You have a new plant that formed on the flower stalk...a keiki. With the amount of roots it has you can cut it off and plant it separately so it’s roots can be watered properly.

tj

It’s not dead.

Did it stop growing before or after repotting?

Repotting does stress the plant some, it’s common for a plant to go dormant after a big change.

You said you have had it for years. Anything else happen lately, move to a new spot, new HVAC system?

Thank you Tsugajunkie, James, and Jane!

I appreciate you all responding!

Let me try to answer the questions:

1. (Tsugajunkie): I never knew orchids could produce a "new" plant. Thank you. I will work up my courage and eventually try to repot that new one.

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2. James: I only repotted it ---AFTER--- a few weeks of it looking dead.

When I removed it from its old pot, I noticed the root ball was tiny (about 5" or so in diameter).

I have no idea if this is normal for an orchid that's around 8 years old?

When I saw that, and the surrounding "orchid chips" which had turned into dirt, I decided to repot the orchid. I repotted it into its original 7" diameter pot with all new "orchid chips."

I'm thinking that MAYBE the problem is underwatering. (I use a plant moisture meter to test when it needs water, but I admit I don't know what the correct meter reading is for orchids!)

In any event, yesterday I gave it a good gentle watering of warm water in the sink (I used the sink sprayer on a very low, soft flow.) Not sure how long before I'd notice any effect?

And no, we'd not moved the plant, or altered any external conditions.

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3. Jane:

The plant is in an eastern-facing window here in NC. It's perhaps 10 feet from the window.

It gets a lot of morning sun. It's been there for a few years, and was doing well till a few weeks ago.

Over the years, I've seen those keikis before on this plant, many times, Usually they flower, and I assumed they were just part of the plant (which, for years, was growing nicely).

I use a plant soil moisture gadget to tell me when to water (as I said above, I have no idea what they proper orchid reading should be - I just water when the gadget is in the "dry" area... normally that's once a week.)

As for the roots, when I removed it from the pot I noticed tiny roots, but nothing like the above-ground ones in the pictures.

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Thank you all again!

I hope I've answered the questions.

Alan

I’ve seen quite a few dead orchids. Yours looks a bit dehydrated but it’s alive.

Moisture meters are difficult to use in an open orchid mix. Just be sure to give it a good soaking then let it dry out a bit. I like to put my finger on the drain hole and fill the pot with water, count to ten and let it drain.

If your mix was broken down into soil, it might have been stress from lack of air at the roots. Hopefully you caught it in time.

Thank you again, James.

After yesterday's posts here, I found a video which looks worth trying: "Rehabilitating Dehydrated Orchids: Semi-Hydroponics"

I will share any progress here.

Alan