Jessica, seems as if you may have squash vine borer. Just lost a watermellon to one. A very colorful fly lays an egg at the base of the stem, the larvae then bores in, and the plant begins to die. Check the base of the root for an enterance hole which should be surrounded by the maggot's excretement. You can try to slit the stem open and remove the maggot, or as I did, salvage part of the plant by attemting to re-root a new section by covering some of the stem with dirt. KEEP IT MOIST When it takes the distal part of the plant will once again turn green. BTW, careful with the Sevin: you could be killing the honeybees which you need to polinate the flowers of your Zuke.

If you want to try again, do you have Trader Joe's where you are? Their orchids are super and not expensive. The only catch is that most of the time they are planted in spaghnum moss, which is a tricky growing medium. Too wet. Check to be sure the orchid has viable roots (you can lift it out of it's ornamental pot and easily see the roots through the clear plastic) The orchids at least are in pots with slits already, though they are temporary (inserted in other more stable pots. Also some roots above the "soil" line are good, as they are usually in great shape. What you do, is get one you like (phalaenopsis is a really good choice as they are pretty tough), and be prepared with a pot slightly bigger than the one they sell the plant in and medium orchid bark. do not hesitate to repot it immediately. Like the moment you get home. You can cut the plastic pot off with scissors, two cuts opposing each other. Make a nice BIG mess carefully extracting the spaghnum, starting in the middle where the roots are likely dead. Be careful of the roots, only removing the rotten ones. If it smells bad, be sure to dust with Rootone, otherwise not really necessary, though I usually do it. Hold the plant suspended over the new pot in the right position with one hand, and gradually pour in the bark with your other. Give the pot a shake or knock periodically to get the bark to settle amongst the roots. Water once in your kitchen sink, set it in a tray or on a plate in moderate light, then don't water for a couple weeks. meanwhile, it shouldn't even blink unless something was wrong with it to start. My feeling, and others might disagree, is that it is more risky to leave the plant in the soggy spaghnum than to repot immediately. As for your one that is dying, you can see water in the bottom of the pot, so for some reason it didn't really drain. Orchids REALLY need good drainage. Good luck next time around! Janine

Could be a fungus like Vladimir said, could also be an insect egg or just dirt on a bit of fluff. However, I'm more concerned with how dusty the leaves are. I may just be dust or it could be the beginnings of a spider mite infestation. It's a good idea to wash off the leaves from time to time, like maybe every 4-6 weeks. Take them outside and hose them off, or if that's not possible, put them in the shower and shower them off with cool water. Then let them drain well and put them back where they were. It helps prevent spider mites as they're attracted to dusty plants. And your plants love the rinsing off!

That vine has sucked all the nutrients out of that tiny pot and is losing its older leaves. Also it could be a result of completely drying out between waterings. Old leaves die it can't be avoided especially in a pot.