Yellow stem base

[bil]

Originally Posted by Sofija

Thank you these are really good advices and I will definetly try them this is my first orchid so I'm kind of lost here haha

Don't get your whatsits in a twist. Orchids are pretty straightforward to keep as long as you get the basics right.

[Sofija]

I think we're not making any progress... the stem base was yellow but now is turning brown.. and i'm losing one of the leaves... I took your advice on watering
I've lost all of the blooms on one of the spikes and i've trimmed as I read on one of the links but i'm hopeless

[Roberta]

Remember, orchids don't do anything fast. They teach patience. The flowers will fade, but that does not mean anything for the health of the plant. If you lose a lower leaf, that's "force of nature" too. I would suggest that if all the flowers are gone, cut the spike back to close to where it emerges from the plant. Sometimes you can cut the spike higher up and it will make a new branch and new flowers, but with a small plant, it is probably better to let it put its energy into growing new roots and leaves. If this were my plant, I would also repot into fresh bark. I have found that almost all orchids that I acquire need repotting (nobody pays the seller to repot...) Take it out of the pot. roots that are black/mushy should be removed (will probably break off easily) If that bark is hiding soggy sphagnum moss (very likely), get rid of the moss, which tends to stay too wet leading to root rot. Put it in medium bark. Then use the skewer trick to determine when to water. The plant still looks healthy from the last batch of pictures as well as I can see. Put in a bright window (a curtain to filter light if it is south or west facing, but these plants do need quite a bit of light to rebloom) With any luck, next year (I said they don't do anything fast) you may have flowers that you grew yourself!

[Orchid Whisperer]

Sofija - There are basically two kinds of beginning orchid growers:

Type 1. Benign neglect type. They enjoy the flowers, water when they think of it, but maybe miss a time or two, and the orchid gets a little dry occasionally, but not too bad. Fertilize plants rarely. Notice when a leaf yellows and falls, only because the leaf is something to clean up. Prognosis: This type of grower often ends up learning to care for orchids properly, and growing orchids just fine for as long as they care to.

Type 2. "Freaking out" type. This type of grower sees every speck or spot on an orchid leaf, every fading flower, every yellowing leaf, as a potential personal failure (when these things are just "nature happening", and happen with every orchid). No consolation is possible from friends assuring the grower that everything is OK. Reaction to the specks, spots, fading and yellowing may include overly-frequent re-potting, buying and using five different kinds of fertilizer, dousing the plant with disinfectants, cinnamon, peroxide, etc. Prognosis: The "freaking out" grower begins to associate orchids with an uneasy sense of dread. The worry, dread and chemicals end up killing the orchid. The freak out grower loses so much sleep that they eventually give up growing orchids, turning instead to frequenting conspiracy theory websites.

Sofija: R E L A X. Your plant really does seem to be OK. Be a Type 1 grower.

[orion141]

I agree with above and think all looks ok. Just keep up the current care and see how things go.