Orchid in bloom = healthy?

[dreamynights]

Hey all,

The very first orchid I bought immediately lost all blooms after less than a week. That was a sure sign to me that it was unhappy and made me repot instantly. Now it has lots of new growth, even growing out of its pot.

About a month ago, I bought two mini orchids in one clay pot for my office. Within about 2 weeks, the two mini orchids lost its blooms pretty quickly. I gradually noticed that the leaves on one plant was getting very wrinkled and weak. I couldn't tell if it was dehydration or overwatering. The roots didn't look completely white but since the media was pretty dry on top, I ended up watering more often. I finally decided to bring it home to repot about a week ago. Turns out the roots on the wrinkled plant were pretty dead - there are two very unhealthy looking roots left. The other mini orchid is doing better but not much. I have been misting every day but the visible roots seem to be shriveling up slowly. HOWEVER... each of the orchids still has one healthy full looking flower on the top of their spike and have had no visible change on leaves since repotting. Similarly, I have another orchid at work still, that has been in bloom for 2-3 months and still has 7 blooms left. The blooms don't look their best but seem like they will still last a while. However, theres an earthy smell every time I water and the leaves are a bit wrinkled too. I currently don't feel like repotting it.

My question is, if an orchid is in bloom, does it technically mean its alright/not dying? I don't want to cut the spike until the bloom has finished, but will a flower in spike ever start growing roots?

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