Cattleya orchid??

Question

I have this cattleya orchid and itz dying i think because it has 3 leaves and one leave has a really small yellow spot. This is because i went for holidays for a week and I watered it once but like put lotz of water that one time and i put it in the laundry with a windoor and it had a curtin and plenty of sun and it had 2 flowers but when i came back they were dead and they smelt very nice and it has bark as soil pleaz help wht should i do?

Answer 1

Do you feed it? If so, don't do it now because this is it's sleeping time. Right after bloom, set it further back away from the window, do not feed  it until you see that it has started growing again. If it has been in it's pot for more than two years,now is the time to re-pot it. Do use the "Bark" . Get the large bark, Any smushey roots cut them off. Use a pot 2 inches around larger then the old one,and don't put it in any deeper then it already is. Soak it in the kitchen sink once a week/ maybe two if it is hot outside. Fill the water all the way up to the very top of the rim of the pot and let is soak for fifteen minutes. Use warm water only,they don't like cold. The yellow spot is probably from bacteria and won't hurt it. When a new leaf grows you can cut it off. If you don't have a small humidifier, set the pot on a little tray with some pebbles on it and then put water in the pebbles. DON'T however let it SET IN WATER! This would cause root rot and kill it for sure. Don't be afraid of it, Catteyas are harder to kill then you think. Byee

Answer 2

i can only say youv'e almost " loved it "to death .

you gave it to much water and the flowers only last a couple of weeks under the conditions you subjected it to .

but all is not lost .

take the orchid out of the pot it is in ( you won't get any more flowers now anway ) let it sit in isolation ( peferably with a bit of sun ) then go down to your nursery and invest in an orchid mix that you can repot yor plant .

orchids can be tricky to grow and maintain i would advise you to go to your local library and pick up a book on how to grow and look after orchids .

do not feel bad about that statement --- because a lot of people are in the same boat .

good luck .

Answer 3

Your cattleya while it does enjoy "light" can not tolerate direct intense sunlight  and direct light from mid day is enough to cause what you are describing. I would cut back  to watering only when dry, (not bone dry, but they don't like to have wet feet all the time) move it out of the direct light and feed it with an orchid fertilizer once ever couple of weeks. Cattleyas are great for the beginner orchid enthusiast, as they are not really all that difficult to grow, as long as you make sure it needs are covered.

Good Luck!