Need Orchid Recovery Help!
 

I've always loved the look of orchids and so someone once took up upon themselves to provide me with a few, but in my total ignorance and super laziness I never made any effort to find out how you really should keep orchids and so naturally I under watered them, then panicked when they were dying and over watered them, then watered them some more when they looked wilted from over watering, then forgot about them (and repeat). I'm here to find out if they can be saved, and I really super appreciate any advice or help anyone can offer me.

I'm hoping now that I've made a few starter posts I will be able to add images ;) So here goes...

Orchid no.1 is the only flowering orchid though the blooms are pale and... well one of them's deformed, I'm not sure how I managed that. It has some healthy roots and some unhealthy looking ones, and I think it needs repotting maybe? Not sure how to do that though... :(
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0862008051.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0873850B5C.jpg
Is this some kind of pest I should take care of or just damage?
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0881B51B6D.jpg

Orchid no.2! I suspect this one will recover in time? It seems to be mostly surface damage that will grow out.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08D6616CF1.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08E5FDDCD7.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08E0290744.jpg

Orchid no.3... well I'm not sure what to make of this one. It's not planted in a bark mix like the others, it has some strange mottled bumpiness on one outer leaf? Is this from over watering maybe?
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08ECA7920E.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08F1FB8902.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...08FDB9BC40.jpg

Orchid no.4 I suspect has bad root rot though it has some healthier looking green roots as well. Obviously over watered... not sure what to do with it :(
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...090555B6A1.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0910196FBC.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0915305AEB.jpg

Orchid no.X I feel like a murderer! I shook out the potting mix to see if it had any living roots but... sadly...
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...0924C5107A.jpg

Please, any help and/or advice would be really really apprecaited! I've heard of orchids that have recovered from worse so I'm optimistic :)

#1 is perfectly healthy! It looks great! Health roots, and great flowers. I'd leave it until it stops flowering and then maybe re-pot it.
#2 Is great, also. It's got lots of healthy roots. I wouldn't change a thing with it. Leaves get damaged, no big deal.
#3 get it out of the moss and replant in bark mix. Looks fine. You might loose some leaves as they look a little shriveled,,, but it will put out more. Without seeing the roots, I'd say it will turn out just fine.
#4 needs to be left alone and allowed to dry out a little bit. It's got some good roots. Could maybe use some more airflow?
I don't know what you are so worried about, they look great!

The bumps on the underside of the leaf don't look worrisome. You have some nice roots going on some, so that's always good! Never hurts to pull them out to get a good look at the roots. Cut away any obviously dead or rotted ones. Repot with fresh media if you don't know how old it is. Bark is ok for 2-3 years. Sphagnum moss, a year.

I noticed that you cut away the flowering spikes of your phals. You may want to leave them on the plant even after the flowers falls off, as long as they are still green. Sometimes, phals re-bloom from these flowering spikes, and can also send keikis out from those.

There are differing opinions on this. I leave them on sometimes and cut them off other times. The flowers produced on old spikes are often just one or two, when new spikes generally (but not always) produce more.

I have several whose spikes were cut off and are now producing large spikes with lots of flowers. I have one that has two flowers on an old spike I left previously, and two buds forming on a new spike it grew at the same time as the old spike started growing buds. Flowers have opened quicker on the old spike (no need to grow the spike first) but over-all the plant has less flowers than previous times when it's just grown a new spike from scratch.

I have others with spikes on which have been dormant for a while. I often cut them off though just for the neatness of the plant on my window-ledge. If the plant is going to be somewhere I see it regularly I find it more attractive without an old spike.

So really with phals it's a matter of preference. Some people always remove them, others always leave them, and some do a bit of both (like me).:biggrin: