My orchid died?

Question

I knew this would happen, I even joked about it at the store. I have issues with plants, but for my bday my mom bought me a beautiful white orchid with two flowers. Three days after I brought it home, one of the flowers looked really dry and fragile and died, then a few days after that the same thing happened to the other one. I don't think I over or under-watered it but I'm not sure what the problem is! I watered it every couple of days letting it drain completely, and it didn't get direct sun, but it it was semi-bright where it was sitting in the kitchen. Can anyone help?

I cut off the stem when the flowers died and its very brown and dry now. Is that normal?

Answer 1

Without knowing what your Orchid is, there are many reason why an Orchid flower whithers and dies and I'm just talking about the flower and not the whole plant. I'll give you the top three.

One reason is age. In a greenhouse with optimum conditions, we've had flowers last an average of 4 months before they dropped. You my have gotten an orchid with old flowers.

The second culprit is temperature. Phalaenopsis could take up to 95 F IF the humidity is about 80%. Less than that and it will whither and die. The coldest temperature for Phalaenopsis 5 F for less than 5 minutes. Longer exposure will kill the bloom and any buds. This type of temperature extremes cuts the flower's lifespan to 2 weeks or as little as 24 hours.

The most common reason is Ethylene. Flowers specially Orchids are very sensitive to Ethylene. Ethylene is a gas that comes from ripe, ripening, or rotting fruits and vegetables. This usually accumulates in any house. Once people take the plant home with beautiful flowers, 2 weeks later all flowers have dropped. Some for as little as 24 hours if they place it by a fruit bowl/basket.

Hope this helps

Horticulture student. Worked extensively with Phalaenopsis.

Answer 2

You may have over watered it.

I got a good tip from an orchid place one time a couple years ago I saw how they were watering theirs and it made watering orchids easy for me.

How the orchid place watered theirs was they had a 5 gallon bucket and they filled the bucket up with several inches of water. Then once a week they would dunk the base of the orchid in the water and let the base fully drain. Just make sure that you don't get the water up abover the base of the stem. You don't want the water getting down inside the folds of the leaves or it will rot the leaf portion out and that leaf section will die. You also don't want the leaves resting on things. If they do the leaf will die. For any roots that you see, especially if they are up high, mist them with a light mist from like a hair sprayer.

Also, you shouldn't be watering your plant with the water from your faucet if you have a water softener. The salt from the water softener will kill your plants.

Answer 3

I have lots of orchids in my garden - do you know the best way to take care of them - do nothing. I never water them - I never touch them and they flower like crazy! The only things I do is:
1. clean out any weeds that might happen to pop up
2. keep their pots up on bricks so snails can't get to them
3. once every few years, split the orchids into new pots
4. keep them fairly dry and pot bound in plastic pots (they love being crowded and squashed in)
5. if I do water them - I use an attachment to my hose like a "rain sprinkler" and just sprinkle over the leaves so it can run into the bulby bit.

They like a fair bit of shade. the only time they come indoors is when the flower spikes are full open and I cut the flowers and put them in a vase inside.

Easy care - you were probably too kind to them!

Answer 4

do you know what type of orchid?

it is possible that it is just the flower stem, or inflorescence that has dies. Do the leaves look healthy? If so keep watering it once or twice a week fairly thoroughly and new flowers should come up. Depending on teh type that my happen quickly or take up to a year