On Oct 28, 9:27*pm, Steve wrote:
suzanne bloud wrote:
Hi Everyone!
I was just wondering if someone could help me with a problem?
I’ve always loved orchids and I got one in August as a gift.
However two months later it's started to wither, and now the petals
have fallen off!
I don't know much about the type of orchid I have, all I no is that
it's pink and very long.
also the way I have been looking after it is just watering it once a
week, and keeping it on my window ledge.
I hope some one can help, as I really don't know what to do.
many thanks

Very long pink flowers? Or... round pink flowers on a very long stem?
It's too late in the evening for me to write a long answer but, try
pulling it out of the pot and inspect the roots. Are most of them firm
or mostly soft and hollow feeling? Is it dry around all the roots or is
it soggy?
If the leaves themselves feel or look wilted, it's either not enough
water or too much water and the roots have died. That's why you inspect
the roots first.
Check it out. Ask more questions. I'll try to get back here to answer or
someone else will.

Steve

I have saved some orchids and will attempt a response here. The first
step is to identify what type of orchid you have. Since it's a gift,
it's almost certainly a Phalaenopsis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalaenopsis

Take a look and if that if this is the case. If so, then proceed. If
not, then visit orchids.com and see if anything looks like your plant.
The reason to identify is that some orchids require different potting
material and have different light and food requirements. Okay, with
that out of the way let's try to save the orchid:

a) Examine the flowers, the stem the flowers on attached to, and the
leaves. The typical Phalaenopsis, after blooming, will have wilted
flowers with dropping petals, a flower stem turning brown, and one
leaf (usually the lowest) turning slightly brown at the edges. This is
all normal. The thing to do is to heat a small scissors (use hydrogen
peroxide or the flame of a gas burner to sterilize the blades first),
cut off the inflorescence (flower stem). The plant doesn't need it
anymore and will grow another next time it flowers. The plant will
soon or has already grown a new top leaf and so the bottom leaf will
sooner or later turn completely brown/yellow. After it does so, you
may prune it off.

b) Examine the roots. If the plant is in a transparent pot, this is
easy. If the plant is not in a transparent pot, I would not remove it
from the pot for repotting unless the roots are dark, black, and
rotting or the potting material seems to be breaking down (crumbles
easily with one's fingers). Since this was a gift we can assume that
immediate repotting isn't needed.

c) Examine the culture. The plant should be in a place with bright,
indirect light, and not too close to the window if the glass gets very
cold at night. Water once per week in cooler months, up to twice per
week in hotter months. Allow it to dry between waterings. Every other
watering, feed it orchid food. I recommend GROW MORE Urea Free Orchid
fertilizer 20-10-20. Use a tiny bit, dilute in water, and pour over
the top of the potting material so it gets to the roots. For best
results, use reverse osmosis water. If you don't have that, water
filtered through a Brita filter works well too. (Do NOT use soft
water, as the salt will kill it.)

d) Print out a culture sheet. The one from the American Orchid Society
is useful: http://www.aos.org/AM/Images/culture...alaenopsis.pdf
This will help you learn about your orchid and optimize it's
environment a bit more over the course of the year.

That's it! With proper culture, it will flower again and again. If the
roots do turn out to be rotten, just follow one of the many guides for
repotting. Most hardware stores and nurseries sell orchid potting mix.
Don't hesitate to cut off the rotten roots when repotting. I have had
to prune orchids down to a single root on occasion and they have
always recovered.

Best of luck,

Munir