On 19 Jan 2007 13:37:53 -0800, "vala1022"
wrote:

Hello,

My Mum recently bought me an orchid from the grocery store and the
petals have fallen off it. I watered it and I have it in a place where
it gets indirect light for part of the day. The leaves are still pretty
green except for one, and the stem the petals were on is fairly green
except right at the top. I'm not sure if it is dying or if it will grow
and bloom again. I asked the people on the store and they said to cut
down the stem and another one should grow. I don't see anywhere another
stem would grow from. So far I haven't done anything, but continued to
water it. I was wondering if anyone knew what I should do next, should
I replant in a bigger pot, cut down the stem...?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Kerry.

Kerry -
You need to identify the type of orchid. The Orchid family is very
diverse and different plants need different care. I will take a guess
that you received a Phalaenopsis. The American Orchid Society has
culture sheets, I attached one to this note.
http://www.orchidweb.org/aos/

Basic Orchid culture requires a balance of water, humidity, light and
air movement. A Phal likes house temperature where you would be
comfortable. They want "bright" light, but not sun on the leaves.
They sunburn readily. They would prefer a humidity in the area
greater than 30%. But will understand if your home is less. If you
have other houseplants, grouping them will increase the humidity in
that area of your home. They do not want wet feet. That is they want
to be able to breath even with their roots, so we plant them in chunky
bark and water when the bottom of the mix is dry but let it drain.
NEVER set the pot in a saucer where the water will sit around the
bottom of the pot. One way to test if the plant is dry, is to use a
Bar-B-Q Bamboo stick. Push it into the pot - wait about a minute.
When you pull it out the bottom of the sick will either be darker than
the top (wet) or just the same color. If you think it might be
damp... Wait another day or two. More orchids are killed by kindness
- too much water than by drying out.

As to the stem from the inflorescence... there are 2 theories - Some
people prefer to allow it to die on its own, others always cut it off
just above the main plant. Either way is fine. Next fall as it gets
cooler out and your home cools for the night (10 degree drop is
suggested) your plant will start a new inflorescence to bloom at this
time next year.

Ortho and others have beginner books on growing orchids. You might
enjoy learning more about your plant.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/orchids