When it is time to repot, cut the old flower spike down to where it meets the leaves. This will put more energy back into the plant. Remove the old mix from the pot, being careful not to break and crush too many roots. If there are any hollow or mushy roots, trim those off. Rinse the root system thoroughly getting all of the roots wet. This makes them more flexible. Put the plant in a new pot(plastic) carefully bending the aerial roots into the pot. They may crack but that's o.k. Fill in with new mix. Tap the pot on the sides to shake the mix into the voids. Do not water for 10-14 days. This allows the damaged roots to seal off and heal. Then water very thoroughly with a weak solution of fertilizer.

Urea requires microorganisms to break it down and convert it to nitrogen. Orchids are in soilless mixes so there are not enough microorganisms to do the job. Ammoniac and nitrate nitrogen are immediately available to the plant. Depending on what part of the country you’re in, how much sunlight you receive and what your temps are, you may be able to get by with a urea based fertilizer. However, people we know who have switched to urea-free have all said they get much better results. (Urea has been linked to pseudomonas disease in Phalaenopsis orchids.)

Usually this is due to a lack of adequate light and/or the lack of a temperature fluctuation between day and night. Generally speaking, plants need to be close to a window, no more than 3’ away at most. Plants see light from above, not sideways, and if you grow your plants too far from a window you will notice new growths becoming smaller and the leaves much narrower. They will not be able to store the energy they need to bloom.

Temperatures should fluctuate to below 65° Fahrenheit at night (preferable 60° ) to above 65-75° during the day. Generally a 7-10° fluctuation is need to initiate flowering.

Orchids need to dry out somewhat between watering with the exception of Paphs., Phrags., Cymbidiums, and some of the Oncidiae, which like to approach dryness but never become bone dry. Do not attempt to put your plants on a watering schedule. Check your plants every 2-3 days. Are they dry down in the mix and well as on top? If so, you should water.

One trick to help you is to take a sharpened wooden pencil and jam it down into the mix. Pull it out, and if the color of the wood exposed at the tip turns dark, you can be assured that there is moisture in the mix. Also, the weight of the pot becomes lighter as the mix dries out. If in doubt, don’t water. Wait a day or two.

Wrinkled or pleated leaves are caused by a lack of moisture reaching the vegetative part of the plant. This can be caused by not watering enough, or watering too much. If you can’t figure out what you’ve done, tip the plant out of the pot and examine the roots. If they are white or tan, firm, and spread throughout the mix, you need to increase the frequency of watering. If the roots appear brown and mushy, trim them off, repot into a new mix, and decrease the frequency of watering. Always remember, orchids should never stand in water!

This is normal for most orchid flower spikes. It is simply a sugary secretion. You can mist it with lukewarm water to dissolve it off.

This is referred to as bud blast, and can be caused by the following conditions: