Make sure the pot has holes in the bottom so that the water drains out,
otherwise the little water you put in will cause root rot, as the water
would have no place to go.


"Lise Sedrez" wrote in message
...
Tom, thank you so much. No, it is not regular pot soil, I think it is bark
mix. I put the poor baby in my front porch, the only place with some
light. I don't know what I will do during hte winter, though.

Thank you for the links--I will look at them today, and maybe find an
orchid that doesn't require too much light.

Best,

Lise

Tom Randy wrote:
On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 22:07:37 -0400, Lise Sedrez wrote:


My husband gave me a beautiful orchid last week--the label says it is a
dendrobium orchid. As soon as we arrived home, I dutifully hit the
internet trying to find out as much as possible on orchid care. Yet, less
than four days after we brought it home , my orchid is loosing its
leaves. the leaves become wet, losing that firm texture, and fall. The
blossoms are still beuatiful.

Now, I know that overwatering is the most common sin for beginners. But I
did the soil test (poking my finger in the soil up to the second
knuckle). I watered it (with fertilizer) only on hte first day and today
(very little) four days later. I live in Virginia, so humidity is not a
problem. the temperature seems right, as well. One problem is that my
house doesn't get much light--I placed the orchid in the brightest corner
I could find, but it doesn't mean much. Yet I doubt that three days with
little light would be eno0ugh for the leaves to fall.

Could you help me please? I did try to an answer in the internet and in
previous posts, but I couldn't find it. The websites talk about "wrinkled
leaves", and maybe this is it. But in this case, the leaves actually
fall.

Thanks for your help.

Best,

Lise



First off is it in regular potting soil? If so you need to get it in
orchid bark mix ASAP. Your local garden center or Home Depot/Lowes should
have it. Secondly, Dens need a LOT of light, a sunlit south or east/west
window. Also, here are a few places on the web to start your orchid
learning:

http://retirees.uwaterloo.ca/~jerry/orchids/osites.html

http://www.orchidlady.com/index.html#top

http://www.orchidmall.com/

Tom