Phalaenopsis Problem

[ronms]

Can anyone tell me what's going on with these phalaenopsis orchids? The leaves shrivel up and finally fall off. The ones that try to bloom, the blooms do not open fully and finally fall off before opening. I'm rather new to orchids and this is rather discouraging.

[Tindomul]

Hmm, I don't know enough, but I would say that the first pic shows root rot. The second might be the same but it reminds me more of staying too dry. Does this seem like it sounds right? In either case your leaves are not getting enough water, one because the roots rotted away due to too much water and the other because the roots are too dry.
I think you need a second opinion.

[sii]

When I look at your first one, it reminds me of an orchid I killed (to much humidity and not enough light). The leaves wilted as yours.
I immediately took it out of the wet medium, (roots looked bad, even with a few days of being in my bathroom) dried it off (with a blow dryer) put it in a drier medium and close to an east window.
But I'm no expert...

[camille1585]

I was going to say the same as Tindo. Either way, the best course of action is to first unpot to see what the roots look like, and if necessary remove the dead ones. But based on your second pic, I would venture a guess that you aren't watering enough (nice chucky mix, and visible roots.) Still, can't say anything until you know what the roots are like.

The fact that the blooms aren't doing well either isn't surprising. A dehydrated plant can't supply the spike with water so the buds don't develop properly.

[silken]

I agree with the others, likely root rot or not enough moisture for some reason. I see your pots are standing in saucers. When you water your plants do they stand in water? That would cause root rot.

As mentioned above, you should check the roots and go from there.

[Paul Mc]

In the future, you should always place the pot above the water to avoid allowing water to remain in the pot. Phal's like to go a bit dry before being re-watered, not constantly moist.

As you are new to orchids, you may want to pitch them and get some other ones. I don't know where you got these, or how much you paid, but you might try starting with a cheap one or two from Home Depot to minimize money lost until you get the hang of them.

If you want to be die-hard about it and try to save them, then I would suggest looking at the roots, removing any that are mushy or dry as both of these are not good signs. Lightly dust with cinnamon to prevent opportunistic infections. Then you might try soaking the base in a mixture of water and orchid rooting hormone, then place the base in a wad of moist sphagnum moss and place it in a zip lock bag. Seal the bag and place it in a sheltered but warm place to help increase humidity and water retention by the leaves. Keep them in their sealed bags until some good new roots start to form which could be several weeks while repeating the rooting hormone treatment every week.

My 2 cents though, the leaves look as though they may be too far gone at this point. However, that does not always mean your orchid is completely gone, but saving it can be a lot of effort and time involved.

[silken]

It looks to me like there are several decent air roots at the surface of the bark. Find out what's inside the pot and how wet the media is and post some photos if you can of the roots. I've saved a worse one, but as Paul Mc says, it takes babying every day.

[RosieC]

The leaf problem is almost certainly dehydration BUT that can be caused by both too much water and too little water. Flower drop with leaves like this is only to be expected and in this case will have the same cause.

Too much water/staying wet with no air arround the roots, can cause root rot. Rot means the roots don't work, which leads to the leaves not getting enough water and dehydrating. Watering more will only make the problem worse.

The other trap people fall into is that they know that watering an orchid too much causes rot, so they don't water much... and don't water enough! Again this can get to the point the leaves dehydrate.

The main thing you need to do is check the roots. As others have said you may have some arial roots that will help you save it. However if all the roots are rotted off, that is your problem. If the roots are OK, or are very very dry and brittle then underwatering may be the problem. Which every it is, checking the state of the roots is the first thing to do.

[ronms]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will unpot them and check the roots and go from there. I suspect I under watered them but we'll see what the roots look like. I am careful not to let water stand in the saucers, I remove them from the saucers to water and let them drain.

Thanks again for the suggestions.