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Phalenopsis failing to thrive and eventually dying.
Jess is in the Garden
Posts: 1,022
Strange 'cracks' in all leaves.
some good aerial roots.
no new leaves for weeks. No flowers for over a year.
New compost and orchid specific pots, plus the best feed I could find (Akerne's Rain Mix plus only ever rainwater).
Good exposure, plenty of light (east) but no direct sun.
Watered weekly, from base only, standing them in sink for an hour.
i also regularly spritz the leaves and clean with plain water.
my dad has been growing them successfully for years and he is as stumped as me.
Are they diseased?
please help, I only have one left
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Thanks Pansy, I was worried about that...don't know of any pests that do that though...help...
I'm only a novice gardener so feel free to ignore, but have you tried moving it to a different spot? I have one that seemed really healthy but didn't flower for a year or more. I tried different rooms in the house for about a month or two at a time and eventually found it was happiest in the hall. It's been flowering ever since.
i don't water mine for as long as yours - I just drench the roots for about 30 seconds once a week and that seems to do the trick.
Hope you have some luck
Hi Jess is in the Garden
Mine live in the bathroom on a north-facing windowsill and have been there for 3+ years - I ignore them most of the time and they get watered when I think about it - probably once a fortnight but only a little water - they've had a little Baby Bio orchid feed a couple of times - they've never been repotted - they're never not blooming - I couldn't say what you're doing wrong, but try doing something different and see what happens.
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Mine like north or west windowsills, and get watered even less....once every 2 or three weeks. I have five, the oldest is about 6 years old, and i cycle them round the windowsills depending which ones are in flower - i normally have 3 on the go at once. I have never fed them
. They seem to thrive on neglect
Thank you everyone - yes, I have tried them in several different spots, but will try different room now.
i looked up orchid pests and problems online abd apparently longitudinal cracks can indicate under watering...they weren't watered whilst I was away for 2 weeks, but as some if you say my dad's ones thrive on neglect! He hardly ever feeds.
mind you, I used to never feed mine and barely water when they were flowering, but carried in never feeding and hardly watering when something changed.
they had flowered in exactly the sane locations too before.
I wish I could hand my last one to one if you, as a sort of plant hospital
Hi Dove
Sorry I've been off the radar somewhat recently...how are things?
Hi
Things are quite good, all things considering. Pa passed away peacefully earlier this year, but he was 95 and very frail and had been ready to go for a long while. Ma's Alzheimer's has been confirmed (it was pretty obvious) and she's confused about who's died but misses sitting with Pa 
My (very grown-up) daughter had a spell between jobs this summer and discovered gardening, joined the forum (Wonky Womble) and won a prize for her garden
So I'm a very proud Dove 
Hope you and yours are well and happy
PS. Oh, and one of our big ash trees is poorly - tree man coming at the weekend to give us a quote for felling it. It will be sad, but on the other hand we can replant with something that won't take so much moisture out of the soil, and also I'll be able to grow more in that area. Every cloud has a silver lining ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Jess
Something not mentioned so far is minimum temperature, especially overnight temperatures.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=388
says...
"Phalaenopsis grows best in a warm environment. Provide night temperatures in the range of 16-19°C (61-66°F) and day temperatures between 19-30°C (66-86°F). Avoid draughts and fluctuating temperatures."
If for instance you are leaving your plants on a window sill overnight between the closed curtains and the window, then the cool draughts may be causing problems...
Cheers Paul.
Hello Dove, I'm sorry about your parents
it's so sad when they are elderly and you have to see them deteriorating. Alzheimers is a particularly cruel disease...
Lovely that your daughter is into gardening now - you must be very very very proud! Mine is only 7, but seems to love pottering with me (so far, whist it's still cool to be seen with your mum), so I have some hope she may love plants when she is older. Watch this space
What will you plant once the ash is gone? I suppose you'll have to put a lot of goodness back into the soil too, to replenish?
Take care
Many thanks Paul - my (last remaining) phalaenopsis is in a warm, south east facing living room, out of direct sunlight and not on a windowsill but on a coffer!
I have taken advice from here and shifted it to a north west facing windowsill (double glazing) to see of anything changes...I still don't know if it has been attacked by a pest though...but I'm very bloody minded and refuse to give up on it!