Expert: Wayne King - 6/8/2009

Question
Hi Wayne,

I bought my first cymbidum with beautiful green flowers but I think some of the bulbs are dead and most of the bulbs are on one side of the pot with couple buldging out.  The flowers lasted for about 2-3 weeks and now the stalk is dark in colour but I see new leaves growing.  Can you please advise what should I do with that stalk and what do I need to do so that the plant will grow new stalk and flower again.  Should I repot it now and what medium should I use.

Also my phal can't seem to rebloom, many have died but I haven't given up on that so right now I have two.  I see new leaves growing but never bloomed.  Any advise on that would be appreciated.

Thanks so much!
Melissa

Answer
Good morning Melissa.  There will be no doubt as to which of your cymdidium bulbs are dead.  The dead bulbs will be brown and, when you squeeze them, they will collapse between your fingers.  Many leafless cymbidium pseudobulbs may be leafless but the bulbs are still firm and may posses "insisible" growing "eyes" at their base.
When new growth starts on your cymbidium, you should unpot it and repot it in a slightly larger pot.  Use a standard orchid potting mix which may be a available at such big box stores as Lowes or Home Depot or any place that carries orchid plants. The old flower spike can be cut off where it emerges once it has dropped all of its flowers.  I prefer to summer my cymbidiums outside.  Most enjoy bright light and need it to set new buds.  They can stay out until the night time temperatures drop into the 40's F,  They generally prefer to be grown cool and bright all year for best flowering.

It sounds as if you need to repot your remaining phalaenopsis orchids.  You can use the same potting mix you use for the cymbidium. Rinse off the roots of your phals once you remove them from their pot and remove any "squishy" roots which are dead and probably the reason your plants fail to thrive.  Phals need an annual repotting.  The best place to grow phals is indoors in an east facing window where they can get some morning sun but not the brighter noon or afternoon sun.  Failure to flower may be result principally from root rot and/or too little light.  If the leaves are a dark green, then the plant is getting too little light.  Flower initiation and growth is promoted by higher light such that the leaves are a light shade of green.