I don't know what I'm doing

[jenne061985]

My fiance bought me a beautiful Orchid ( white with purple in the middle and a small purple smudge going up the white)last month that describes itself as an "ice orchid" saying that all I have to do is put 3 ice cubes in it to keep it alive, now the stems are flowerless and turning brown but the leaves are still green (except one which is brownish yellow) and I have no idea what to do to keep it healthy and alive, I have the worst luck with plants of all kinds but I'm determined to keep this plant thriving.

Please any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[trdyl]

These just add ice instructions are not the best way to grow an orchid. Could you post a picture of the plant in question so we have an idea of what type it is.

By the way. Welcome to OB!

[RosieC]

As Ted says a picture would be good so we know what type it is.

The Orchid famil is HUGE and the care of them ranges vastly. From a picture we should be able to be able to tell what type it is so we can give you good advice.

I think the ones sold as 'just add ice' are Phals but I can't be certain on that.

Ted is also correct that the just add ice instruction is not the best, some people say it has worked for them but generally (if it IS a Phal) they do better with warmer water as they are a tropical plant.

[Erce]

im not in the us - but, doing a guess - just add ice are phal kind og girl - so them ice are bad bad bad

[PleuroPal]

No Ice!!!
It's probably a phal, so look around for care instructions for that. (You will find plenty of advice on this board.) Pictures would be nice, for sure, just to be positive. But let me repeat: NO Ice!!! Ice BAD!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Everyone is spot on about the whole adding ice issue. The orchids that are commonly sold are from the low to mid-elevation tropics. There is no ice in these regions.

As PleuroPal said it...

"Ice is BAD!"

Like everyone had mentioned a picture to identify what you have would be awesome.

I'll amend the following quote from RosieC...

Originally Posted by RosieC

The Orchid family is HUGE and the care of them ranges vastly.

Make that, the orchid family is not only huge, it is the largest group of flowering plants in the world, period!

Nothing else tops the sheer number of diversity of flowering plants on planet Earth.

Orchidaceae is number 1, literally!

With this in mind, a photo is definitely in order.

[PleuroPal]

Originally Posted by jenne061985

<snip> now the stems are flowerless and turning brown but the leaves are still green (except one which is brownish yellow) <snip>

I have a feeling that what you're referring to as a "stem" is probably what orchid folks call a spike. If that's the case, and the flowers are all gone and it's turning brown and crispy, it may be a good idea to go ahead and clip it off as close to the base as you comfortably can reach. This is completely normal. (At the risk of beating a dead horse, pictures would certainly help.)

Again, assuming this is a phal, some people will clip the spike just above the first node - the spot where the first flower appeared. Sometimes this will cause the plant to produce a new spike coming off the old one. However, the resulting flowers will often tend to be smaller and less robust.

As for the leaf that is turning yellowish brown, if it's one of the bottom leaves, that's probably normal. Phals will often shed their lower leaves after a while which is fine as long as you keep getting new leaves coming out the top.
Hope this helps.