i have just come across an orchid my mother was bought around this time last year for her birthday. it was beautiful when she got it, though i regret i do not know the full name of it.

i have just come across it again and found it in rather poor condition. the stem is quite long and crooked toward the top. the leaves, only a few of them, are large and seem healthy but droop down as if wilting, and strange tentacle-like sprouts are rising up from the soil. are these suckers? should they be removed? i assume it will need repotting, as the pot it is currently is is extremely small!

if anyone has any advice on how i could improve is condition and help it flower again, even if it isnt flowering this year, it would be appreciated

thanks all!!!

Stepping way out on a very small limb, I'll guess that you're referring to a
phalaenopsis - assuming the "stem" is where the flowers were, and the leaves
are somewhat flat and fleshy, alternating more-or-less in pairs and
emanating from a central "base".

If I have guessed correctly, the "stem" is the old flower spike, and I would
recommend cutting it off at its base.

It is typical for the leaves of a phal to droop somewhat, and as long as
they're not flaccid and wrinkled, they're probably OK.

The "strange tentacle-like sprouts" are likely aerial roots, and their
presence is a really good sign.

If it has been in the same potting medium (it is NOT soil) for a year, it's
a reasonable bet that it has started to decompose, so the plant should be
repotted. Orchid potting medium should hold moisture, but must also contain
a lot of open space to allow the roots to "breathe", as much of the
respiratory gas exchange occurs through the root system - far more than in
terrestrial plants.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"danny22" wrote in message
...

i have just come across an orchid my mother was bought around this time
last year for her birthday. it was beautiful when she got it, though i
regret i do not know the full name of it.

i have just come across it again and found it in rather poor condition.
the stem is quite long and crooked toward the top. the leaves, only a
few of them, are large and seem healthy but droop down as if wilting,
and strange tentacle-like sprouts are rising up from the soil. are
these suckers? should they be removed? i assume it will need
repotting, as the pot it is currently is is extremely small!

if anyone has any advice on how i could improve is condition and help
it flower again, even if it isnt flowering this year, it would be
appreciated

thanks all!!!




--
danny22

and what ray is modestly not saying is--go to the firstrays website
and there's lots of info on potting up plants, including how to re-
pot.

--j_a

i repotted it. i had always assumed it would be a bulb but it was just a mass of thick roots! there was no compost in the pot, just thick bits of what looed like black bark. i cut away the roots that were either dry and half cracked off or mushy and black. it is in orchid compost i bought. the leaves do all rise from the same place at the bottom. The stem is bare, you say I'm supposed to cut this off at the base and another will grow at a later date? also, these arial roots - what do they do and what am I meant to do with them?

again, many thanks!