Total novice in danger of killing this lovely plant! Help me!

[her_purple_pixieness]

I have a beautiful pale purple orchid from one of the children in my class as a Christmas present. There's no label on it or anything to give me a clue as to what sort of orchid it is.

The only trouble is... I am a total novice when it comes to keeping flowers and plants. I know you're supposed to water them but that's about it! At the moment I've got it on my bedroom window-sill, which is above a radiatior... but one of its flowers has dropped off. The others aren't looking too perky either.

I don't know if that's because it's MEANT to wilt in winter, or if it's because it's too cold, or too hot, or if I haven't watered it enough - it's got special compost stuff, which the label says you're to keep damp but not wet, and I've been managing that all right.

It's a lovely thing and I'm desperate to take good care of it and learn how to care for plants... but I don't know what to do or where to start! Help me out!

[SwTLaDYy16]

can you describe what it looks like (ie. the leaves and the flowers) so that we'll have an idea of the type of orchid it is? OH and one thing...I don't think having it directly on top of radiator is a good idea....that may be too hot of a spot. What you can do is place it on a tray of pebbles with water and place it above the radiator but not touching it.....anyway, let us know what the plant looks like first so we can help you better.

[SwTLaDYy16]

sorry i read that wrong...thought you said it was on top of the radiator...but anyway, if it's by the radiator, you might wanna consider putting the plant on top of pebbles on a tray with water up to the pebbles but not touching the bottom of the pot...this will keep it humid.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, pale purple is an unlikely color for a Phalaenopsis, so how about a Dendrobium? The hanging plants in the center of this picture are Phal type Dendrobiums.

[her_purple_pixieness]

No - the ones in the middle of that picture look too "bamboo-ey". It's not DIRECTLY on top of the radiator, it just so happens that the radiator is on the wall under the window sill where the plant is. I've taken some pictures of it... let me see if I can post them too...

[her_purple_pixieness]

I can't upload them, the photos are too big. They are here:

[her_purple_pixieness]

Okay I have to make 10 posts before I can include a URL! I'm going to space it out and see if it works!

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flickr

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photos

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her_purple_pixieness

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

http://flickr.com/photos/her_purple_pixieness

Your Phalaenopsis orchid looks fine. The flower that faded probably did so from old age. Check your profile soon. Mysterious bumps in number of posts recorded have been observed.

The process for watering is to soak the mix very well, drain, then let the pot just sit until the mix is nearly dry. If in doubt, error on the dry side before watering again. You may want to read this: Skewer use for watering of orchids

For light, you want indirect bright light, or shaded light to about 20% of full sun. 50% full sun, as required for Dendrobiums and Cattleyas, is too much light for Phalaenopsis orchids.

[her_purple_pixieness]

That's brilliant, thank you :-) I read the article with interest. Just to check though - I'm not sure what you meant about checking my profile for bumps in posts? Sorry if I'm being a bit thick :-S

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

10 posts are required for posting pictures I understand. If you look in your profile by clicking on your avatar, your will see the number of posts you have. Sometimes this jumps up, for no particular reason, to 10!