New Orchid owner and need advice on my phalaenopsis

[horsegurl3313]

I just bought a new orchid today. It is a phalaenopsis and I need some advice to keep it happy and healthy. It is in the small plastic pot that it came in and it already has one bloom. Any advice would be helpful because this is my first orchid.
Also the leaves are kind of curled up on themselves and yellowish. Is that a bad thing??
HELP!!

[nutgirl]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Is it possible for you to post a picture of your orchid? It really helps .

Maureen

[jkofferdahl]

Where in Georgia? I'm in the Atlanta area and Phals are my favorites. I'd gladly look at your plant if you are close enough.

[horsegurl3313]

I just bought a new orchid today. It is a phalaenopsis and I need some advice to keep it happy and healthy. It is in the small plastic pot that it came in and it already has one bloom. Any advice would be helpful because this is my first orchid.
Also the leaves are kind of curled up on themselves and yellowish. Is that a bad thing??
HELP!!

[natasha]

its seems like the older leaves are dehydrated. have you wet the sphagnum moss? don't get the water into the crown..

[nutgirl]

Horsegurl,

Your plant may have root problems. You will need to take it out of the pot and check the condition of the roots.

They should be white or green (if they've just been watered) and firm if you squeeze them gently.

If they are soggy, soft and brown they are rotting and not getting enough water to the leaves.

Maureen

[trdyl]

Welcome to OB!

Here is a like to a culture sheet:

AOS | Phalaenopsis

Since it is potted in sphagmun moss be sure to let it dry out between waterings. Also make sure that the moss is not packed tight.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

Well I'm afraid your orchid does not appear the healthiest. Also the one flower may be the only one (for now), as it looks like the others from the spike have already been and gone.

If the roots are in good condition then you should be able to get this guy to bloom again in the future, the roots are really the key here.

I notice it is in moss. Moss can be difficult, although some people love to use it. The main difficulty with moss is overwatering and rotting the roots.

I would strongly suggest that you need to gently remove it from the pot and take a look at the roots. If they are firm then that is great. On the other had if they are soft/mushy/hollow then they are dead. If most of them are good, then no problem, but if most of them are dead then you are going to have problems before you even start.

I agree with Natasha that the leaves look somewhat dehydrated, that could be a sign of existing root problems, but may just be down to underwatering, again the best way to know is to take a look at the roots.

If the moss seems fairly fresh (does not smell stale or seem very broken down) then you can put it back in with that again, if it smells stale I would not advise putting it back in.

Probably best to come back for more advice once you find out the state of the roots/moss because I could go on and on, making various assumptions which are not right, so probably best to find the status first and we can try and give more advice from there.

[RosieC]

Just a quite general tip. Phals don't like to be left sitting in water, or too wet. They need plently of air arround the roots and the best way to make sure they get that is to make sure the roots dry thoroughly between watering.

When you water you should run plenty of water through the pot then allow it to completely drain. Healthy roots will generally turn green when wet and go silvery when dry... once they are all looking silvery again (right down in the bottom of the pot as well) then it's time to water again. (Sometimes roots get stained when they are still healthy giving brown colour to healthy roots, so the above is only a guide.

Of course if your roots are already bad that advice does not help.

[RosieC]

P.S. I've just merged your two threads in to one, so that all the advice/Pics are in one place for you.