NMMMR-Phaleanopsis Orchids

[SallySparrow]

H got me a really pretty orchid. Sweet of him, but I kill everything. It had two stalks, both blooming. One stalk turned brown and the flowers died. The other is still green, but I came home today and one of the flowers had fallen off. Is this the beginning of the end? Or normal that the flowers come off? I know nothing about plants.

The instructions said to keep it in a sunny room and water it once a week. I do that. Help!

ETA: and if the answer is that I'm supposed to be like, buying organic filtered spring water from Heaven and singing to it nightly, it can go ahead and die. I don't have time for all that.

[mandapanda18]

I have killed like every orchid that I have ever bought/received. The last one I was gifted said to water with an ice cube 1x a week and keep in a cool/sunny area. I have left it in the spare bath and diligently fed it one ice cube a week and it is still going at 2 years!

[holly116]

I asked this same question a few months ago!

They like humidity and I was told by a nice poster to move it to the kitchen, near the dishwasher/sink. That revived my near dead one. It had several months of blooming and now it's near death again. I also killed one by following the ice cube suggestion and water it more frequently than that but have it in the IKEA orchid pot which I assume, keeps it better drained?

[marclovesme]

If one or both stalks die (shrivel up and turn brown), cut them off close to the leaf/root ball and eventually a new stalk will grow. My little Trader Joe's orchid has been going for well over a year. The original stalk died in the spring and two months ago it grew a new one - it now has 6+ flowers with more coming. It is also growing new roots like crazy and what looks like a new stalk as well.

I have always had it on the windowsill above my sink, so maybe the pp's suggestion is accurate!

[SallySparrow]

Thanks, everyone! I might be able to save it yet!

[Deleted]

Be aware that they only bloom once a year at best. So you'll have many many many weeks of caring for literally a stick before you get more flowers. It never seemed worth it to me. At least other indoor plants have interesting foliage.

[greycat]

We keep ours by the sink and they do really well there. In the summer we put them outside. It is typical for them to go a long time between blooms. Make sure you don't water them too often. Also, most orchid pots have holes / vents on the sides. If your pot doesn't you can repot it. They sell fertilizer which we use every once in a while too. Most of ours are from our wedding almost 7 years ago.

[indifferentstars]

My H gave me an orchid on Mother's Day. I don't keep plants generally but thought it was worth trying my hand at this one. I found some good basic info on this site. Mine is still in it's original tiny pot, I need to get on that repotting it thing. It lives on the window sill above my sink where it gets indirect light and I water it maybe twice a week. The flowers all fell off as you describe (normal per this blog below) and now as @supergreen says I've been caring for a stick for several months, lol. I see lots of new roots, so I'm hoping it's still doing well and will bloom again someday. 


myfirstorchid.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/are-you-new-to-orchids/