Orchid Stem turning yellow

[sarah1492]

I have had my orchid for only a month (and it is my first one), and was watering it 1 shot glass of water twice a week. It bloomed for just shy of a month, looked great and then all of a sudden the flowers started wilting & within a week had all fallen off.

I checked the roots and they are bright green. So I left for the weekend and put 2 ice cubes in it before I left. Now I got home and the stem is turning yellow. The plant leaves are healthy. Do I cut the stem or just let it do whatever it is doing?

I keep the plant inside on my kitchen table, a few feet from the window & I keep the air mid 70's. Thanks for your help!!

[Emma Grey]

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the forum!

Don't worry about the stalk turning yellow. That's natural. Once it's completely brown, you can trim it down as close to the plant as possible and sprinkle ground cinnamon over the cut to prevent infections.

It looks like your plant is potted in sphag. You may want to check out the skewer method of watering to make sure you don't overwater (this happens a lot with newbies, especially w/ plant spotted in sphag).

Also, if this is your first orchid, you may have gotten in from a big box store (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc). If that is the case, I recommend you take it out of the pot, clean out the roots, and repot it. You never know what condition a plant might be in when you bring it home.

Here is a culture sheet that you may find helpful. I know it's been super helpful for me!

AOS Culture Sheet

[orchids4me]

Hello and welcome to geeks

[Brooke]

You have beautiful green roots showing and you will need to water again when the roots lose their green color. Another test for watering is when you have no condensation in the pot. The best method of watering is to let the water run freely through the pot.

A few feet from a window won't be enough light for optimal growth. An east window is best if you have it followed by a south and then a west window. Introduce the Phal to the sunnier location gradually to make sure you don't sunburn it. Your Phal was probably grown in a g/h with shade cloth to keep full sun off of it.

The only thing that concerns me is the mound of sphag around the plant. If water gets trapped where the leaf attaches to the stem you could get small bacterial infections which could start stem rot. Remove it to the bottom of the plant.

Enjoy your Phal and buy another one to keep it company.

Brooke

[skipper]

Welcome Sarah. Your plant looks great. Brooke has given you some good advice. As far as the ice cubes go forget them. That is a great way to help kill your plant. Phals. grow in the tropics, and are not tolerant of cold water. Always use room temperature water when you water your plants. This is very important. Welcome again to the group.

Dale