I bought a South American Lady's Slipper 1 year ago. It has new growth, yet has not bloomed since the purchase. I asked the vendor I bought it from what to do, all he asked was " are the leaves turning yellow"? At that time...no, but since then the tips of the old leaves are. I'm afraid to do anything since I am in new unfamilar territory. I have not repotted or anything since purchase and I have discovered most people DO NOT know anything about orchids in general. I am ignorant as to everything I need to know. How & what to repot in, fertilizer, light, watering...everything. Crash course please!

Hi and welcome to the slipper orchid forum!

What Phrag do you have and what conditions are you growing it in?

Hi there and :welcome:

Slippers will only bloom once on each mature growth. Sometimes it takes a year or more for a new growth to mature so...you could be getting a bloom only once a year and that is perfectly normal. When you have a multi-growth plant then you can possibly expect blooms more than once a year.

If you have had your slipper for a year then it is probably time to repot. It would help us to know what kind of slipper you have, if you could post a picture we could at least tell you if it is a paph or a phrag. Do you have any photos of the bloom?

Generally bark mixes are good for potting slippers. You can usually buy bark based orchid mix at your local nursery.

The tips of the old leaves could be yellowing for a variety of reasons. Old age, water quality, amount of light are a few possible reasons. What kind of water have you been using and how often do you water? Do you fertilize and how much/how often? How much light is your plant getting?

:welcomesof:

Hi!
If you say that your slipper is a south american slipper, then it is almost 100% a Phragmipedium because paphs don't grow in South America. I agree with Teresa that if you have had it for a year, then you should repot it. I think that the yellow leaf tips could mean that there is a build up of salt in your potting media from your water. To remedy this, you can repot it (I would definitly do this), or flush the pot with water for about 15 minutes.
Here is the Link to the Orchids Limited Repotting Video:
http://www.orchidweb.com/repotvid.aspx

I hope that this helps a little!

Welcome Lana!!:joy: I do agree that it is a Phrag. so a Phrag culture is what just you have to follow!:thumbsup:

Ramon:D