What should I do? I have never owned an orchid before an...
What should I do? I have never owned an orchid before and I am so excited and it’s just beautiful to me. I do not have orchid planter yet though. I ordered one and I thought it was going to beat the plant but it said it will be here by Monday. Do I leave it all wrapped up like this? I hate to plant it and then have to turn around and repot it. I think that would be a lot of stress but I have no clue!?? I do have orchid, potting soil and fertilizer… man if this beautiful baby dies between now and hopefully, no later than Monday, I just do not know what I’ll do. What would you suggest? #helpneeded #Orchid #PleaseDontDie #lovemyplants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict
4” pot with drainage
Last watered 2 years ago
12
@michellesmom so don’t plant it just put it in a clear container with some orchid bark mix like just with it and hope for the best!!? :)
@EnergeticCosmo well I did up in the post and I also added the little card thingy even though it’s not right or ready just yet :)
@LittleSongbird thank your so much. I will do that first thing I do when I can be home for good today.
@Keysgirl0179 100% remove the sponge if you haven't already!! My very first orchid that I got from Publix had a sponge, which I didn't know was a sponge until somebody told me on here that it was. (I was new to plants in general then). If it helps, my orchid did survive being in a sponge for the 4ish months that it was. @MotherOfOrchids had told me in a post that I made that phalaenopsis orchids (not sure about any other orchids) can throw a tantrum when you repot them. In the most extreme cases, I believe they can start getting rid of all of their roots. This is mainly if you're switching the growing media (like from moss to bark). When I repotted my orchid from sponge to my orchid mix, it luckily didn't do this - it didn't even lose any roots at all. Your orchid is beautiful btw!! I don't think it'll die between now & Monday. If mine can survive 4 months of torture in a sponge then I don't think a few days will hurt too much, lol.
Don't water it with ice, it'll shock its roots (I'm sure you've heard this before, but just incase.). Also, be careful when you're watering it since if water gets trapped in the crown it could cause rot (I'm pretty sure it's called the crown, the thing that the leaves come out of.) I always make sure to dry off the leaves whenever I'm finished watering my orchids, but I don't think you have to. Just try and keep the water out of the crown. Here's my old post asking about Phalaenopsis Orchids -> https://greg.app/question/45qxlc/orchid-care-hi-im-newish-to-having-orchids-i-have-2-mini-phalaenopsis-orchids-and-was-wondering-if-i
Hopefully this helped some 😁
Don't water it with ice, it'll shock its roots (I'm sure you've heard this before, but just incase.). Also, be careful when you're watering it since if water gets trapped in the crown it could cause rot (I'm pretty sure it's called the crown, the thing that the leaves come out of.) I always make sure to dry off the leaves whenever I'm finished watering my orchids, but I don't think you have to. Just try and keep the water out of the crown. Here's my old post asking about Phalaenopsis Orchids -> https://greg.app/question/45qxlc/orchid-care-hi-im-newish-to-having-orchids-i-have-2-mini-phalaenopsis-orchids-and-was-wondering-if-i
Hopefully this helped some 😁
@Merranda ‘s comment is so good that I have nothing more to add other than definitely don’t worry about your plant dying between now and Monday. It won’t. Phals are really hardy and I’ve never come across one that hasn’t put up a really good fight to survive - they can survive rootless for several months. The only thing that will kill them quickly is crown and stem rot and this is easily avoided by making sure that no water gets in the crown (the place where the top two leaves meet) and the stem - the only thing that needs to get wet on a phal is the roots. Worst case scenario is that it’ll stress your plant out (you might notice a bottom leaf go limp, some root loss or the plant just not looking as healthy as it did). This is a perfectly normal reaction to a repot and it will recover, it can just take a few weeks! If it does show signs of stress that get progressively worse (this is worst case scenario), you can consider cutting the flower spikes off. This’ll help ensure that the plant stabilised uses its energy to recover rather than focus on flowering. But we’re definitely not in that territory yet, I just wanted to share that so you know there’s lots of easy things that can be done to help the plant survive! Yes, definitely remove the sponge plug. They are seedling plugs - they help the plant grow as a baby and they tend to suit nursery environments, but can cause a lot of problems in the home environment, namely it can stay very wet while there roots around the edges of the pot dry quickly, so it’s hard to water and if the sponge stays wet for too long it can lead to problems with rot and eventually stem rot which is a killer. You’re doing all the right things. When you have your pot, make sure there’s drainage at the bottom as phal roots hate staying wet and water when the media is dry- this creates a wet/dry cycle similar to the ones they get in the wild (they grow on trees, it rains and the roots soak up water from the air and bark, then over days it dries, then it rains again etc). It can help to use a bamboo skewer in the pot to determine when to water - just pull the skewer out and if it is dry or almost completely dry and cool to the touch, it’s time to water. The best watering technique for bark tends to be soaking the pot for 10-15 minutes. Place the pot in an outer pot and fill to just below the rim of the orchid pot. In 10-15 minutes, remove the water and leave the orchid to drain. When your pot arrives, make sure that the stem is uncovered and isn’t buried in the media - this Miss Orchid Girl video is a really helpful tutorial on repotting https://youtu.be/cWFyQzJbGDg?si=knVCtyTt4ZD4vQb- Miss Orchid Girl videos are great and she has a whole series on beginner care for phals, just bear in mind that some of her advice is suited for her environment - she lives in Cyprus which is hot and very dry, so it may not always be suited to your environment, but her videos are well worth watching! We are here for you too!