My butter bud pacific nova dying, help!

[mortoma541]

My roommate got pacific butter buds and has been away for a long time. She got them last winter at a grocery store and when she was here they were doing fine. Never bloomed but looked healthy ( nice green leaves ). I'm supposed to take care of them but she left me no real instruction except to water them.

Well, she is going to kill me when she gets here unless I get them back to looking good. But what is happening is some of the leaves ( and some of the bigger ones ) are getting yellow and look like they are dying. They get yellow on the outside at first and then the yellow spreads inward. One of the smaller ones turned yellow last week and broke off in my hands when I barely touched it. Am I over or under watering it maybe?

It does not get direct sunlight and I keep it indoors at about 72F temp. It's on the hallway floor so it probably stays cooler down there than higher up. Might it need replanting?? As I said it never bloomed but it had a thin spike-like structure at one time that looked alive and green, now that is totally dead. Do you give these things plant food of any type? I know nothing but want to revitalize this thing before it totally goes kaput. Any tips appreciated and thanks in advance because I don't want her to kill me

[Wynn Dee13]

Can you post some pictures? That would help. You said it is in the hallway on the floor. Is it in a window? I don't know what kind of orchid a butter bud is so pics would help or do you know what kind of orchid it is? Orchids need light and usually quite a bit. Most hallways I have ever seen don't have windows especially on the floor.

[WhiteRabbit]

That's an Aliceara ( Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium) Pacific Nova 'Butter Buds'

Plants do shed older foliage. I don't know if that's what's happening to this or not. Photos and description of the care it has received (how much light it gets, how often you water) would help.

[mortoma541]

Well, as far as watering, I never did any regular schedule, just whenever I remembered. Maybe I've gone up to two weeks and forgot about it and then maybe I've watered it twice ( generously ) in a week. Probably I have averaged once a week to ten days or so. In the morning there's a window facing east and it gets indirect morning light but the area is well lit at that time when sunny. I live in Utah so it's sunny almost every day this time of year. Only about two days in a month are cloudy. I just noticed there are some black, moldy looking spots on some of the leaves, both the yellow unhealthy looking ones and the green ones. This plant has never been re-potted. It's in like a moss or bark type of soil.

Pictures right now would be tough because I don't have a digital camera but maybe I could take one with my phone and transfer it to my laptop via the micro SD chip. I'll see what I can do in the next day or two.

[Wynn Dee13]

There is a app called Tapatalk that allows you to upload pics from your phone. That is how I post my pics.

[Rowangreen]

Agree pictures would be good: it may be it's just loosing some leaves naturally.

It does sound like maybe you need to pay a bit more attention on the watering. This kind of orchid will need to nearly but not quite dry out between waterings. When you water some people soak them a bit, but you need to make sure the pot drains well and it's not left standing in any water after. I like to take mine to the sink to water and leave them on the draining board to drain for a bit after. If there's a clear pot it makes it a bit easier: the bark should be just dry at the top but still a bit darker further down when you water, and there should be air gaps right the way down after you've finished and put it back. How often you water depends on the conditions and the plant, not a set schedule. It might vary with the weather.

It also might be better to water in the morning, as being wetted then chilled can cause spots on the leaves. So maybe try and get into the habit of checking it every morning?

It also sounds like it's due for a re-pot. But if you can that's best left for when your friend gets back I think *G* Pictures would help in evaluating...

[WhiteRabbit]

Yes, this has probably been underwatered.

How far is this from the window?

Regardless of the problem, there will be no quick fix for the plant.