Flowers dropping off- help please

[love2travel]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and new to having ever owned an Orchid.

I bought a Cambria spider orchid from my local garden centre at easter, and now the flowers are all falling off. It is in a china pot with no other pot inside, I was worried about over watering so have only watered it once since easter, and it was after that the flowers started to fall off. Although I did move it to another place in the house and then back again.
I went back to the garden centre and spoke to their plant expert yesterday, he said I hadn't watered it enough, he told me to repot in a plastic see through pot, to water once a week by standing it in tepid water for a while and to feed it. I have watered and fed it, with a feed that you stick in the pot, but haven't yet repotted it, as I am not sure what to medium to buy to pot it with as the only plastic pot size I saw was a bit bigger than its in now, more flowers had fallen this morning.
Please can someone help, as I would prefer the knowledge of people that know about orchids.

I have just noticed that all the flowers that have dropped off have come off the same stem the other stem seems to not have lost any flowers?

Thanks in advance.

[nutgirl]

Welcome to Orchid Board!

It is possible that the spike that is dropping flowers has run it's course. The other spike may be younger and will last a bit longer.

You may not be watering enough but you also need to determine the condition of the potting medium and the roots. Can you tell what it is growing in? Some of the mixes the nurseries use are not good for the home grower. They stay soggy too long.

It can be repotted in an orchid bark mix. It's unlikely that you would have to use a larger pot since orchids, unlike other plants, do better in smaller pots. You can use your existing pot or a plastic if you can find one.
Too large of a pot creates it's own set of problems.

Maureen

[cbuchman]

Welcome. Maureen is probably right that the flwoers have just run their course and ad done,e specially since the other spike is doing OK.

When you say it is in a china pot, I am assuming that the pot has a hole in it so that the water can drain freely? If not, then you need to move it right away. Orchids like to dry out a bit between watering.

Although each person's environment will dictate the watering schedule, a typical schedule is once a week. You will need to learn when you orchid needs water and there are lots of methods (weight of the pot before & after watering, bamboo stick poked into the medium to see if the center is wet, etc.).

Rather than feed with a fertilizer stick, I recommend that you purchase some food specifically marked for orchids and then fertilize at 1/2 the recommended strength. You'll often hear the advice to fertilize weekly weakly. This is especially important when the orchid is actively growing. Next year's blooms will be on those new growths and you want them to be strong and vigorous.

Orchids with hair-like roots typically need more water than those with thick fleshy roots.

[love2travel]

Hi, thank you for the welcome and thanks for the replies.

The china pot that the orchid was in on purchase does not have any drainage holes at all. So as suggested I will repot it in a container with drainage, and purchase some proper orchid medium.

On looking again I think some of the flowers at the top of the other stem have dropped as well.

I will go back to the garden centre tomorrow, as I am annoyed that they have sold me a plant that hasn't been potted properly in a container with drainage.

[cbuchman]

The key for orchids is that they want to have good air around their roots. The generally good scenario for most orchids is that the roots are dry by nightfall. Never, ever let an orchid sit in water as this will lead to root rot. Often you will see people say "a well draining medium" should be used. This can mean any number of things (fir bark, lava rock, tree fern. sphagnum moss, or combinations of all of these and more). There is no one answer. A lot depends on your environment and how often you are able to water, For example, i didn't start with mounted orchids until i had retired and could provide the daily misting.

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[love2travel]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

The key for orchids is that they want to have good air around their roots. The generally good scenario for most orchids is that the roots are dry by nightfall. Never, ever let an orchid sit in water as this will lead to root rot. Often you will see people say "a well draining medium" should be used. This can mean any number of things (fir bark, lava rock, tree fern. sphagnum moss, or combinations of all of these and more). There is no one answer. A lot depends on your environment and how often you are able to water, For example, i didn't start with mounted orchids until i had retired and could provide the daily misting.

Thank you for your reply. I am retired so I have the time just not the knowledge at the moment. I haven't misted, should I? I can only hope that the plant will survive until I can repot it, as I watered yesterday and with no drainage it is still wet, and another flower has fallen off

[silken]

You could pull the contents out of the china pot and set it in a plastic container or in a bowl so that air can get at the roots and media until you can find a proper pot. The advise already given is good. When you buy a pot, get one with good drainage holes. I really like clear pots so I can see what's going on in the pot. It should not be too big. Orchids do well more under-potted than over-potted. Big enough for the roots and room for a new growth or two, no more or it won't dry out fast enough.

[love2travel]

Originally Posted by silken

You could pull the contents out of the china pot and set it in a plastic container or in a bowl so that air can get at the roots and media until you can find a proper pot. The advise already given is good. When you buy a pot, get one with good drainage holes. I really like clear pots so I can see what's going on in the pot. It should not be too big. Orchids do well more under-potted than over-potted. Big enough for the roots and room for a new growth or two, no more or it won't dry out fast enough.

Hi, thank you for your reply.

I have taken the orchid out of the china pot, and it was actually two plants, so I have put one in a plastic orchid pot, the one with most of the flowers left, it is quite full lots of roots and not a lot of room for too much medium, some of the roots coming out of the top, is this ok?
I am going to buy another pot for the other orchid, wondering if I should get a slightly bigger pot? the second orchid is the one that now all the flowers have fallen off, should I cut the bare stem down? and if so whereabouts?

Thank you all again for being so helpful

[The Orchid Kid]

root from the top is perfectly normal and a good sign.
make sure you trim any mushy old roots off before repotting.

UK garden centres typically don't give the best mediums and pots for orchids, so you got to work around that. More often than note the central root ball is damp and in old spag moss.

Good news you got two plants! Don't over pot though. Trim old flowered stem. The flowers likely run their course, like others said.

The best thing is that you noticed the problems straight away and have acted in time. A bit of cultivation knowledge and time and they'll soon be thriving!

Post a pic if you can.