dry stem

[LKH22EMW]

i have a unique situation. i received a moth orchid as a special gift, then went abroad for 8 months, leaving it in the care of a friend whose house is full of plants. i now have my orchid back and....it looks pretty sad. 3 out of 4 leaves are softish and, i thought i remembered the stem being green and alive feeling when i left. now it is brownyellowy and dead feeling. is there any hope?? please please help me out. thank you

[fred]

hi LKH22EMW

welcome to the forum
I hope that you enjoy your stay here with us.

Here is the AOS Culture sheet link you can download the Phal to your pc.
http://www.aos.org/aos/orchids/page01.aspx

It was nice of your friend to look after your orchid for you but orchids can not be treated just like any other house plants they need the right care.

I am thinking with 3 of the 4 leaves looking like that I wonder what the roots look like.
have you taken the orchid out of the pot to have a look at the roots to see if they are healthy or if they are rotten.

you can also cut the old flower spike off about an inch from the base of the spike.

please let us know what the root system looks like and what potting medium your orchid is planted in.

[kmarch]

Hi and Welcome to the forum. Fred mentioned a "Phal". By that he means you have a Phalaenopsis, also commonly known as a moth orchid. The brown stem is nothing to worry about. They often die off after blooming and this is normal and not unusual.

Wilted leaves are usually caused by one of 2 things: 1) by under watering, or 2) by over watering which results in the roots rotting off making it so the plant can't absorb water.

The way to tell which it is is to examine the roots. If the roots are white-ish, greenish, or cream and hard, or crisp than they are healthy roots (which is good). If they are black-ish or mushy or soft then they're rotten.

Give the AOS culture sheet a read, look at your roots and let us know what you find.

Cheers

[LKH22EMW]

Ok, read the info, looked at the roots, cut off about 1/4 of them, the rest of them looked alive (green or creamish, felt alive not dead.) I really don't know what it is potted in. It is in whatever the nursery put it in when it was purchased. As far as i can tell it is chunks of bark with some potting soil. I apologize for my ignorance, i am 24 and have always been nomadic, spending a lot of time outdoors enjoying nature and am just now discovering the art or indoor plant parenting. So, should I find something better for it to live in? Right now it is in the medium discribed, in the plastic pot it came in, which is inside a prettier clay pot. Is that ok? What do you think about the stem? Should I leave it, or cut it down? THANK YOU SO MUCH for your time and advice! Geez, who knew I would ever feel so strongly about a potted plant!!!!

[fred]

it sounds like that you have done a good job with the roots.
as you have been away for 8 months I would say you will need to repot the plant into a new bark mix for Phalaenopsis orchids.

Quote]you can also cut the old flower spike off about an inch from the base of the spike.

can you also show us a pic of your orchid ?