yellow leaves

[catweazle1962]

hi we seem to have a problem with our orchid , when the orchid finished flowering our friend cut it down and now it seems to be poorly not sure what to do , has our friend done the right thing in cutting it down ?the plant is beeing watered 1 a week and feed 1 a month
thanks

[WhiteRabbit]

What was cut down? Spikes? Or the plant itself?

I can't tell from the photos (looking on my phone, sorry) - in what way is the plant appearing unwell?

[catweazle1962]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

What was cut down? Spikes? Or the plant itself?

I can't tell from the photos (looking on my phone, sorry) - in what way is the plant appearing unwell?

thank you for your reply it was the spikes that was cut down, and now it is getting yellow leaves even the new leaves are going yellow

[MattWoelfsen]

It looks like too much sun. Phals love sun but not a lot of sun. The yellowing leaves means it is getting too much sunlight. Plants normally loose leaves, by starting to yellow. But if the entire plant is turning yellow, it is getting too much light. Move the plant to a shadier place. It will slowly become green again.

[euplusia]

I completely agree with Matt.

[KrissieLynn]

I also agree with Matt, and want to add another possibility: older leaves will yellow, wither and die while new ones are growing if the plant is not getting enough nutrition. The plant sucks the nutrients out of the older ones and transfers it to the new leaves. Fertilizing more frequently at half strength will help prevent that, but will not change the current yellowing on the leaves. Hope that also helps!

[catweazle1962]

thank you for your replys the yellow leaves did not appear untill the stem was cut how often should i be Fertilizing at the moment it is 1 time a month

[MattWoelfsen]

If you stay on the board long enuf, you'll see the advice "weakly weekly". This implies that you should water with a very small amount of fertilizer, for example if the label says one tablespoon per gallon, you would do 1/4th teaspoon per gallon. Another advice is to rotate fertilizer, for example one week, use kelp, another week use something else. I started doing this in the last two months and have noticed some increased growing activity. BUT this also coincides with warmer weather and my repotting many plants too.

[james mickelso]

Good information here. I would like to see a better pic of the plant. As close a view of roots from side of pot, brighter view of leaves, and view of the newer leaf. When you take pics in shade the color is predominately blue due to the skylight. Put the plant in bright light and then take pics. Thanks. When a phal produces one or two spikes and flowers them both when it only has two or three leaves (very young plant), the plant has used too much stored energy from the leaves and is declining in health. Phals are force grown in warm windy greehouses to throw spikes for the orchid trade. Time is money/cost to the grower and they force the plants into throwing spikes too soon (by manipulating the light and temps). This stresses the plants to the breaking point. They look nice when we buy them but they are already declining unless we help them along with good water, bright warm light, good air flow (an open window nearby), and small amounts of fertilizer. The better the conditions we can give them the faster they recover. That is why your leaf (leaves) are turning yellow.

[catweazle1962]

thank you for your reply here are some pictures as requested, as i live in the uk where would i get kelp from apart from the sea side , what i have found is Orchid Focus Plant Food - grow and bloom - Nutrients for Orchids, would this be suitable for our plants , we have also found that only certain orchids can be cut back so we are wondering if the orchid should have been cut back, we have also included a photo of our new orchid and advice would be nice thanks