New Orchid Dying?

[sheep]

My boyfriend bought me an orchid a few days ago. It's a Colm wildcat. The day I got it it was 20 degrees outside and went in and out of the cold several times. We got home and put it under light right away. But a few hours later a flower fell off. We left it alone. The next day we watered it correctly, left it in the light. That night we put it in a more humid enviornment. Now the bottom flower are loosing their color, shriveling up, and falling off. the roots are coming out the bottom so i think it just needs to be re-potted. But is there something else we're doing wrong that's making them fall off? I don't want my orchid to die.

[jbigio]

odds are the change in temps has caued blast. Not much you can do to save the flowers. After there all gone them you can re-pot and look forward to the next bloom

[mayres]

Lucky for you this is a very easy orchid to grow - just like a weed! I have several of them and they are among my favorites! You are correct in assuming very cold conditions can zap the life out of orchid blooms very quickly. Whenever possible it is best to wrap something around them (many now come with clear plastic protection around the blooms and plant) or place in a large box (if possilbe) when going outside. I would wait until you start to see new growth before repotting. Push the oldest growth up against the side of the pot and leave room for the new growth (direction) to grow into the empty space. It is also hard to say how long it was blooming before you purchased it - some of the blooms might have naturally been reaching their time to fade away (?). Depending upon conditions 3-4 weeks of bloom seem fairly normal for mine.

[adespo]

Ohh thats so sad. Well now you can look forward to a whole season of good growing conditions so you can see the pretty little blooms again.

[patticake]

Don't do what I have done with other plants in the past... That is try too hard to help, and over-do it! Killing with kindness! Just let them relax, and don't try to feed, water etc.- they need to get used to their new home. good luck!

[kmarch]

It is also possible that the flowers were at the end of their lives too.

Get an Oncidiu culturesheet from American Orchid Society and you'll have all the info you need ot grow iton and bloom it again.

The correct name for your orchid is Odontocidium Wildcat (both names capitalized).

[mayres]

They can bloom several times per year so you might not have to wait too long!

[sheep]

Thanks so much for your responses. I appreciate the help. It's also leaning a whole lot. I'm afraid it's gonna fall out of the pot!