zxcvbob wrote:
I bought a blooming orchid for $10 at Home Depot, of all places, a
couple of months ago. It has one flower left; the others have dropped
off. I assume the last one will fall off pretty soon. Is the plant
spent after it blooms, or can I keep it going and expect it to bloom
again in my lifetime? I don't know what kind of orchid it is, but I'd
call it a moth orchid rather than a slipper orchid. It has 5 or 6
strap-like leaves.

It is planted in what looks like a roll of half-rotten tree bark instead
of chopped bark and/or orchid mix, so I'm not sure how I'd replant it
other than set it a little deeper in a bigger pot. If I try to remove
the old "soil" I'll destroy most the the roots.

I've been watering it by soaking the root ball for about 5 minutes and
then draining it, and letting it dry out completely before watering
again. (I think it lost a few blooms when I let it dry out too much.)
I haven't given it any food yet. Should I be using distilled water (or
deionized, or rain water) so salts don't build up?

Thanks,
Bob

The common name for Phalaenopsis is "moth orchid". Go to a real
nursery, and check to see if their Phalaenopsis looks like your plant.

If it is Phalaenopsis, it grows quite well as a house plant. Keep it in
a north-facing window where it will get strong, indirect light but no
direct sun.

Repot it in what is sometimes called a bulb pan or fern pot. This is a
clay flowerpot that is somewhat squat (more shallow) than the usual pot.
After the last flower dies, remove the plant from its current pot.
Gently shake the roots to remove the old potting mix (which is the bark
of a tree fern); you can pick away the fern bark unless it is really
stuck to a root. Repot in bark chips with the base of the plant just
slightly below the chips. Set the pot on a large saucer that has pea
gravel or similar pebbles.

I water mine once a week. When you water, be very, very careful that no
water gets into the center of the leaves. If even a single drop of
water bounces off a bark chip and into the center of the plant, the
plant may rot and die. I hold the pot over the kitchen sink with the
palm of my left hand blocking the drain hole. I use a plastic watering
can with a narrow spout, filling the flowerpot until the bark begins to
float. Then, I let the water drain out. After I put the pot back on
the saucer, I add water to the saucer until it's just above the pebbles;
this provides added humidity.

Every other week, I water with a commercial orchid fertilizer, 1/4 tsp
to a quart of water. In this case, I set the pot in a large mixing bowl
to capture the runoff. After draining the pot into the bowl and
returning the pot to its saucer, I pour the runoff back into the
watering can to use on another orchid. (I have three.) After all
orchids are fed, I pour the runoff again into the watering can and add
enough water to fill the can. I use this to water my other house plants.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

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