What do the roots look like? How often to you water? Have you given it a soak to see if it just needed more water? If so, how did it respond? What kind of media is it potted in? What kind of pot?

You haven't changed anything else recently? Location, temperatures, fertilizer, etc? Is it perhaps sitting under a vent or near a too cool/too warm draft?

It could be drying out. Is the watering different? Has the environment changed? All those questions above matter. And you did not even furnish a picture? Where are you in the world? That matters too. What is your guess? info, info, info...

Sorry. I water thoroughly once a week. Have been doing the exact same thing for many years. Nothing in the house has changed. I watered them about 6 hours before taking these photos. I always let the water run through. They do not sit in water. The roots seem to be ok. It's possible that one needs to be repotted but the others were done within the past 6 months. I of course remove all dead and rotted roots when I repot. They were doing fine for several months but now are not looking good. Of the ten orchids, three have the wrinkled leaves. Two are in bloom but only one has droopy flowers at the moment.

I use Miracle Grow Orchid potting mixture and I fertilize weekly with Miracle Grow for orchids (7 drops per quart). Again I've been doing this for at least 10 years without a problem.

Could they have some sort of disease? I'd hate to see it spread to my other plants. I do have them somewhat separated right now but I only have one spot in the house where the light is good for them.

Thank you for your help. Sorry for the duplicate photo. I couldn't figure out how to delete it.

My opinion - roots' chemical burn and low humidity. What kind of water do you use? Do you have a softener? If your water is hard, try to use mix with distilled water 50:50. I saw this kind of decline in places with low humidity (like 12%) during winter time.

Where do you live?

Would it be possible to put them outside for the summer (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) and stop fertilizing for the season? Provided they don't get any direct sun, the fresh air should invigorate them and they will appreciate the rainwater.

To me the pictures look like cold or heat damage, but that doesn't fit in with your discription. Think back a few weeks , any chance the heat went out or got abnormally high. The weather by me has been up and down like a yo-yo. I've been at 90 degrees and 50 degrees in the same week. Maybe a window on an unseasonably hot day?

It is rare, it seems as if they could not absorb the water and they were dying from dehydration or poisoning.

Thanks for the help everyone.

A couple of good guesses here: Fertilizer and Salt burns as well as lack of humidity. Also, good quality water and not straight from the tap as some tap water contain Chlorine and or Chloramines (sp?).

I have a 32 gallon garbage can with a float bulb that continually fills with water as I use it. This lets the water stand and helps dissipate chlorine. Best water to use is pond, aquarium or rain water.

Yes, check out the root system and flush out any old broken down Oak Bark because once oak bark breaks down, it easily acquires Mold and Fungus.

Good Luck!

I hope they bounce back, it's really sad that they've taken this turn for the worse! It's clear there are a lot of roots, but they do look quite dehydrated, as does your plant. I agree with Ben, except about sphagnum. It think they need to be pulled, soaked for 30-45 minutes, allowed to dry, and then repotted in clean pots with bark.

Miracle Gro orchid mix also has time-release fertilizer in it, so if you were adding fertilizer on top of that, it makes sense they'd get too much and be negatively affected.

I do use Sphagnum Moss, but only to try and revive a troubled plant. I will take out the orchid and flush out all the medium, Use a Net Pot (which are expensive but worth it), and re-pot the orchid with nothing but Sphagnum Moss after soaking the moss in water and squeezing out the excess.

I will place it in a well lit (not bright or hot) area, and lightly spray with water every three-four days or so. A trick that people use is to stick a pencil in the medium area and see if the wood changes in color, which means that the medium is damp.

BUT ... and that's a big but! When the plant recovers sufficiently to where it has new growth and plenty of good looking roots, I will re-pot in my medium of choice. I do not leave it in sphagnum moss, because it breaks down too quickly.Below is a picture of one Cattleya Orchid I'm trying to save. Note that there IS a new growth! Yay!

This is what the orchid looked like before it got into trouble. Oak Bark broke down and developed fungus which in turn started rotting the roots.

Here's one that a neighbor gave me four weeks ago. LOL, it's one I gave her 2 years ago. Why do they wait until there are only one or two leaves left before they cry for help?

But check out the new growth in between the two leaves.

How can your climate zone be 10b in Hawaii? I've seen technique used before with a denser mix and I said to the owner it wouldn't work but, of course it did!

Kauaiguy is in Hawaii. Where does Jblatz2 (original poster) live?? He/she has not offered any information about how he/she is growing the plants.

Whenever leaves appear like Jblatz2 posted, that is a root problem. Either the plant is not getting enough water or the roots are not able to take up water.

If you live in a warm climate, move them outdoors for the summer. The fresh air, rain will revive them.

Jane

Athrum: Kauai Hawaii is in zone 12a, but when I first joined the Garden Web Form back in 2004, I was in a different zone. Just haven't figured outhow to change it.

your cattleya has rhyzome rot and will die, let it go and toss any pot/material that came in contact with it unless tools and sterilize them before you u resuse them....

I think you are right about the roots. I will try some of your suggestions. Thank you again.

BTW, I live in Boston.

jblatz2; Before you give up on your plant. If you have ANY good looking roots left, flush out that area well with a garden sprayer, then soak the root and rhyzome are in 3% Hydrogen Peroxide for 20 minutes (which can be purchased at Wal-Mart and Costco .. most anywhere). Flush thoroughly with water then re-plant and hope for the best.

I know a lot of people think that it will kill orchids but also a lot of orchid growers use the stuff for fungus, insecticide and root rot. What do you have to lose?

Here's some data on Hydrogen Peroxide:

http://www.cvios.org/Doctor%20Archives/Hydrogen%20Peroxide%20and%20your%20Orchids.pdf

I have been using the stuff for at least five years and have had a lot of success. Like I said, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE"? Note that this guy who is probably a Chemist (as is my son) uses a 5% solution. I use what comes in the bottle @ 3%.

Also Google Hydrogen Peroxide and Orchids and see what comes up.

if you look at the base of both bulbs, you will notice dark stuff, that is black rot that has invaded the rhyzome, the little green growth is the plants last gasp before the rot spreads to it and kills it. I have seen this many times and have tried to cure it with the best fungus and bacteria chemicals available to no avail... More important is to learn to examine a plant before purchasing and make sure the rhyzone is clean and green , roots are healthy and all dormant buds are viable by gently moving the top layer and seeing the green... Most people just look at the flower and ignore the rest of the plant...

It either went very dry or the humidity. Or it was wet too long in cool weather for weeks..cloudy rainy outdoor weather in winter.

My spouse will sometimes water too often in winter,and I have the bad habit of underwatering in summer. So,I've seen both do that to a Moth Orchid. Only the return to proper conditions saved the plants.

I think that everyone who suggested dehydration were right on. I cut off the flower spike with the wilted flowers and put it in a vase of water. Within a few days the flowers perked right up. I have never repotted this particular plant so guess I'll do that right away.

Thanks everyone.

And use softer water!