Help! My orchids are dying!

[dlconner]

I have 5 orchids. I took very good care of them when I first got them then i neglected them in the winter because i just got so busy with school and work. i have three phals. one is a baby and is doing fine. one is seemingly healthy but hasn't done anything in a WHILE. the other just lost 2 leaves, so is now down to 2 small leaves with a small root-crown connection and it seems fragile and ill. i also have a cattleya, which i have had for a year and haven't managed to kill yet but it doesn't bloom and hasn't grown any. finally i have an oncidium hybrid whos pseudobulbs are shriveling. i neglected them for two months or so but now i am moving to a house ( i currently live in an apartment with shady windows (bad for cattleya. but the house has windows on every side. a great eastern setup. i want the orchids healthy for the move as it is still cold and i am sure a certain amount of stress will be incurred during the move. currently they are under 250 watts of flourescent light in my spare shower. i turn hot water on every morning and evening and raise the humidity, then leave the tub with an inch or so of water. a heater keeps them 80-85 degrees while the lights are on. i turn everything off for 6-8 hours every day so they have 16-18 hours of warmth and light. they get steamed right when the lights come on and again about six hours later. then a few hours after that i cut the lights and heater off so they get a 65-70 degree night. these conditions seem ideal to me from what i have read, but they don't seem to be improving much. i fertilized them weakly even though they are all not surprisingly dormant, because they had been neglected for so long. i think they'll do wonderfully in the new place and i know a good bit about orchids but i am trying to revamp them they have been in that climate for about two weeks and we have about a week and a half left before the big move, so any help would be greatly appreciated. i want to see blooms this summer. especially the cattleya since it's never done anything for me.

[neb]

and

From your post it sound s like you are off to a great start with caring for your sick orchids

I would just like to ask if the lights are grow lights or not and what type of fertilizer you are using?

You just have to keep in mind that orchids are not fast growing weeds so you just love and nurture them and be patient. But it dose sound like you are going in the right direction.

[dlconner]

I use better grow plus. it's endorsed by the american orchid society. i probably use too much of it. or have in the past. and no they are not grow lights... i have one 100 watt equivelent flourescent bulb that is bright white and one 150 watt equivelent that is yellow light. my phal still has dark green leaves but they have always been dark. i'm sure it's not enough light but it will have to do for now. that's all i can supply them. i don't know where to find grow bulbs around here. all i have is a walmart and a home depot.

[beanluc]

Frankly it doesn't sound like anything's dying, with one possible exception.

If the oncidium's pbulbs are shriveling, it's not getting enough water. Either it's just underwatered or it's got root rot and can't draw all the water in the world from the pot up to the plant.

And, phals will often drop their lowest leaves between flowering. As long as they were the lower ones, and only two, and they simply yellowed then dropped, there's probably no disease there.

To me it sounds like things aren't getting enough light. 250w of non-growtube fluorescents in a shower wouldn't come close, unless the plants are right up against the tubes - I mean, mere inches away. And even then I'll bet that a light meter would measure only about 600 footcandles.

I don't think you need to worry about "shocking" them with the move. They're pretty shut-down now, probably what will happen is that as long as you don't physically injure them (dropping, freezing) they will start to perk up after a few weeks in bright windows.

[neb]

Once you move things should pick up. You may have to slowly expose the plants to the brighter light they will get or else they may get a sun burn but that isn't too bad of a problem.

[purpleplantman]

Welcome to the world of orchids. I dont grow them any more as they require fairly regular attention & decline if neglected. I shall take them back up when I retire as a silly old coot, fussing over paphs, bolleas, pescatoreas etc. as these favourites demand

[glengary54]

Originally Posted by purpleplantman

Welcome to the world of orchids. I dont grow them any more as they require fairly regular attention & decline if neglected. I shall take them back up when I retire as a silly old coot, fussing over paphs, bolleas, pescatoreas etc. as these favourites demand

Any plant, orchid or not, will decline if neglected. Once you know what conditions an orchid needs and provide those conditions, orchids are no more differcult to grow than other house plants.