Sudden droopiness?

[flowerchild29]

Hi everyone,

Tonight I watered my plants on a whim. I usually water every Monday and Friday, but I haven't been keeping track of my days for the last two weeks ONLY. I've had "Thanksgiving brain". I've been watering, but it only happens whenever I remember to. Before tonight, I watered my plants either last Saturday or this past Monday. Either way, my plants weren't being totally neglected. When I got my orchids out to water them tonight (they're in a South facing windowsill behind a transparent curtain) -- I noticed that my most-loved orchid has drooping leaves. This orchid has been growing roots and leaves like crazy lately. It's newest inner leaves aren't limp, but 3 of the biggest leaves are limp. The leaves aren't wrinkled, the leaves still feel "thick", but the leaves are clearly drooping instead of being normal. The (many) roots that I could see were very silvery, and some of the aerial roots appeared "less plump". I don't think I've been overwatering it. I'm so afraid of that. I used to mist the bark every other day, but I stopped that a few months ago due to fear. It seems like this has happened so suddenly! The orchid was fine a week ago or less! It's newest leaf and roots have grown since the last watering. I watered it thoroughly tonight, but I'm worried. Should I remove it from its pot tomorrow? I've already repotted it once this year because of the deteriorating bark mixture. If it's dehydrated, would hydrating it revive the leaves again?

P.S. It's oldest (2+ year old) leaf turned yellow a few weeks ago and I (easily/gently) pulled it off once it was ready to fall. Could this have led to an infection???

I'll try to post photos tomorrow. I just want any advice/thoughts because I can't sleep... that's how much I love this plant.

Also, all of my plants, including succulents, seem to do better with frequent waterings in my house. I don't know if the air is too dry or what.

[Ray]

It would really help if we know what type of orchid it is.

If it is a phalaenopsis, and the leaves are big and thick, and the root system is good, that could be nothing more than gravity having its impact...

[estación seca]

Well, we don't know where you live... how sunny it has been lately... what's the temperature inside your house... what's the humidity inside your house... are you running central heat now... what kind of orchid it is....

I'm guessing you have a Phalaenopsis. They often wilt and get soft when they aren't watered often enough. If they haven't been wilting for long they generally recover and the leaves stiffen up again, but that can take many days.

But without more information, and/or photo(s), we can't tell.

[flowerchild29]

I'm so sorry! It was late and I wasn't thinking.

It is a Phal. I've had it for nearly 3 years. I live in TN. It has mainly been cloudy mixed with sporadic sunny days. The temperature in my house has been 70. The heat has been running most days because of the chilly weather. The room that my plants are in seems to be very dry. This orchid has been in the same windowsill since I brought it home a couple of years ago. It's never had drooping leaves before. I'll take pictures in a little bit, but should I remove it from its pot? Thanks for all of your help!

[estación seca]

Don't remove it yet. It is wilting because it isn't getting enough water to the leaves. That can be because you aren't watering enough, or because the roots are rotten.

Can you see roots? Do they look OK? Pull the medium back a little and look deeper. If the roots look OK it's probably not dead roots.

If the roots look bad when you pull the medium back, then you probably should unpot and look at all the roots. This might mean you were actually watering before you should. At 70 F / 20C the plant won't use a lot of water, and once or twice a week might be too often.

A way to check on how wet is the center of the medium is the wooden cooking skewer method. You can find it in the Beginner forum in the top sticky threads section. You watered the plant recently so the test won't help today, but do it when you think it's time to water, and see whether it might still be damp inside.

Don't worry too much about underwatering Phals during cool, dark weather. It's better to wait and be sure they're dry rather than water too soon. (Best is to learn to use the skewer and get it right every time.) I have know people who kill almost all houseplants through underwatering, yet were able to keep Phals alive for many years in their original containers and medium. The Phals looked awful and shriveled, and never flowered again, but remained just hanging on to life.

[Paphluvr]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned yet that nighttime is not a good time to water. Better to wait another day and water in the morning. When you water at night water can sit on the plant and become an open invitation to fungal problems.

[flowerchild29]

Can anyone see these pictures? I am holding up the drooping leaves in the last few photos to show how they were before the droopiness. The roots that I can see when I move away some of the bark are still green and plump. I have never known that I shouldn't water at night!

P.S. The few scratches that my orchid has suffered have been at the... paws... of my dogs.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by flowerchild29

Can anyone see these pictures? I am holding up the drooping leaves in the last few photos to show how they were before the droopiness. The roots that I can see when I move away some of the bark are still green and plump. I have never known that I shouldn't water at night!

P.S. The few scratches that my orchid has suffered have been at the... paws... of my dogs.

The first time I looked I could not see your photos. I replied and then they showed up.

I don't think your plant has rotten roots. I think you've been forgetting to water.

Paphluvr is correct; especially in cooler temperatures like 70 F it is not a good idea to get water into the crown of the plant at night. I don't think about it because, even if I water in early evening, my plants dry pretty fast.

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I cannot see your photos... but when I hit the Quote button below, your message text shows their URLs. I copied them and pasted into a new browser tab to look at your photos. In this reply I have removed the IMG tags so the whole URLs should be visible.

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[charlesf6]

I see all pics no problem

---------- Post added at 11:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 PM ----------

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