Help, what am I doing wrong???? My orchids are dying... :(

[Micky]

Please help, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. A week ago as you can see by the first couple of photo's my orchids looked like they were doing okay.

The last few photo's are what they look like now....

[katrina]

Based on the appearance of the plants...I suspect a root issue. When was the last time you checked the roots? How are you growing them? Light? Watering? Are you letting them dry between waterings or are they staying moist? Is the medium fresh/old? Temperatures?

A little more info from you and we might be able to help you figure out what's going on there.

[Shannara]

I would find the worst looking of the bunch, remove the potting medium, and post a pic of the roots. The plants also seem over potted to me. If there is root rot your going to need to trim away the dead roots and repot in something about the size of the current root system.

Shann~

[orchidaddict789]

The pots look way too big for the plants, especially the last two. The last two can be potted in 2-3" pots, no bigger. With large pots, there is too much unused medium that turns sour and breaks down, leading to root rot. The 2nd to last picture looks a bit like sunburn to me, but I can't tell for sure without knowing your growing conditions.

[PaphMadMan]

I think the others have covered it pretty well... Over-watering is most likely, compounded by pots too large and old media. And some leaves do look like you might have some sunburn going on too.

[Micky]

They were all recently potted in new medium and stupidly put into the green house for a day (by me - I wasn't thinking at the time). Note I said greenhouse, not shadehouse... I'm heartbroken.

I moved them back to the patio after the first day, realising that it was probably too much sun for them and have also since purchased some shadecloth. I'm pretty sure that pictures number 3, 4 & 6 are just sunburnt, but just wanted to double check as there was no damage when I took them out of the greenhouse, the leaves showed this damage 2 days after removal.

Picture 5 has pretty much looked like that since I acquired it 8 weeks ago, the roots seem fine and it was repotted and only watered once a week. I was just hoping it would have improved in the time I've had it.

Picture 7 has no roots. I cleaned it up and repotted it last week and have fertilised it with a little orchid root stimulator, sorry I can't remember the name of it but it contains potassium and seaweed stuff...

In regards to the size of the pots, the last 2 are in 2inch pots... I couldn't find any smaller ones. Should I try 1 inch pots instead?

[pikkumyy]

Originally Posted by Micky

Note I said greenhouse, not shadehouse... I'm heartbroken.

I moved them back to the patio after the first day, realising that it was probably too much sun for them and have also since purchased some shadecloth. I'm pretty sure that pictures number 3, 4 & 6 are just sunburnt, but just wanted to double check as there was no damage when I took them out of the greenhouse, the leaves showed this damage 2 days after removal.

Picture 5 has pretty much looked like that since I acquired it 8 weeks ago, the roots seem fine and it was repotted and only watered once a week. I was just hoping it would have improved in the time I've had it.

Picture 7 has no roots. I cleaned it up and repotted it last week and have fertilised it with a little orchid root stimulator, sorry I can't remember the name of it but it contains potassium and seaweed stuff...

In regards to the size of the pots, the last 2 are in 2inch pots... I couldn't find any smaller ones. Should I try 1 inch pots instead?

i would agree with you about the green house, the light gets magnified through the glass/plastic which would have made it even worse because these guys dont like full sun. then the heat would have gotten to them as well, so that would definitely be accounting to something. and 6 is definitely sun burn.

4 again is definitely some kind of infection. so try get a hold of some pesticide/fungicide and give them a spray.

as for the rootless one, when i have a rootless orchid i rest it on some spanish moss/ old mans beard/ tillandsia usnoides and mist it whenever i go past it. because the moss keeps it moist but it also dries out within an hour or two which stops it from rotting further, but a lot of people have had excellent results with a thing called sphag-and-bag so you could always give that a go

goodluck

[Micky]

Originally Posted by pikkumyy

i would agree with you about the green house, the light gets magnified through the glass/plastic which would have made it even worse because these guys dont like full sun. then the heat would have gotten to them as well, so that would definitely be accounting to something. and 6 is definitely sun burn.

4 again is definitely some kind of infection. so try get a hold of some pesticide/fungicide and give them a spray.

as for the rootless one, when i have a rootless orchid i rest it on some spanish moss/ old mans beard/ tillandsia usnoides and mist it whenever i go past it. because the moss keeps it moist but it also dries out within an hour or two which stops it from rotting further, but a lot of people have had excellent results with a thing called sphag-and-bag so you could always give that a go

goodluck

What's 'sphag-and-bag'? I've heard a bit about that too...

[pikkumyy]

i finally found the thread : Tips/Tricks for a 1st time user of the Sphag n Bag

[Micky]

Originally Posted by pikkumyy

i finally found the thread : Tips/Tricks for a 1st time user of the Sphag n Bag

Sweet, thanks

[orchidaddict789]

Ah I guess I can't judge size properly by looking at photos. I thought they were 5-6" pots...lol...ok, 2" is fine. For the rootless one, you could try watering with KLN, a liquid rooting hormone. I'm not sure if it's available where you live, though. Good luck!!

[Micky]

Originally Posted by katrina

Based on the appearance of the plants...I suspect a root issue. When was the last time you checked the roots? How are you growing them? Light? Watering? Are you letting them dry between waterings or are they staying moist? Is the medium fresh/old? Temperatures?

A little more info from you and we might be able to help you figure out what's going on there.

They seem to like my patio where they are out of the sun but get plenty of aircirculation. I water them whenever the medium looks/feels dry (roughly once a week, sometimes 2) and all the potting medium is new. Some are potted in a mixture of Kwinken rock/sphagnum moss/horticultural charcoal/Dendrobium bark mix (which is what my granma used to use), and the rest are potted in cymbidium potting mix (which I was told was best for the Brisbane climate - although I tend to think that the ones in Granma's rock blend are doing better than the commercial mix).....

[katrina]

Micky -- it looks like you've gotten some really good advice here. Best of luck bringing them back!

[zaeem]

A rapid change in light condition had adjustment problem.You have some very useful advice






Micky,Hi!
Sorry for the plants.Changes in light too sudden for the plants to adjust.you have some very useful advice already on pots,light,watering.I would not fertalize sick plants use hormone powder to assist root strength.