Help my orchid! Won't rebloom, tips of stems shriveled and brown

[strozeskih89]

I received an orchid for valentines day, unsure what kind, common, found in the plant section of Meijer. The blooms fell off months ago and it still has not rebloomed. It lost a few leaves 2 months ago and is now growing a new one. However I cut the stems at the node and the tips hav shriveled an turned brownish grey while the rest still appears healthy. What do I do to make my orchid happy and rebloom?

[BGGraham1]

First of all, . You've found a great forum to get your questions answered and see some really awesome orchids. I'll take a crack at your concern, and I'm sure others will chime in soon.

Sometimes the stems will rebloom, but sometimes they won't. I have always cut them all the way down to the base so the plant can focus on new leaves and roots. Have you repotted the orchid yet? If not, you may want to consider that, at least so you can check on the health of the roots. Make sure they are all plump and good. Cut off all the mushy brown ones, and repot into an airy mix.

A lot of times, orchids are potted into sphagnum moss that is really tight and compacted, and that will cut off the air to the roots, rotting them.

If you make 4 more posts, you can put up some pictures so everyone can see what you have going on.

Hope that helped.

[Dendian]

Hello and to Geeks.

First off we need to know what KIND of orchid you have. For a Phal you would not be concerned about the stem (spike) drying and turning brown - but for a Den you would. Please see: Orchid Photo Identification Guide to figure out what kind of orchid. Then we can help you further. And, as Brigitte said - a picture is worth a thousand words