Mystery Orchid update and care questions

[Cranly]

Hi all,
I had posted previously about some mystery orchids I'd obtained and been given some good information.
Now, a little later, I have some updates and care questions.
I'm having trouble linking the previous thread, unfortunately.

Orchid 1, the bigger one, is losing a leaf - potentially from stress... but is growing some new leaves!
As you can see - one of the leaves near the new ones has some damage.
Can I cut that off?
And if so - from what I understand I put cinnamon on the end?

Orchid 2 is struggling. A lot.
The tips of the leaves dried out, though both orchids have been sitting next to one another, I became afraid that it was getting too much light so moved it a little big further back from the window. Though I'm not sure that is helping either.

I have been trying to monitor their water needs- When they first moved in it was every other day about it seemed they needed water. Now I'm around every 4 days.
Should I increase back up again?

Thanks for any advice you may have.

[silken]

You can cut that leaf and dab a bit of cinnamon. If that is quite new bark, it is fairly chunky for fine rooted plants. It may be drying pretty fast. The skewer method is really helpful for monitoring how wet the media is. Just place a bamboo kebab skewer down into the pot and leave it there. Pull it out to check how wet or dry it is and it will tell you if its time to water. Put it back in the same place so you aren't always stabbing roots. These don't like to dry out completely but shouldn't be soaking wet all the time either. If they are getting a lot of light close to a bright window, it may be a bit too much for stressed plants. Was the damage from sun burn or something else?

For the 2nd plant, if there are no roots except those few on top, you might want to just mist those.

Have you heard of using seaweed for helping develop roots? Using that in your water might help stimulate some root growth.

[Cranly]

I think the damage was just from the leaf getting a bit crushed at the plant store.

I had not heard about using seaweed in water. Sounds intriguing though.

[silken]

Originally Posted by Cranly

I think the damage was just from the leaf getting a bit crushed at the plant store.

I had not heard about using seaweed in water. Sounds intriguing though.

You likely don't need to remove that damaged part if it is just mechanical.

You buy the seaweed (kelp) in liquid or powder form and add it to the plant water. Most hydroponics stores carry some.

[Optimist]

Orchids lose their leaves. They get yellow and drop off.

Your first 2 photos just look like the end of the natural life cycle of a leaf.

Now, those two at the end are struggling. They could be in semi hydroponic.