newbie in need of help

[azjeepgirl1976]

Hello,

I bought an orchid from the grocery store a few months back... It's the kind that you see being sold all over the place. For the last few weeks, the main stalk that the flowers were budding off of, has turned brown. How far do I trim it? I know it cannot be dead, because the 3 big fat leaves on the base where the roots are are still green. How soon before I get new flowers? Is there something I can fertilize it with? This is my 2nd attempt at trying to grown one!!

Thx,
Kim

[Ross]

Originally Posted by azjeepgirl1976

Hello,

I bought an orchid from the grocery store a few months back... It's the kind that you see being sold all over the place. For the last few weeks, the main stalk that the flowers were budding off of, has turned brown. How far do I trim it? I know it cannot be dead, because the 3 big fat leaves on the base where the roots are are still green. How soon before I get new flowers? Is there something I can fertilize it with? This is my 2nd attempt at trying to grown one!!

Thx,
Kim

Welcome Kim! I suspect you have a Phalenopsis from your description. In short, keep it in a North or east window, don't overwater (lots of folks here promote using a chinese chopstick-like stick and push it into mix alongside the pot and see how wet it comes out). You are aiming for damp, but not wet. There are nearly as many regimes for watering/fertilizing as there are members of the board. A popular scheme is to water with pure water like RO water or rain water or distilled water but add fertilizer every so often. I personally choose to add a small amount of fertilizer (very dilute) every watering and flow the water completely through the pot till it runs out the bottom (like you're flooding it). The secret here is to not do this too often or you'll surely rot the roots and maybe the plant. Keep the center part of your plant dry. You don't want water standing there overnight. Read the threads under http://www.orchidboard.com/community...psis-alliance/ if it turns out you have a Phalenopsis. You will quickly come up to speed on what folks are talking about. At some point you'll want to repot your orchid, because the mix it's potted in breaks down. That process is discussed in many threads. Don't be shy - ask away and we'll try to help. Hope I identified your plant correctly.

[cb977]

Hi Kim

Ross answered your questions about caring for your Phalaenopsis - the kind that you see being sold all over the place ...here's a little info on what to do when the flowers drop off (unfortunately, they don't last forever )

Since you say yours has turned brown, it's time to cut it down. Cut it all the way down, it's not going to make a comeback.

When you get blooms again (I know you can do it ) and they fall off, you'll then have two choices. Some folks leave the "stem" because there's a chance of it reblooming from the same stem (not once it's turned brown) although that second round of blooms are usually less fantastic than the first ones were. Others, like myself, cut it away without waiting for a second round of blooms. My feeling is that it's better for the plant to put it's energy into growing and staying healthy than to struggle for a less than spectacular bloom. There are no rules about this one...it's all up to you

Here's a culture sheet for Phalaenopsis:
http://www.orchidboard.com/Phalaenop...ure-Care-Sheet

[Neverend]

Take pictures!

This way we can ID your orchid and see the medium at the same time, helping you to diagnose any problems your orchid might be having.