I did consider that, but (to me at least :blushing:) I think a bin looks neater. :p I'll keep it that in mind however. Thanks!

So I've decided to use a bin (or bag) instead of humidifying the entire room-I think it's easier because whenever the door to the room is left open any humidity gained just escapes out the door :roll:

I think I'll leave the potted orchid inside with maybe a small bowl of water. I plan on opening it up to air it out maybe every two to three days. Hopefully mold doesn't become a problem :P


Oh no D:
*rushes to the store to buy paint and flooring*
*paints walls white and slaps tiles all over the floor*
Have the orchids been appeased? :pray:

Check out this poem... the author, Sue Fordyce (daughter of one of the great classic hybridizers, Frank Fordyce) gave me permission to share it, it's our story for many of us... (I've shared it before on this forum, in other threads so apologies for any who have already seen it and certainy see themselves in it)
Obsession

Orchid Obsession
 

I have not read this poem in a very, very long time but it is wonderful and I'm sure we can all relate.! I'm still giggling over it. Thanks for making my day!

That is hysterical. A new one to me. I had to read it to my hubby and he got quiet a hoot out of it. So true so true.

Hilarious! And I'm trying to downsize--guess it is hopeless!

:biggrin: Resistance is futile...

Good news and bad news....mostly bad news
 

Hello everyone!
It's been about 3 months since my last update, and a lot of things have happened since then-



Quick summary-
In an attempt to help the root tips along and to preserve the orchid's leaves from dehydrating too much, I've placed it in a plastic box with wet paper towels(for humidity) and a small fan to keep the air circulating. The humidity stays around 78-82% inside the box.
Unfortunately the orchid has lost all of its leaves except two new ones that are growing extremely slowly, if at all.
The new roots have also slowed down significantly and may not be growing anymore. On two of the new roots there are a couple of gray-black patches that stand out against the green when the roots are moistened. I'm pretty sure I haven't bumped the tips or anything
I wet the roots it has once a day.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...2017-07-26.jpg

---------- Post added at 05:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:21 PM ----------

Two of the leaves began to yellow and dropped once they were completely dry.

However the last leaf it dropped did so before it was completely dry. It fell off the plant with a soft touch-it felt normal (no mushiness, etc.)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...2017-07-26.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--...2017-07-26.jpg

Back of the leaf-
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...2017-07-26.jpg

Could there possibly be some sort of internal fungal disease or some other sort of ailment the orchid has that I don't know about?

The orchid gets temps of around 68*F at night to 80*F during the day. The fan is constantly on inside the box. It gets maybe less than an hour of direct sun thru the windows. It receives light mostly from a NW window and S window (partially shaded by a tree outside). I water the roots with RO water (around 9ppm of TDS) with no fertilizer added.
Is the plant simply dropping leaves so it can focus on the two new leaves? Or is it on a slow decline and there's nothing left I can do? Was I wrong to place it inside the box?
Honestly I'm kind of scared right now-I have no idea if I'm doing anything wrong. Some guidance would be extremely appreciated. :pray::bua:

Those new leaves look great, as do the new roots. The plant is recovering! Now that it has good new leaves, it doesn't need to try to maintain the old ones, which weren't contributing much. The new ones are big enough now to photosynthesize and feed the plant. But they're still small, so contribution is less that they will provide once they get bigger. It's pulling itself up by its own bootstraps. So I think that whatever you're doing, keep on doing it. Orchids grow slowly under the best of circumstances, and more slowly when they have less in the way of leaves and roots that are ideal... but as the leaves and roots get bigger, they'll contribute more and it'll probably go a little faster (but never fast, orchids just don't do that)

:whew: Thanks Roberta! Good to know that nothing seems unusual.

There's another problem that I need help with-
I'm going on a trip soon for about two weeks during which the orchid won't be able to receive any water. Do you think it'll be fine as long as I find some way to keep the box humidified for the duration of the trip?
Right now I moisten the paper towels about once a day when they dry out. I'm thinking of putting a couple of cups filled with water with paper towels bridging each cup (I'll add a sketch below of what I mean).
Would you have an even better way to keep the inside of the box humidified?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...2017-07-27.jpg
(the light blue line is the paper towel)

What about a string if synthic, or a strand or two of microfiber mop?