Newbie to orchid- do I have a fungus infection.

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• mai.li.pang Posts: 7

  January 2019

  
  

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• treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

  January 2019

  not fungal, but the wrinkled leaves mean its either thirsty or its been overwatered,
  

  how often do you water them and how?

  and what is around the roots as it should be fine bark chips and it looks like moss?
  

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• mai.li.pang Posts: 7

  January 2019

  treehugger80 said:

  not fungal, but the wrinkled leaves mean its either thirsty or its been overwatered,
  

  how often do you water them and how?

  and what is around the roots as it should be fine bark chips and it looks like moss?
  

  
  Thanks for replying,

  i water the plants once a week with a spray bottle which as diluted orchid feed. how can i check if it is thirsty or overwatered?

  you are correct there is moss on top of the bark chips, the reason why i left the moss there is because it came with the plant

  is this incorrect?

  thanks

  Mai

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• treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

  January 2019 edited January 2019

  they prefer a good dunking once a week, so totally submerge the plant pot underwater for 10 minutes then allow it to drain.

  i'd also remove the moss as the roots need some light
  

  
  

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• mai.li.pang Posts: 7

  January 2019

  treehugger80 said:

  they prefer a good dunking once a week, so totally submerge the plant pot underwater for 10 minutes then allow it to drain.

  i'd also remove the moss as the roots need some light
  

  
  

  
  thanks, i will do that and hopefully finger cross the leaves will return to normal

  sorry for all these questions but how should i apply the orchid feeds?

  also should i just leave the new flower stems and leaves that are growing on the plant?

  thanks

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• treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

  January 2019

  if its a foliage feed its to go on the leaves after watering, some of the younger leaves might recover but the older ones might not, give it a couple of months to see which are not recovering before you cut them off.
  

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• Hampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089

  January 2019

  If you read about them you will be told must be rain water and correct feed.
  
  I have never watered mine with rain water just tepid straight from the tap and I use five drops of BB Bio in the can about once a month definitely use a clear pot I water when the top two inches of bark is dry then from the top util the dish is half full then I leave it the result is.
  
  
  

  
  "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog

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• mai.li.pang Posts: 7

  January 2019

  pansyface said:

  If you imagine the orchid living in its natural habitat, it would be sitting in a tropical rainforest clinging to a tree trunk high up in the canopy.
  
  Now imagine the type of water a plant in that position would receive. A tropical storm would produce a lot of sudden water run off followed by a period when the roots would have very little water. The best way to imitate that type of watering is to give the plant one quick watering with a very dilute feed followed by a thorough drain to remove all the excess water. No water left standing in a saucer or bowl. Now do that quite infrequently. Maybe once a fortnight, it depends on how dry the air is in your house.
  
  Secondly, a tropical rainforest is humid. So keep your orchid away from radiators or sunny windowsills where the air is too dry for them.
  
  Thirdly, those withered leaves will never recover so cut them off close to the base of the plant.
  
  When the flowers have finished, it’s a good idea to cut the flower stem back to about 5 centimetres from the base. That will encourage new flower shoots to grow up from the base of the plant.
  
  Keep the plant in a transparent pot as orchids use their roots for photosynthesis and they need to receive light.
  
  Don’t expect a sudden improvement in your plant’s health. They are quite slow growers.

  
  Thanks for your detailed reply, i have just dunk the root and bark into water for 10 mins and now waiting for the water to drain out.

  i will cut the leaves later tonight as well

  thank you once again

  fingers x

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• mai.li.pang Posts: 7

  January 2019

  
  

  Hampshire_Hog said:

  If you read about them you will be told must be rain water and correct feed.
  
  I have never watered mine with rain water just tepid straight from the tap and I use five drops of BB Bio in the can about once a month definitely use a clear pot I water when the top two inches of bark is dry then from the top util the dish is half full then I leave it the result is.
  
  
  

  
  thanks wow your orchid looks amazing, hopefully mine recovers and flowers like yours.

  also i am using the same bio feed
  

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• Hampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089

  January 2019 edited January 2019

  Forgot to mention it lives with a SSE aspect and not in direct sun light a few feet back from the window, I did move it last year to the other side of the room and it really did not like it so I think the amount and type of light it get's it is very important.
  
  Never gets any special treatment in fact often gets neglected, but I do talk to it at particularly at the moment tell it how beautiful it is every day 7 flowers and 7 buds so I must be doing something right. 
  
  As previously they are predominantly a forest plant so dappled shade would be there natural setting.

  
  "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog

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