They are phalaenopsis orchids and even at my latitude direct sun does them no favors. Without knowing how they were watered, my knee-jerk reaction is they were overwatered.

tj

looks like they could use a repotting in fresh bark

Definitely need a repot, the medium is too broken down. The first orchid looks like it has crown rot to me, if it does it's as good as dead. I definitely wouldn't have them in direct sun, they like indirect sun. When and how do you water them?

I would say every few weeks and was watered from above. Some water was sitting in the catch pot. I put it in the sun for an hour to help dry out the bottom of the pot. Thank you for your help.

The first one also looks to have crown rot. If there is a black stub in the middle (crown) of where the leaves are growing, you can toss it in the trash. They don't recover from crown rot.

I always like to go for the discounted orchids at retail stores since I can get them really cheap.

Be careful when you water like that, if water gets caught in between the leaves or in the crown/center of the plant it'll most likely cause rot. When I water I like to just take it out of the outer pot, and let the water run through for a bit. If it sits too long in a bit of water the roots on the bottom will rot.

Please help not sure what is happening I brought both at the same time and repotted at the same time. One the soil was damp took it out and this is what it looks like. Can it be saved..? The other one is doing ok the leaves are completely different. The leaves on the one I took out are limp. Any suggestions

Lorraine,

the two you have in the picture above look like they don't really have roots. It looks like the excess water couldn't drain from the outer pot, so the roots rotted after a bit. If the bark media it was potted in was really crumbly and broken down, that would have helped rot the roots too. The limp leaves are because the roots can't take in enough water for them.

If you want to try and save them I'd do the sphag and bag method. There are plenty of websites with info about it.

Thanks will try it