New Phal Owner-could it be sick?

[dianarogus]

Hi, I have recently purchased my first orchid, a phal. A few buds have opened since the purchase and another is about to-maybe tomorrow. My question is this, on my larger stem I have about 10 blossoms. The third and fourth blossoms are withering and I am wondering if I should do something as in remove them, let them be or be worried that the others will follow suit. Can someone please advise?
Thanks,
Diana

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You can remove these, but it will make no dofference to the plant if you do or don't. If you will pull the flower parallel to the stem and towards the base of the plant, you will usually find the the flower separates from the stem with a snap, and you won't have to worry about sterilizing a tool to cut them off. It also makes for a smoother flower spike. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[dianarogus]

Thank you Cynthia,
Should I be worried about the other blossoms?
-Diana

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The question of the withering being a problem is a hard one without seeing the plant. The flowers may be passing from age, or from a problem. If the withering flowers are closest to the base of the plant, it could be age. Watering is the most difficult hurdle for the new orchid grower. You probably should get a bamboo barbeque skewer from the grocery store and stab the clean unhandled end of it into the pot down to the bottom and leave it there. When you think it is time to water, pull the skewer and look at the color to see if the skewer is drying out, then replace it. Phal orchids should get very close to dry, but no completely. If in doubt, error on the dry side. If the skewer looks wet, don't water. If after doing this, you determine that you have probably been over watering, then there would be concern for some damage to the roots. It is common to pull the root ball from the pot and inspect the roots, if one is concerned about this, then replace the ball into the pot. If the mix falls away from the roots, you can put it all back around the roots, but you need to know that you want to press the mix in firmly so the plant can't wiggle in to pot, and try not to break roots. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[dianarogus]

Ug, Cynthia. Your help is so much appreciated and my husband and I will try the bamboo route, however, it's late, so tomorow I'll send a photo for your opinion. I love my $20 plant from Costco and want this to be a new hobby.