Do these leaves look healthy?

[AshleighJade]

Hi Guys,

Ive attached a few photos of my mums orchid (that she hasn't looked after properly) I am new to orchid keeping so I thought id ask for your expert advice.
To me these leaves look too dark, an indication that it isn't getting enough light, am I right?!

Oh and I have told her off for the state of her dirty leaves!!

Thanks again

[RandomGemini]

IMO, it needs a little more light, for sure, but I wouldn't overdo it. I would gradually move it toward the sill of an east facing window. Leaf 1 looks pretty good otherwise. Leaf 2 could be dehydrated, but it's hard to tell. Any way you could take a pic of that with a lamp shining directly on the leaf and the flash turned off? That should give us more detail on the leaf.

[AshleighJade]

Here are some pictures of the leaves under a lamp with my flash off! not sure if they are any better to be honest! Unfortunately in this house we have no window sills but ive placed it closer to a window that gets more light but not too much, how long roughly until I see a change? This poor orchid has been through a lot, its root system is terrible! unfortunately when I repotted it I wasn't a member of this great site so I didn't think of taking a photo of how horrendous they are!!

[RandomGemini]

Well, I would go ahead and get on a regular watering schedule. I water mine every 7-10 days using the skewer method. What I do is I take a bamboo skewer and I stick it into the medium until the tip reaches the center, then I pull it out and check it for how damp it is once a week. If it's damp at all, I put it back and check again in a few days. If it's bone dry, then I water the plant. This keeps me from overwatering them.

I do think the leaves are slightly dehydrated. The orchid will most likely not repair these leaves. It will, however, use them for all the nutrition it can get, before it drops them on its own. So I would leave the leaves in place. The plant will handle that on its own.

Do move the plant as close to the window as you can get, but do so gradually. I would leave it where you have it for a week, then move it a little bit closer and leave it there for a week... and then move it to the spot where you intend to keep it. After that, I would not move the plant again unless I saw signs that the location was unhealthy for it. If you see the plant getting worse, instead of improving, post some more pics here on the forum to get some help from some of the experts.