My new Orchid’s flowers are dropping and dying
Why are my Phalaenopsis Orchid’s flowers dropping and dying? I received it as a birthday gift 3-1/2 weeks ago fully grown and beautiful. After a week the bottom leaves started to become yellow and eventually 3 of them fell out. As I was seeing youtube videos showing how to take care and water it, I remember that the first time I watered her 2 days after I received her, I wet the bottom leaves but I didn’t dampen them and water might have remained in the pockets. At that time, I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t do my homework first. Since then, the 2 new buds have fallen out and 1 flower became yellow and also fell out. So 5 days ago I decided to repot in an orchid pot with holes and special Orchid potting mix. I also bought an organic orchid food mist and Orchid plant food (slow release fertilizer pellets). At the time of repotting, I mist and added about 5 to 6 pellets and watered. Unfortunately, as of today, 4 more flowers are dropping and yellowing and will possibly fall out! Today I watered her and mist. 😢 What’s happening to my birthday Orchid? What did I do wrong other than carelessly watering the base of the leaves and the pockets.
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Can we see pictures of the whole plant and the roots and leaves? This doesn’t sound very good 😭, just so you know, I hope I’m wrong, but we will need to see. Flowers dying off can be a part of the natural cycle, but 3 leaves turning yellow and dropping off is making me think we’re already dealing with advanced rot of some kind, or a pest. Buds can fall off due to change of environment/temperature/shock, but let’s see those leaves. Ca is it a clear pot ? If so please post pics of the roots too . Tagging some other orchid enthusiasts as well. @MariansOasis @MusicalRedmint @smushface
Yep @Plantlover4ever @DreamMachine pics are now required 🫡 ☺️. Must see what’s going on. Flowers dropping after a month isn’t weird. Who knows how long it was in bloom before you received it as a gift?🤷♀️ And water sitting in between the leaves 🍃 on a phalaenopsis can be the cause of issues. Repotting was a good time to check the roots, make sure they were plump and green or green grey. Probably not the best time to fertilize because she’s having issues. A healthy plant can take fertilizing but one that’s in stress may not. It needs basics right now, healthy roots, proper light & proper water and then just some time ⏰ 📆. Don’t beat yourself up too much about this though!! You don’t know if it received good care before you got it! Many retailers don’t know how to take care of orchids and usually overwater. Plus you’re just learning 📚. Even the best orchid people make mistakes. My first phalaenopsis, poor thing, I fell for the ice cube 🧊 watering technique and nearly killed it. And the first phal I repotted I tucked all those “annoying roots” into the pots😬. Oh they’re called Aerial roots for a reason lol 😆 🤪🥲. Anyway, look forward to seeing your pics and what all everyone has to say👍
Good morning, I can give you some very supportive orchid advice for you among the hope of getting your orchid on the road to recovery. 1) You are going to have to check your orchid for a serious issue known as crown rot, you are going to have to cut back on the watering to your orchid. 2) Your orchid could be stressed and also has not had time to adjust and adapt to the new environment. 3) When you repotted the orchid you put a shock to the plant. I am an orchid plant lover myself. When I was living in New York for almost three years I had my very best experience among success with having orchids. Theses are some of my most valuable tips for you towards keeping your orchid alive and learning how to take care of them, 1) Orchids are considered air plants, what that means is you are going to have to learn to let them get some air and let the roots dry out some, they are not the type of plant that needs constant water every day. 2) Cut back on your watering and it is very important not to get water in the crown of your orchid or you will start having some very serious issues that will eventually kill your orchid plant. If you start seeing indications of black spots on your plant (Orchid) than you could have a very serious issue and the name of that issue is called Black Rot it will be a fatal problem for any type of orchid plant. There is a shop in New York and the name of the shop is called the orchid man, then there is the last known orchid farm in New York called White Plains Orchids there are my two best recommendations for getting questions answered among getting some great advice on caring for orchid if you are a first time orchid plant owner. If you see water standing in the crown of your orchid you are going to have to get the standing water out of the crown of the orchid and allow the orchid to dry out before you water it again. I am going to show you my orchid plant that I just repotted recently. This photo is my Sharry Baby orchid plant.
Thank you @DreamMachine , @MariansOasis , @GoodLecanora84
All good advice. I did fail to mention one very important thing… when I took the plant out of the pot, the roots were black and mushy. They did not look well. Mind you, I had only watered it a tiny but 2 days after I received. And then when I saw the need to repot it. I did cut a tiny bit of it but I wasn’t sure how much or which I shod cut. So yes, I believe there is a root rot issue. Like Marian mention, it might had already been watered too much and roots were rotted when I received it. Take a look at the evidence from the pictures. I had it a bit further away from the window, but this morning I moved it closer to the window where you see now in the picture. It’s a SW window facing. @GoodLecanora84 , I guess I might have to go back in there, ha? Thank you all so much. I will follow all your good advice.
All good advice. I did fail to mention one very important thing… when I took the plant out of the pot, the roots were black and mushy. They did not look well. Mind you, I had only watered it a tiny but 2 days after I received. And then when I saw the need to repot it. I did cut a tiny bit of it but I wasn’t sure how much or which I shod cut. So yes, I believe there is a root rot issue. Like Marian mention, it might had already been watered too much and roots were rotted when I received it. Take a look at the evidence from the pictures. I had it a bit further away from the window, but this morning I moved it closer to the window where you see now in the picture. It’s a SW window facing. @GoodLecanora84 , I guess I might have to go back in there, ha? Thank you all so much. I will follow all your good advice.
@Plantlover4ever @MariansOasis Well the good news is that from what I can see, the stem looks healthy! I do see some healthy roots as well 🥳 I’m rehabbing a few phals right now and one has way less than yours; just about an inch of healthy roots, but she’s doing better because a couple weeks ago she only had a half inch 🙌😂
But yes, black and mushy is definitely root rot. And any root cores like that stringy looking root can be trimmed off. (That is the actual root, but it’s missing it’s insulation, if you will) If you didn’t trim all of the rot, you will need to go back in there and trim again.
https://youtu.be/8tX14vI-JAs?is=CCJ2YYu5y0yATtcD
https://youtu.be/6Dx3lVq8dow?is=Yab7n4Gm3JKzSlMk
☝️ here are a couple videos from Miss Orchid Girl on YT about root rot and saving struggling phals. She is a great orchid resource and I would definitely suggest following her methods.
But yes, black and mushy is definitely root rot. And any root cores like that stringy looking root can be trimmed off. (That is the actual root, but it’s missing it’s insulation, if you will) If you didn’t trim all of the rot, you will need to go back in there and trim again.
https://youtu.be/8tX14vI-JAs?is=CCJ2YYu5y0yATtcD
https://youtu.be/6Dx3lVq8dow?is=Yab7n4Gm3JKzSlMk
☝️ here are a couple videos from Miss Orchid Girl on YT about root rot and saving struggling phals. She is a great orchid resource and I would definitely suggest following her methods.
@Plantlover4ever no problem, and just remember, trim any roots that squish under pressure, slough off the root core, or if you can tell they are complete mush.
Yellowish roots just haven’t gotten light to photosynthesize so if they are firm and plump, they are ok, leave them.
Yellowish roots just haven’t gotten light to photosynthesize so if they are firm and plump, they are ok, leave them.
@DreamMachine @Plantlover4ever yes, it looks much better than I thought it would. As Nadia posted there’s been a lot worse that pulled through so there’s hope!!! I once had one with no roots visible, made an ICU in a clear plastic bin & suspended it over a glass of water. She grew back some roots! 😲 However, she continued to struggle and after many months of trying I did give in. I wasn’t enjoying it any longer and $19.95 for another phal was the perfect solution 🙌🫣🤫
@MariansOasis can I just say, I love when you say these things Marian ♥️ because it shows that there are many ways to do it. It seems like a lot of people feel like they have to try to save something, no matter what, even if it isn’t bringing them joy, so its refreshing to hear you say, “I binned it, and tried again with a new one.” 🥰 It’s allowed!!
And, for another perspective, right now I have four phals total that I’m rehabbing, but I AM having fun, because it’s an experiment to see what works best. 🤓 I have one in a bag of damp sphagnum. One in a bag of damp perlite. And two suspended over water like you mentioned, in a bin for higher humidity. Oh, I suppose I have five, ☝️✌️🤟….🖐️ because I have only the roots of one in a cup of damp sphagnum with a dome over it.
…but if they don’t pull through…💪♻️🗑️
And, for another perspective, right now I have four phals total that I’m rehabbing, but I AM having fun, because it’s an experiment to see what works best. 🤓 I have one in a bag of damp sphagnum. One in a bag of damp perlite. And two suspended over water like you mentioned, in a bin for higher humidity. Oh, I suppose I have five, ☝️✌️🤟….🖐️ because I have only the roots of one in a cup of damp sphagnum with a dome over it.
…but if they don’t pull through…💪♻️🗑️
@DreamMachine 🥰🥰🥰 love YOUR comment! Experimenting is half the fun for me. I’ll give it my best go rehabbing, but forgive myself more quickly these days if it just isn’t working out or worth the effort anymore. I admire people who post here and on Reddit that they buy plants 🪴 off the bargain bins at big box stores or grocery stores and have them pull through!! 👏🙌🍻🎉
@DreamMachine I clicked in the links and I have to thank you because she was very helpful. Especially the one of that hit the problem which my orchid is going through. I implemented her suggestions.
Hello everyone! Thanks again for all your advice and suggestions. So as you can see from the new photos, it was indeed necessary for me to go back in there. Seems that after I repotted things got worse, hence the yellowing and dropping of the flowers. As we suspected, there was definitely lots of root rot! All the roots were black, mushy and flat. All had to be cut. Only 3 could be saved leaving only about 1/4 of the beginning of the root. I’m not too sure about the 3 aerial roots, which I kept , because in touching the beginning of each root they are a bit muchy, but the rest of the root is firm. So I’m not sure if I should leave them or keep them. You might be able to notice that in the photos. ALSO, SHOULD I AT THIS POINT REMOVE THE YELLOWING & DROPPING FLOWERS?? Thanks again for taking time out to read and to help me. Appreciate it. This orchid was my birthday gift from my son and it was my first ever orchid. I was so happy and emotional to have received it because I always wanted one. 😊
@Plantlover4ever oh what a beautiful picture! 😱 I can see how happy your orchid makes you 🥰🥰 😍
I’m going to tag the other commenters so they can see your update 🤗 @MariansOasis @GoodLecanora84
As for your questions: I would let your orchid decide if they want to drop their leaves or not. I don’t like cutting or pulling leaves off if I don’t have to, because it opens up a wound that bacteria can get into, whereas if your orchid decides to drop the leaves themself, they will first reabsorb all the water and nutrients from the leaf first and then dry it up slowly so there won’t be an open wound if and when the leaves do drop.
The flower spikes though, I *would* trim off. Energy needs to go now into regrowing some healthy roots! Rub some isopropyl alcohol on a pair of snips to sterilize them first, and then cut off the spikes as close as you can to the base.
Regarding aerial roots—is where the slightly mushy part is closest to the stem, or at the very tips of the roots?
I’m going to post this comment and then show you one of my rehab phals because right now she is looking quite similar and I hope it will be encouraging to you!
I’m going to tag the other commenters so they can see your update 🤗 @MariansOasis @GoodLecanora84
As for your questions: I would let your orchid decide if they want to drop their leaves or not. I don’t like cutting or pulling leaves off if I don’t have to, because it opens up a wound that bacteria can get into, whereas if your orchid decides to drop the leaves themself, they will first reabsorb all the water and nutrients from the leaf first and then dry it up slowly so there won’t be an open wound if and when the leaves do drop.
The flower spikes though, I *would* trim off. Energy needs to go now into regrowing some healthy roots! Rub some isopropyl alcohol on a pair of snips to sterilize them first, and then cut off the spikes as close as you can to the base.
Regarding aerial roots—is where the slightly mushy part is closest to the stem, or at the very tips of the roots?
I’m going to post this comment and then show you one of my rehab phals because right now she is looking quite similar and I hope it will be encouraging to you!
It looks like it has lost / you removed most of its roots, though you have healthy aerial roots and the overall plant otherwise looks healthy. It sounds like it is cannibalizing its leaves to stay alive and power the growth it needs to recover from such drastic root loss… there is probably no saving its current bloom cycle — it needs to end it to focus on recovery (so let the blooms drop but only cut the spike if it dries up). You need a moist environment with good airflow to help it recover… meaning it needs to sit *on top of* a bed of moist sphagnum in some sort of tall clear container (like a vase, or someone else’s photo of the sphag/bag method below) that is 4-6 inches taller than the top of the plant’s leaves… the sphagnum provides the right ecosystem conditions to help the plant thrive, and the tall container helps create a small humidity zone around the plant. I have brought back orchids from total root loss using this method, but it does take months… I’ve only had to do it on smaller or younger phalaenopsis, but my experience with those plants has been that the roots grow about an inch per month.
I don’t have time to look it up rn but the YouTube channel ClassyFlowers has great rehab videos on orchids.
I don’t have time to look it up rn but the YouTube channel ClassyFlowers has great rehab videos on orchids.