First post - "killer" of orchids help

[lynda]

Most of my life we lived in South Florida where growing orchids was a snap. When we moved to NE Georgia I brought many of my favorites with me which promptly died. Over the last many years I keep buying more--and these die also.
Now I have bought the most simple of them all (phalaenopsis). All three have survived since December. Probably because I put them in the only room that does not have gas heat.
Any suggestions ... I do not over water, probably under water. lynda

[evagentry]

Welcome to the forum, it sounds like you are having problems with your growing area,I was having problems also, until I moved my plants into a spare bedroom with western light. Did you grow your orchids outside in Florida? Inside growing is a whole new game.Maybe some one else will be able to help you more, good luck.

[made4engineering]

You must tell us the nature of their death... What do they do before they die? Do they shrivel up? Turn yellow? Brown? Do they scream? Details details... Pictures of the dying patients will help us diagnose.

[lynda]

Originally Posted by made4engineering

You must tell us the nature of their death... What do they do before they die? Do they shrivel up? Turn yellow? Brown? Do they scream? Details details... Pictures of the dying patients will help us diagnose.

Death is always very sad! The leaves turned yellow and just fell off.
The three orchids (that are still alive since December) are in a room with no gas heat and the light they are receiving is from Frenchdoors where the blinds are inside the glass (these doors open onto a large roofed & screened in west facing room--so no direct sun). I have also been leaving a table (40watt) light on (the 3-orchids sit on that table).
So far they seem very happy. I tend to underwater these. But when I do water I give them (including leaves) a good watering & let them drain over a towel before returning them to "their" room.
So far I haven't fed them --- what should I use ?
thanks, lynda

[articuno75]

I'm betting all the money on the table your plants are getting fungus/crown rot. How often do you water now compared to how you watered then?

[11Orchid126]

How close are they to the light?

[slippery_biscuit]

Perhaps you could define "gas heat". If you are describing a natural gas forced air heat system, I think you should look elsewhere for the problem. These systems have externally vented exhaust. If you are describing some other non-vented heat system, then possibly. More information is needed if that is the case.

Temperature, light, water...

[Greenhouse Gal]

Slippery you may have something there. Any heating system that is old can have leaks.

Lynda -Is this an older house? How old is the heating system? (hopefully your problem is elsewhere. )

[Tony]

If it is the heat then you have bigger problems than the just the orchids dying. If you think its too dry then add humidity, but if you think its from the gas exhaust from the heat, better call someone in to check the system. That should not happen.

[betty]

Hi, I'm new also, and I'm sure I have a record on, how to quickly kill your new, healty orchid, Maybe we will both learn something here. Good luck.
Betty

[lynda]

The heat (in winter) is propane units in most rooms....yes we have had them checked (no leaks) but I also use gas for our stovetop. Watering -- I guess every couple of weeks I give them a nice bath and then let the pots dry out over a towel for a day or so before I return them to "their" own room.
So far, all three are still alive and two of them are still blooming. The leaves all seem to be a healthy dark green color.
The one plant that finished blooming, I cut off the stalk just above the leaves......its still alive and the leaves look healthy.
So far I haven't fed them .. what should I use ??

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by made4engineering

Do they scream?

That's funny! Hopefully not...

[kmarch]

I can only suggest 2 things:
1) figure out your conditions (cool , ? intermediate? warm?, dry? moist?, humid?, bright? medium light?, low light? etc., etc. and then
2) by orchids that like the conditions you already have.

[lynda]

I guess I spoke too soon, one of my beautiful leaves developed a soggy/wet dark spot the size of a quarter, when I touched it my finger went thru .... the next day the spot had really grown to cover about a fourth of th leaf.
I cut the leaf off as close as I could .......
was this correct?? What caused this---??

[grandmapenguin]

I am a novice to Orchid growing. I never had any luck growing them in the past until I did some research.
I am having great success now after five months with buds coming on and blooming all over the place. I have an east facing window ledge and I have a deflector on the floor vent from the heat or AC.
I water ONLY when dry. My 4 plants are all Phals. I make up a 1 teaspoon per gallon of Better-Gro Orchid Plus and water when dry. I am going to start the Skewer method to check for dryness. Every fourth water I use Better-Gro Orchid Bloom Booster. So actually I am fertilizing always. I ONLY use Distilled water. I place the plant in a bowl pour the mixture over the plant (not the leaves) and let stand for ten minutes. i also have moist gravel under the pot.
I don't know if this helps anyone or if anyone has any comments on what I am doing good or bad.

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by lynda

Most of my life we lived in South Florida where growing orchids was a snap. When we moved to NE Georgia I brought many of my favorites with me which promptly died. Over the last many years I keep buying more--and these die also.
Now I have bought the most simple of them all (phalaenopsis). All three have survived since December. Probably because I put them in the only room that does not have gas heat.
Any suggestions ... I do not over water, probably under water. lynda

actually i envy you who use gas heater. Phalaenopsis is a cam3 plant - meaning they take in
co2 during the night. During the day, the stored co2 is converted into food.This is a advantage
for you. However, humidity is very low for you. 50% (my experience) is too low for orchids.
Even in my weather 57% humidity is too low and my orchid just wilt during a dry spell
and i watered twice a day in 90s weather! There is no way i will invest in humidifier in a
tropical weather.

I have tried to grow orchid in Minnesota. My setup was a humidifier and heater in the "green house" so i have maintain 70s with 80%humidity -during winter. My orchid seedling grow just fine. I suggest you get a min-max thermometer with hygrometer. You be surprise
you need a humidifier to keep humidity above 40%. A lot of people here use humidity tray
(a tray filled with water) below the orchids , of course not soaking the plant in water. hope
this help

[lynda]

Originally Posted by lynda

I guess I spoke too soon, one of my beautiful leaves developed a soggy/wet dark spot the size of a quarter, when I touched it my finger went thru .... the next day the spot had really grown to cover about a fourth of th leaf.
I cut the leaf off as close as I could .......
was this correct?? What caused this---??

Anyone know what caused this soggy/dar/wet spot????

[lynda]

Well I couldn't resist ... Home Depot has an entire counter of orchids. I bought something that was labeled "Dtps Long Pride Fancy ' MP-0522 CR"--------??????? Its growing in a clear plastic container (like my other 3 orchids) with a clay outer 4"container....when I got home I noticed the soil was very wet so I'm going to leave it on our screened in veranda sitting on a dry towel, also I want to keep it away from my other three orchids just in case it may be sick.
It wasn't on sale, but for $14.95 it sure looks pretty----actually it will look a lot nicer if it lives

[evagentry]

Orchid like humid conditions,but they cant take having water sit on the leaves for long, it causes a rot.Leting water get in the center of your new growths or in the center of your phals will also cause rot.Try putting the water on the medium in the pots, not on the plants and see if this doesn't help.Also I use a liquid fertilizer for green plants that has a higher nitrogen content and trace elements at one quarter strenght.I hope this helps you, Eva .

[lynda]

Originally Posted by evagentry

Orchid like humid conditions,but they cant take having water sit on the leaves for long, it causes a rot.Leting water get in the center of your new growths or in the center of your phals will also cause rot.Try putting the water on the medium in the pots, not on the plants and see if this doesn't help.Also I use a liquid fertilizer for green plants that has a higher nitrogen content and trace elements at one quarter strenght.I hope this helps you, Eva .

Thanks Eva, any and all advice is welcome

[lynda]

After the lovely flowers fall off I have trouble remembering what color they were, so I made a small sticky label with a tiny description of date of purchase,color,price,&name of the Orchid (if I know it).
I'm still looking thru books to identify three orchids (Phalaenopsis). Hubby took some pictures that I will ask him to post for identification (my computer skills are terrible).

[lynda]

Could someone please identify these three Phalaenopsis...Thanks in advance

[Rocinante]

I have one that looks like your middle picture...Phalaenopsis 'Alice Girl'. But it is hard to identify an orchid without a tag, because there are so many hybrids.