Some of my previous bloomings

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Goods14

I have heard that plants seem to have a finite lifespan and healthy plants tend to just decline and die for no apparent reason.

That's true.

Some orchids live shorter lives than others. Not all live for decades. A few only live for a couple years and that's all she wrote.

[Anisa]

I have noticed that too. I had a Chilschista. It was doing great had a blooms and then rapidly died. No changes to condition. I dont think it bloomed itself to death. I cant explain. So, yeah, I agree that there must be a finite lifespan.

[Goods14]

I recently had a Chiloschista die also. Mine never bloomed, and I think mine died due to lack of humidity for a while. A squirrel attack or two may have helped it as well...

Can you describe what happened to your plant?

[Anisa]

I had it for a couple of years and since i got it grew lots of roots and some leaves too. I was sure that i gave it a good conditions as it seemed to thrive. It was mounted bare roots on a wine branch in a clear plastic box for humidity. The box had slits for an air flow.
First leaves yellowed and dropped. Which I wasn't concerned as the roots appeared healthy. Then roots one by one started to die off - yellowing in some cases and shriveling in other. At that point I was panicking. I gave it more airflow and more/less moisture, more light - all in different combinations, but I wasnt able to save it.
It could have been a bacterial infection. But it is hard to tell on orchids that doesnt have leaves. At the end I sprayed it with Phyton27 even though I usually try not to use it on roots. Well, it died and I dont feel like trying another one for now.
Sorry to hear about your Chiloschista and squirrels. Forgive me my ignorance, but I thought that Luisiana have a good humidity - perfect for growing orchids outside. What happened to your Chiloschista?

[Goods14]

I'm sorry to hear about your Chiloschista. We do usually have great humidity and I grow most of my plants outside. At the end of this summer, though, it was very hot and pretty dry. I started to see a decline in the plant so I moved it into lower light and watered it more often. The roots continued to dessicate and I finally lost the last one a few weeks ago.