Wilting orchid

[S.D.E.M. Holler]

I am very new to orchids and know very little about them, but I bought one and took good care of it, and it looked healthy for a few weeks,and then it's blooms began to shrivel up, and sort of shrink. It's leaves were fine, and half of the blooms were alright but it's other blooms lost volume and started wilting. Is this supposed to happen? This is my attempt at posting images (which I've never done before).
[IMG]7-14…M #3[/IMG]
[IMG]7-14…0 PM[/IMG]
[IMG]7-14…1 PM[/IMG]
[IMG]7-14…M #2[/IMG]
[IMG]7-14…M #2[/IMG]
[IMG]7-14…2 PM[/IMG]

[cbuchman]

I don't think you can include images until you've had 5 posts. So they're not visible above. I'm guessing you have a Phaleonopsis. Flowers don't last forever and the typical behavior when they are done looks like wilting. Mt guess is that this is the normal progression of the flowers. Unfortunately when you buy and orchid already in bloom you don't know how long it has been that way and hence how long the flowers will last.

Have you looked at the roots? Do they look healthy? A couple of key pointers: water when the medium us almost dry and if in doubt wait another day to water. Never let your orchid sit in water (like in a saucer).

I can't help you more than that without pictures.

[james mickelso]

Carrie is absolutely correct. When you get an orchid and bring it home they are usually in decline anyway due to the environment they were in at the store. Remember that orchids usually grow, and deteriorate slowly. More people kill orchids (especially phals) by overwatering than by all other means put together. And usually when you get an orchid (especially a phal) from the store the roots are already in decline for the same reasons. Post some more hellos to us and when you get 5 you can post pics. It is the easiest way we can tell you how to proceed.

[RosieC]

I've had a look and your images dont point to a location properly. I don't think it's because of the 5 posts thing.

Take a look at the link in my signature for help posting pics.

[S.D.E.M. Holler]

Thanks, I do think that maybe it is just the end of the orchid's blooming time, but what seems peculiar is that not every flower is wilting on the orchid. All the leaves and the roots look healthy, except for one spot on one of the leaves, but that has been there since I bought it and has never gone away. Also I was told that I should mist my orchid so I do regularly, but I recently read that it is not good to mist an orchid. So I was wondering if it is good to mist an orchid, and if it is not, than could that be the problem?

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by S.D.E.M. Holler

Thanks, I do think that maybe it is just the end of the orchid's blooming time, but what seems peculiar is that not every flower is wilting on the orchid. All the leaves and the roots look healthy, except for one spot on one of the leaves, but that has been there since I bought it and has never gone away. Also I was told that I should mist my orchid so I do regularly, but I recently read that it is not good to mist an orchid. So I was wondering if it is good to mist an orchid, and if it is not, than could that be the problem?

Depending on how heavily you're misting and what kind of medium your orchid is in, that could be a problem because it may be keeping the roots too moist, which leads to rot.

I mist my orchid leaves in the afternoon when it gets really REALLY hot in the room they're in because my windows face west and I get intense light around 3-5 pm. But it's a very fine, light mist and I don't mist the medium at all (except I guess by proxy).


If it's potted in moss and you have never repotted it, its roots may be suffocating in a wad of moss near the middle of the pot, which is quite common with big box store orchids.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[S.D.E.M. Holler]

I use a spray bottle to mist my orchid, and I don't mist the medium, although I do mist the flowers, and now I'm wondering if that was my mistake. Also the moss is not thick at all, and the pot is rather small. Lastly my flowers have been wilting even more, but not all of them. The plant has two "branches" on one of the branches all the flowers are shriveled up except one, and on the other "branch" all the blooms are fine except for one.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by S.D.E.M. Holler

I use a spray bottle to mist my orchid, and I don't mist the medium, although I do mist the flowers, and now I'm wondering if that was my mistake. Also the moss is not thick at all, and the pot is rather small. Lastly my flowers have been wilting even more, but not all of them. The plant has two "branches" on one of the branches all the flowers are shriveled up except one, and on the other "branch" all the blooms are fine except for one.

That's fairly common if it's a new plant in your house, it's adjusting to its environment. The branches you mention are called bloom spikes. And have you actually taken the plant out to make sure its moss isn't tightly packed and have a look at the roots? Often big box store orchids are too tightly packed. Makes it efficient for growing and shipping, but not so much for growing.