New to orchids!

[Jill]

I just received my first orchid as a gift about a month ago. The tag says Oncda Charlesworthii "Michima." Is anybody familiar with this type? The flowers are pale yellow & red, has 2 stems and about 11 flowers. The flowers are starting to wilt. I've been watering it about twice a week, and just started adding Orchid Food to the water. Is this normal or should I do something different?

[janet_a]

tell us some more about conditions: what kind of pot is it in, what kind of medium, and what kind of light? you can do the orchid food every other week or so.

[greg_s]

can you post a picture? or are the flowers too far gone?

[Jill]

It's in a clear plastic pot that's inside terra cotta pot, 8" diameter, bark medium, and it gets west sunlight. I had it sitting on the window sill, but it seemed like the sun was burning the flower petals.

How often should I water it?

I took some pictures when I first got it, when it looked gorgeous. I'll take another picture of it now and try to get them both posted.

[janet_a]

i'd go with sticking your finger down in the medium--if it's warm and dry a couple inches down, time to water.

i'm hazarding a guess that that abbreviation puts it in the oncidium hybrid family:


http://aos.org/aos/uploadedfiles/doc...edoncidium.pdf

[Jill]

Thanks for the guidelines in your attachment. It seems like I'm doing the right things, except for the humidity. I'll try the pebbles in water and see what happens. I appreciate the help!