my sister is killing my plant!

[meuggmail]

Hello:

My sister and I bought 2 phalaenopsis orchids about a month ago and
they were so beautiful. But then my sister decided to re plant them
to a non-plastic pot. Since I don't know much about plants I was happy
that she was helping me taking care of my little plant. So she
replanted both orchids a non-plastic pot, since the one it originally
came in was a clear plastic one. about 2 weeks later my plant was
beautiful but hers seemed to be dying; its leaves were separating from
the plant and were all mushy. So she looked in the internet and
learned that the original plastic containers the flowers came were
good, so she change the flowers back to those containers. Now my plant
seems to be dying too, and the leaves seems to be weak. I do not water
my plant a lot, so I know is not over watering. Please what should I
do, beside not letting my sister get close to my orchid again?

Thank you for your help.

[dennis westler]

It is important for me to know how frequently you were watering these plants and how you did it (soaking in a bucket, pouring a little water from a watering can, taking it to the sink and so on. It is also important to know what size pot the plants were put in and if the potting mix was changed.

Mushy dropping leaves is generally indicative of a bacterial or fungal disease, which may or may not have anything to do with what your sister (or you) did; though using old (used and dirty) pots, or bruising the plant (especially if your hands are dirty from other garden tasks) could have introduced infection. It may well have picked up a pathogen at the store from which you bought it, especially "big box stores". Generally there is no remedy for this sort of thing, but an understanding of how you cared for the plant may help me to assure it does not happen again.

Sincerely,

Dennis

[Morita Pagan]

sounds like crown rot to me.  Put your old plants in the compost. Buy new plants. Do not repot until the flowers have died and never ever let water seep between the leaves to the crown of the plant.  Wait until the potting media is dry and then water only the roots by soaking & avoiding any water on the leaves. If the potting media is moss, a quick 5 minute soak will do, then drain.  If the potting media is bark, let your plants soak for 30-40 min, then drain. Good luck next time!

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[dennis westler]

From what she told me about her culture in a subsequent e-mail (she originally mailed me both here and privately), this certainly sounds correct. Though I was hesitant to say much until I knew how she was treating the plant. I also didn't have time to respond. Thanks for coming to the rescue!

 

Dennis