Are these conditions proper for my orchid ???

[Spiroklon]

Just bought the bigger 1 for $15.00
And got the 2 others for free right how's Its 11:00 am in toronto
It's a west window with a big tree in front of it


The window :
The room temp and humidity:

Please tell me if it's ok because I have had tried to grow orchids 3 times
And the other 2 times I kept it here
It turned yellow all the leaves and died

[nutgirl]

Welcome!!!!

Your conditions look OK. It will like as much indirect light as you can give it so the closer to the window the better.

What kind of medium are they potted in? Does the ceramic pot have a drain hole?
If your previous plants turned yellow and died it would be a drainage/root rot issue.

Maureen

[Zimzulu]

In my experience, phalaenopsis orchids (the plants you have there) come bloomed from the nursery in very broken down media. Is it potted in moss? Or a bark mix? Either way the roots are probably in poor condition or will be soon.

Many people will tell you to wait until the blooms have dropped to repot, but I've lost phals that way. I suggest unpotting it, removing all the old media from the root zone, and repotting in a fresh bark/coco mix (avoid sphagnum moss.)

Phals die very quickly as you described (leaves yellow and die) with poor potting media.

[cbuchman]

It's also been my experience that discount orchids often come in broken down medium. You can slip the plant out of the pot and check the vitality of the roots. They should be green/white. If they are brown and mushy, root rot has already started and you will need to re-pot immediately.

If the medium appears to be dense or soil-like, be very careful about watering; I'd err on the side of keeping it a little dry and continue to check the roots carefully. However, do not let it dry out completely.

If you need more humidity (which often happens in winter when the heat is on), put the pot in a tray of pebbles & water. Just make sure that the pot doesn't touch the water. The pebbles will wick water and create a little humidity micro-environment.

[Spiroklon]

Well I just reported the smaller two here are some pics:
One leaf has fallen off so far from the small flowering plant


Cheers
Spiro

[silken]

I agree, I don't wait for them to finish flowering as they could have died from root rot by then. In my experience, they all come very tightly packed in moss and need to have it loosened up very soon. I am not totally against moss for Phals. I like to have a mix of 50% moss and 50% medium bark packed loosely in a clear pot. My Phals thrive this way. However everyone has to decide what works for them and their watering habits and growing conditions. Phals should be dry or nearly dry before a thorough watering and then allowed to drain well. I like clear pots so you can see the roots. Green roots are damp and silver roots are dry and its time to water! Under pot the plants in a pot only large enough to contain their roots.

[Spiroklon]

I used this mixture


Cheers
Spiro

[Spiroklon]

I could barley fit this one in the pot and will water in the morning.



Cheers
Spiro

[silken]

It looks like a fairly course open mixture which is what you want. Usually with bark, you would soak it overnight so it has some moisture. New bark doesn't hold much at first. I can't tell for sure but it looks like it should be potted deeper. The crown of the plant should sit just above the media (where the leaves start). Then it will be more secure and not move around which will also help it get established easier. Soak the plant well and then make sure it drains well and never sits in water. The roots that are showing look good.

[Spiroklon]

Yes this adult plant had really healthy roots but the two smaller ones only had like 2/10 roots like that the rest were dried out.

Also I couldn't fit the plant deeper and I will probably repot in jan.

I did not soak the chips over night but I watered with 2 gallons us of water and moved the big one to the same window


Cheers
Spiro