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Orchid newbie, need help/advice.

9 years ago

I had never even seen an orchid before I moved back to Florida. Now, I'm caring for my Godmother's. She had three originally, we bought one, and were given another. They all have issues and I'm at a loss.

One of the problems is that they are in window boxes, two plants per pot, and I'm guessing that they are all different types.

Second problem is that my Godmother gave them too much sun and they are sunburned. I'm keeping them on our lanai away from direct light, because I don't know how to give outdoor (or indoor lol) orchids proper sun. They maybe get 30 minutes of light in the morning from a sky light.

Third is that they all have weird spots, twisted leaves, and/or chew marks.

Each pot has the coarse Miracle Grow orchid medium, and I feed them twice a month with the Miracle Grow orchid food. I only water or feed if they feel dry and warm two inches down.

Below is the setup, with individual plant pictures to follow. Thank you guys!

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Comments (10)

vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Here is the phal, I think it is a harlequin, and it has weird sunburned leaves:
vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Here is the one next to the phal:
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zarah Your containers are cute and good that you made sure about drainage holes - how many holes? - you could poke few just to make sure. Are they some kind of plastic? I would point out that with your humid climate you need to make sure about good air flow besides the drainage. I think your plants are planted little deep - especially ones in oblong containers. If you could make sure they are sitting higher, the air circulation would be better. The container should be filled to just touch below the rim. There isn't that much space in your individual pots to raise the level of mix since the handles have openings, perhaps just a little mounding in the middle would help. And what did you use for topping - is that rice husks? It looks pretty good, but I don't know anything about their water retention - but have seen them mentioned few times.If you think they hold water for too long, maybe a pebbles/stones could be used for top dressing, they could be bigger than what you use in the mix itself. The little 'stones' you mentioned that you buy along the road - are they the white particles visible in few photos? (the white granules - they look almost like perlite) - if yes, I think that's good sized grit. Rina
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vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Third one, in the second pot, chewed:
vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Fourth, what I believe to be a Oncidium. It had tiny yellow petal-like flowers on a branched spike before the spike died from being kept in a hot car for too long.

I wasn't sent the picture of the one in the small pot, but that was taken from an oak tree. It's 80 years old according to the person that snipped a bit for us. It's got twisted leaves and brown spots, you got spot it in at least one of the photos.

Thanks again!
jane__ny
9 years ago
Hi Vega. Your plants look healthy and the damage seems to be mechanical, no disease that I can see. You appear to have them in large bark. These plants like to stay damp. Same conditions as the Phal so I would soak the bark or water them more frequently.

Depending on the specific plants, they might require more light than the Phal.

You could leave them together and see if you get flowers. If the Oncids don't flower you know they need more light.

The Phal has sunburned leaves. If they aren't rotting, you can leave them alone. They will eventually die off.

The Oncids look good. Just keep doing what you're doing but water them a bit more often.

Jane
vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you Jane. So even the one with the black spots with the white in the center is fine? That looks pretty nasty. :/

The mix is like bark and soil... it seems to retain moisture pretty well, but I still plan on watering a little more frequently.

I was planning on feeding them today, so we'll see what happens. :)

Thank you Jane!
jane__ny
9 years ago
Hi Vega. You are doing fine. Can't really see the spots but Oncids do get 'freckles' which is normal for them, (not sure if that's what you are seeing). The newest leaves are nice and light-green which suggests good light.

Good job, keep growing!

Jane
westoh Z6
9 years ago
If you are talking about the plant potted next to the phal, it looks like it may be a couple of plants, the rosette looking thing to the right appears to be a bromeliad to me? I've seen orchids sold with broms in the same pot in some big box stores and flower shops.

I think the plant in the small green pot is a cattleya, they like lots of light usually.

Good luck,

Bob
vega-lyrah
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Bob and Jane! I will put the guy in the separate pot out in the morning sun for a bit tomorrow.
arthurm
9 years ago
How do you get those best pink orchids into the USA from the UK?

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