Expert: Wayne King - 5/29/2009

Question
I've had my orchid for a few months now and when I got it, it was very healthy with many flowers and very large green leaves. A week and half ago I went on vacation and came home and the moss in the pot was still wet from the watering I gave the plant before we left so I set it outside in the sun. Today I noticed that a few of the flowers at the beginning of the spike were wilting and one of the leaves was losing its coloring near the middle. Was this a result of soggy water or am I doing something wrong? Thank you.

Answer
Jennifer, it is not good for an orchid to be wet at the roots for an extended period. I suggest you repot the plant into a fir bark based orchid potting mix.  This type of mix, which contains little or no moss, is designed to allow air movement through the potting mix and rapid drainage allowing the mix to dry out between waterings.  At the same time, the plant should be in a plastic pot containing lots of air holes for good drainage.  When you unpot your plant prior to repotting, you may well find some rotted roots which need to be removed prior to repotting.  When roots rot, the flow of nutrients to the plant is reduced.  One symptom of this root rot are limpy or discolored leaves.

Also, phalaenopsis orchids should receive indirect sunlight only and should not be directly exposed as bright light can also bleach the chlorophyll in the leaves resulting in a leaf that is more yellowish-- especially in those areas exposed to the bright light.