New and wondering if my orchid is healthy

[meghan]

Hi there,

I'm new to the whole "actually attempting to keep a plant alive" and I'm looking forward to caring for my orchid and possibly others in the future.
I have done a lot of reading online so I'd like to think I am fairly well versed on the basics.

I bought my orchid (it's a phalaenopsis) only a few days ago and at the store (IKEA) I looked around a lot at different ones for obvious signs that it was or wasn't doing well... I thought I got a healthy one but I later noticed the underside of one of the top leaves has some brown discolouration, I'm not sure what it is as it's not black or big spots? I did make sure it got some indirect sunlight from a west facing window (it's winter here so there is not much light so I'm not too worried about sunburning the leaves). There was the same brown stuff around the rim of the leaf but after exposure to light it has faded quite a bit. The flowers are holding up and one of them even opened and is about half open, which is exciting.
My bedroom tends to alternate between temperature extremes since it is in what used to be an attic. I have a space heater though and I'm not letting the temperature drop below 17-18 celcius at night and I'm trying to keep it around 20-21 celcius during the day. I don't know what to do about the humidity and I don't know how to check what the humidity is in a room.
I kept the orchid in the plastic container and the moss was pretty damp when I bought it and still is so I haven't watered it. I can't see the roots very well but as far as I can tell they are green.

I took some pictures and will post the links:

- This one is the full view of the whole plant:
http://i44.tinypic.com/35d2gwk.jpg

- This one is the underside of the affected brown area leaf:
http://i44.tinypic.com/35mr2mb.jpg

- This one is a another stem branching off the main one(more below):
http://i42.tinypic.com/28rkrb8.jpg

- This one is just the leaves:
http://i42.tinypic.com/24l38u1.jpg


So basically my questions are:

1) What is this brown discolouration? Should I cut off the affected parts... it is mainly on the one leaf but the leaf under that one seems to be starting to get it as well... and put cinnamon where I cut?

2) Should I do something about humidity? For instance I could boil some water and bring the phal down in between waterings to expose it to the humidity?

3) As for the flower stem branching off, it might be hard to see in the photo but it is a bit of a brown colour, is it dead? & would it be better if I just cut it off to save the plant energy?

4) The moss seems pretty tightly packed so after the bloom is over should I switch mediums? Or am I being paranoid about root rot?

I think that's it... any help and additional pointers are greatly appreciated
Thanks for taking the time to read

[tucker85]

I'm not sure about the discoloration, it may have been exposed to brighter light at one time. Just to make sure it's not mites, take something white, like a paper towel, wet it and run it across the underside of the leaf. If there are small red spots on the towel, it has orchid mites. If it doesn't, then don't worry about the discoloration.
Phals can tolerate lower humidity for a while. One way to increase humidity is a humidity tray which is just a plate or bowl with water in it and pebbles that keep the pot from actually sitting in the water. Place the pot in the middle, on top of the pebbles and keep water in the bottom.
Don't worry about the brown flower stem, just leave it.
Tightly packed moss can be a problem. Let it get almost completely dry before rewatering. If in doubt, wait another day.
When it's finished blooming you can repot it. Just ask for repotting advice when the time comes. If you're worried about root rot you can repot it while it's in bloom. Phals usually tolerate repotting pretty well even when in bloom. Good luck.

[camille1585]

Hard to tell in the photo, but seeing as the discoloration is along the central vein and edges, I think it may be more likely to be natural coloring that many phals get on the underside of their leaves, particularily the newest ones. Is it a bit purplish?

Unless you have very low humidity, it will do perfectly fine. Phals adapt quite well to 50% or even 40% humidity.

The branched flower stem actually looks fine to me, it just has a blasted bud on it which is frequent with newly bought plants.

If the moss is really hard packed, you should repot now. The blooms are going to last a long time, so if you wait for them to fade then it might be too late for the roots. Rock hard packed sphag is very unforgiving, it dries out slowly and unevenly. Don't be worried about repotting a blooming plant, they usually don't notice a thing!

[Zoi2]

Hello and welcome to the OB.
I would agree the brown on your leaf is actually a purple and probably due to some good sun light. It is a good thing.
Also, if the moss is tightly packed and you do not want to totally repot at this time, just take some moss out from the center of the root ball. Orchids need air circulation on their roots. Do you have any drainage in the pot?
Joann

[meghan]

Thank you all for the replies (:

Yes I would have to say now that I look more closely it is more of a purplish colour and I did the paper towel test and it was clean.

I think I will remove some of the moss from the center in the meantime and see how the roots do from there.
The decorative pot I have it in does not have any drainage but the plastic container which all the moss and roots are in does have holes all along the bottom. I'm going to put rocks in the bottom of the decorative pot so if there is drainage it won't be sitting in water.

I'll leave the smaller stem alone as well,

Thanks again!

[silken]

Welcome to OB!
I agree with the others. Often Phals that have some pink or purple in their bloom as yours does, show some purple pigment in both the leaves and flowers stems.

I also agree about re-potting it now or at least removing a good amount of moss. You should check anyways to see what condition the roots are in and this is a good opportunity to give it a more breathable medium in the pot.

If you aren't sure when to water, you can stick a kebab skewer in the centre of the pot near the bottom and leave it there. When you think it's time to water, pull it out and if it is dry or very near dry, then you can water. Put it back in the same place so you don't stab the roots in different places each time.

[meghan]

Okay so I am kind of worried, I removed the moss and it was really tightly packed. The roots are a light brown for the most part but some have shriveled dark brown ends and there a cracks in some but they are still attached. Some roots are white and green though and they all seem to be fairly firm. I'm not sure what to do, can it survive if the roots need to be trimmed so much?

[camille1585]

Everything that is firm to the touch is a good root, no matter the color or how beat up they may look. Cracks are quite frequent. All you need to do is take off any parts that are mushy/hollow.

[meghan]

Thank you! I cut away the mushy parts with sterilized scissors. Should I get some other material from a plant store to repot it? The moss is all yellow and brown.

[silken]

The moss is normally a pale brownish yellow, not green. But if it is brown and deteriorating then it should be replaced. Many people don't like using moss, but I love it mixed with medium bark chunks. Sometimes a switch from all moss to all bark is a little hard for the Phal to adjust to because it's roots are used to more moisture. You could buy some bark and new moss and mix them or coconut husk chunks work for others. Or soak the bark really well over night and just water a little more often until the bark starts absorbing water a bit better in a few months. Be careful if you are buying the pre-mixed stuff from a box store. Some are OK but others are more like potting soil and even if it says suitable for Phals, it won't be. It is way too fine for most orchids.