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Old 03-03-2006, 09:38 PM posted to rec.gardens.orchids
Kenni Judd
 
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Default New Orchid owner, can someone provide advise?

Your orchid looks to be in pretty good shape.

The peeling stuff is absolutely normal. As it gets dry enough to come off
easily, just peel it away.

If the flowers were open when it was given to you, there's no way to know
how long they actually lasted from start-to-finish. Anywhere from 3-5 weeks
would be normal, but unless you got it while the flowers were still buds,
you don't know how much of that time had elapsed before you received it. It
should bloom again on the next growth -- this time next year, or more likely
sooner (I think this one will go more than once a year).

The only "dark spot" I saw was in the first pic, a border on one leaftip.
As a precaution, you could wipe that leaf with rubbing alcohol, but it
doesn't look like a big concern to me.

On the watering: When you water, you should be running lots of water
through the pot. If you have it on a saucer, you need to go back and drain
so the plant isn't left sitting in a puddle. Once a week is a common
guideline, but the real answer is "whenever it's good and dry." In a dry
ac-d or heated environment, it might be more than once a week. You can
judge by the weight of the pot -- it should be heavy right after you water,
and then get much lighter as it dries out. And it's much better to let it
get a little too dry than to keep it too wet. A little bit of shrivelling
on the old growths is to be expected; the new growth looks full and firm.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids


"ext237" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I received an Orchid from my boss at work. The tag in the container says
"Lc. Little Oliver 'Tricolor'". Pictures are he

http://lippeatt.com/flowers.asp

Can someone take a look and see if it is healthy? It is getting dark
spots on the leaves, and the stem with the flowers has died. Its only
being watered once a week per suggestions received because Orchids do not
like too much water? I moved it away from the window because it has been
pretty cold lately.

Here's my pictures. They are done with a camera phone, but you can see
the dark spots, the skin that is pealing off, and the withered stems.

Thanks to anyone who can offer a bit of advise!!