Dead leaves on unknown orchid

[archer183]

I have a question. Looking at the picture below, with the brown leaves, it does not appear that this plant is healthy. It is one of my wife's favorites, so I am trying to figure out how to keep it alive (I generally have a touch of death when it comes to plants) as it is the oldest plant we have and one I bought her before we got married. We've had it about two years and it has never bloomed since I bought it.

Any help figuring out what needs to be done to keep it healthy would be greatly appreciated.

The soil is moist but not soggy, it sits away from the window, in indirect light. I've been very wary of over watering it, as that is usually how I end up killing our plants.



thanks
Greg

[Amanda L]

Welcome to OrchidBoard Greg!

It looks like it's over due for a re-potting. Your potting media looks to be sphag moss and quite broken down. Broken down media smothers the roots and causes root death. You will need to check the roots and cut any that are mushy. The shriveled p-bulb is indicative of not getting enough water. This could be due to dead roots. I would recommend a clear plastic pot to re-pot in and some bark for re-potting. It's easy to tell when they need water when they are potted in clear pots, you can set the clear pot inside a decorative one. I would also recommend a root growth hormone, such as KLN or SuperThrive, to promote healthy root growth, and a good balanced fertilizer.
If you are unable to find anything locally here is a website that has reasonable prices and everything you need. www.calwesttropical.com

Good Luck and let us know how it goes!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'd like to add, that the root tips on some of the new roots appear to be dying or dead, they look shriveled and not the same size as the rest of the roots.

[Amanda L]

I also would like to add. The pot size for re-potting need to be only as big as the roots. Over-potting will cause problems also.

[RosieC]

Hi Greg and welcome to Orchid Board

I agree with Amanda & King, I think that orchid really needs repotting.

The shrivled psudobulb indicates lack of water and that's probably the reason for the brown leaves as well. Lack of water can often be due to the roots being dead rather than you not watering enough and when the medium is very compacted like that the roots will suffocate and die even if you are not overwatering.

[archer183]

Do I need to remove all those roots? there really are not any roots formerly underground I can see that don't look like that.

[RosieC]

Personally I left them on one I had like that, mainly to give stability to the plant and just in case any were still OK.

Not sure what's best though.