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fallen flowers


Question
I recently acquired a Brassidium Shooting Star 'Black Gold' orchid about 2 weeks ago and have kept it near a south facing window.  I have been watering it almost every other day and am making sure that the water doesn't stand/stagnate.  However about 3 days ago I noticed all the flowers have started to dry out and then fall off. As of today, there are NO flowers even though the leaves are fine.  Could you please help me try and revive this plant.  Also another point that might help is that I live in Ohio and the indoor temperature is between 65-72F.
Thank you

Answer
Aditi, your plant is undoubtedly fine.  If it was in flower when you got it, there is no way to know how long it has been in flower.  Individual flowers on this plant can be expected to last 2-3 weeks but because buds open sequentially it is likely that the plant could be in flower for 4-6 weeks.  This plant reflowers annually.  Between flowerings, the plant will be growing strong new growths which will produce next years crop of flowers so you need to concentrate on growing it well.  It sounds as if you have a healthy plant.  You may be watering it too frequently so reduce your watering to once per week instead of every other day.  Also, an annual repotting is recommended so if you can find a bag of orchid potting mix you may want to repot your plant in fresh orchid growing mix.  South facing window is fine but remember that  the air near any window in the Ohio winter can be much cooler than your indoor temperature of 65-72-- especially on days when it is heavily overcast.  It may halp to place a small thermometer near the pot so you can track the temperature near the plant.  If it gets too cool (ie below 65 degrees) you may need to move the plant back from the window until a sunny day when the sun warms the air near the window.

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