HELP-unknown gift orchid-now sick

[moonharvey]

Hello I am new to this forum and fairly new to orchids (I have 2 happy phalaenopsis for a couple years now). I recently received a beautiful new orchid as a gift but have no clue as to what it is. I called the florist that delivered it and they said spider orchid (so descriptive I know). So my first question is what is it.

My second question is whats wrong with it?!? I watered it with a small mixture of super thrive the day I got it and it seemed to be happy but since my only windowsill that gets any light is full of my phalaenopsis and a bonsai I moved it to my boyfriends house a week later. It now sits in a window that gets direct sunlight in the morning. I watered it with his tap water....which he now tells me is hard...and no super thrive....because I forgot to bring it. That was Thursday; now today (Sunday) I re-watered because it was dry and noticed the tips of the leaves were brown/black and dying. There is one leaf with a brown spot in the center but it looks to be a different type (maybe sunburn?)

Please help. Im not real sure what to do for it. Any and all help will be appreciated. I have included lots of pictures so you can see the blooms (there are lots of them) as well as the base and the brown places on the leaves...as well as one picture of how big it is (my boyfriend standing next to it is 6'2" for reference).

The crazy news....the person who gave it to me says they have another really interesting orchid at the flower shop and is considering sending it to me too! I need HELP!

[Tetouan]

Hi,
Usually the burned tips of the leaves its overfeeding, but im not sure. If the tip its turning down, I mean with the aspect of an eagle nail, yeha its overfeeding.

[Tetouan]

btw, congratulations beautiful plant.

[Wynn Dee13]

Welcome! I'm not sure what kind of orchid it is so hopefully someone else will help you with that. What is it potted in? It looks like moss. Is the moss only on top or is it planted all in moss? Is it potted in a pot and then sitting in a outer decrotive pot? Make sure you take it out of the decrotive pot when you water and let it drain well. Some orchids get brown leaf tips from different reasons. It could be from low humidity or the change in environment. You said your boyfriend has hard water. He doesn't soften it does he? If he does use a water softener don't use the water. What ever they soften the water with has salts in it and it isn't good for orchids. That could make the leaf tips turn brown. The other brown spot in the middle of the leaf looks like it could be sun burn. It won't kill the plant but that spot won't go away. If its sunburn you probably have it in a too bright of a spot. If the plant just came from a florist shop it isn't used to very bright light so it could burn easy. Also since you don't know what kind of orchid it is you don't know how much light it needs. Until you know what kind of orchid it is and it's growing requirements put it in a place that isn't as bright. You can also put it where you want to enjoy the blooms then move it back to its growing area when it is done blooming or when you know where to put it. Otherwise it doesn't look like it is dying. Some orchids get brown leaf tips easily and besides being unsightly it won't hurt the plant. I would check the roots though. You never know what condition they might be in since you don't know the care it got before you got it. You don't want to miss rotting roots. It's better to catch it earlier than later. I don't think root rot is to blame for the brown leaf tips though. Good luck!

[james mickelso]

I would vote for over-watering. That is how oncidiums look when they are struggling to breathe. (here's a pic) Brown leaf tips just cruise right on up to the pbulb and then the bulb turns all mushy. (he has experience with these things and blushingly won't tell you how many he has drowned). Oh.... Anyway, take it out of the decorative pot (it wasn't grown in it anyway), pull it gently out of the pot it's actually planted in, and show us the roots. Oncidiums and there cousins have very fine roots and do not, I repeat, DO NOT like to be kept wet. Moist is ok and they like that. They like to be watered, left alone until almost dry (but not "DRY"), and then watered again. They like a bright light level but NOT FULL SUN. They like warmth and humidity around 60-80 percent. They like a breeze too. Enough to wick the moisture off them. I water mine (see pic) about once a week or week and a half, and feed it lightly. This one is struggling. Get it out of the decorative pot and let's see the roots. Also WynnDee is right on. I'd water with RO or bottled water if your boyfriend's water is hard. Oncidiums don't like hard water. 150 grains at the most. This looks like a colmanara more than anything. Might be a grammatophylum (?). Pics in another thread yesterday. The flowers look very nice. "SHOW US THE ROOTS !!!!!"

[Wynn Dee13]

I don't think it is a Colmanara. I also don't think it is an Oncidium. The pbulbs look different. I think it could be a Grammatophyllum though. I'm not familiar with this genus so someone who is will have to confirm.

[moonharvey]

Thanks Wynn Dee13! Your advice really helped. It is in an inner pot with a bigger outer decorative pot.

It did have water in the catch-pan under the pot from me watering it right before I discovered the brown spots but not much. I removed the excess and flushed the plant with spring water and left in the sink to drain.
The moss is just over the top to keep in moisture. It seems to be in a soil medium. When I removed it from the decorative pot and pulled the moss out I discovered a barely sticking out yellow tag.

It's a Grammatophyllum Tiger's Paw "Greenbuck" crossed with a Gram. Tigers Paw "Green Tiger". I double checked with google images and that is what it is! (Yea one question down)

I will let it drain for an hour and then put it in a less direct sunny place. Do I need to remove the death on the leaf tips? If so...any particular way that I should do that?

[james mickelso]

Dang i love it when I'm half right. (he puffs out his chest. "cough cough. Better not do that at my age ) Anyway. Another orchid mystery solved. You're good WynnDee. Now let's help keep this baby alive. (he pulls on his boots and.....)

[Wynn Dee13]

I'm glad you found a tag. I don't know anything about this genus of orchids so if I were you I would do some googling. You could also start a new thread asking how to take care of that specific orchid so members who grow these plants will see it better. You don't have to cut off the brown leaf tips unless you want to. If you do, dab a little cinnamon on the cut ends and use sterile cutting tools. I sterilize with a bleach solution but you can use a flame too. You don't want to spread anything to your other orchids. You can use tap water if it isn't softened or if it isn't city water treated with chlorine. I have a well so my water is pretty good but I do buy distilled water by the gallon at the grocery store for a dollar each. I use the distilled water on my more sensitive orchids. I don't know if Grammarophyllums are sensitive to water or not. You can also mix your tap water with the distilled. But again only if it isn't softened. Some members do use city water that is chlorinated but I don't know anything about that. It depends on how sensitive your plant is. If you start a new thread I would ask about water quality. I would also take the decrotive moss off the top of the orchid. The florist only put it there for looks. Is it potted in bark? I'm not sure what these plants like to be planted in so I would ask about that too. If it is in a soil mixture and these plants need more air to the roots you will need to repot it. Good luck and someone did post a picture of their Grammatophyllum the other day so I would post a new thread to get their attention!

[Wynn Dee13]

I just looked and Grammatophyllum is part of the Cymbidium alliance so post your questions there. Here is a link to the post we saw the other day. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...enjoyment.html