the "brown bumps" are at the bottom and at the top of the
leaves, do you mean on the leaves themselves or on the stem close to the
leaves? If the bumps are on the stem, they could be small roots. My grandma
in Poland was telling me about "white bumps" that her orchid had developped,
and after further description, we established that those were roots as well.

Roots can be brown -- brown is not as good as white or green, but as long as
there are plenty of white or green ones, that's ok if they are a bit brown,
I think. And if they are small they look like bumps and if they are long and
reach out of the pot they look like feelers.

One of my Phals has this delightful big fat root that grew out of the stem
right above a leaf and it followed that leaf, just kind of resting on it --
looks a bit like a fat slug, but a nice one :-)

Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
.. .
Sounds more like a Phalaenopsis. The brown bumps are NOT seeds, and sound
potentially troubling to me -- could be harmful insects [brown scale].
Have
they been there long? If they've been there for 5 years, they must not be
doing much if any harm, but if they appeared recently ... How big are
they,
and have you ever tried to scrape one off? Scale are usually small [less
than 1/8"] and will scrape off easily with a light touch of a fingernail
[light enough not to damage the leaf tissue]. If they fall off VERY
easily,
they might already be dead, but I think I'd wipe them off with alcohol
just
in case.

Five years is a VERY long time to go without repotting, but that does
depend
somewhat on what's in the pot, and if you've gone this long without a
problem, it might be better not to disturb the plant. If the medium isn't
decomposed [or if it's all completely decomposed away], there's no need to
mess with it. If the plant was in, say, lava rock or charcoal, there would
be no decomposition; if it was in sphagnum moss, there might be none left
by
now. If it was in bark, I'd think you'd have had a soggy, stinky mess on
your hands long before now. If it was in coconut chips, they'd probably
be
just about starting to go bad by now, and a change would be advisable.
So,
my suggestion would be to take a close look and a sniff at the potting
medium; if it looks and smells nice and "fresh" rather than musty or
rotten,
I'd probably leave it alone, but if there is any doubt, I would repot into
fresh medium upon the next appearance of new roots.

Good growing,

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Sue Mack" wrote in message
...
Hello --- I am the surprised owner of a Mother's Day orchid that has
flourished for five years, and I'm beginning to wonder what to do next.
It is one of those beautiful white ones that we see in the grocery
stores, perhaps a "cat"? It has happily and sweetly bloomed every late
winter. It lives under a 100-watt table lamp in front of a west window
in the living room. It grows a new pair of big green leathery leaves
each year, and the leaves have brown seed-like bumps on the bottom, and
a few brown bumps on the top of the leaves (and I wonder if those are
seeds). It summers on the morning side of my screened porch. When I
bring it inside, I first treat it gingerly for ants. I feed it just the
common liquid plant food (a cap added to the watering pot) that I use
for my Chinese Evergreens and snake plants and ivy (my house is on the
dark side for most plants). The plant scared me and I expected it to
die within several months, but instead, here it is, ready to go to
kindergarten. @@@ I have a couple questions, if I might impose: (1)
The orchid is in the same pot it arrived here in. Should I repot it,
and if so, what season, and what type of pot? (2) What do you call
those long, velvety, mint-green .... stems .... tendrils ..... branches
... stamens ... feelers? ... that grow long in the spring. They reach
up and out and tap everyone nearby on the shoulder in the most
socialized way. I have looked at a lot of orchid pages on the net, but
none ID the long trailers --- and the sites all seem to be for
professional orchid folks, rather than orchid foster parents. As we
speak, the orchid is busy starting to grow a new leaf, although winter
doesn't start until Dec. 21. However, here in the D.C. area, our
autumns are quite Indian Summer-ish. (In the winter, I keep my old
radiator heat system set at 62 degrees. In the summer, my two old
window AC units do not keep the house really cold. These factors
apparently are satisfactory to this orchid ----- or would it be twice or
thrice larger than it is now if it lived in a really warm house? The
leaves' span is about 18 inches wide. @@@ thanks for any tips, and any
referral to a website for really novice orchid babysitters. Sue