Community

Posted 1M ago by @LeadChincactus

Too humid?

Wrong pot?
My orchid came in a plastic pot that was inside a ceramic decorative one. The app said to water it today (1-6-25). When I took the plastic pot out, I saw humidity on the side of it that was inside the ceramic one. Should I not keep it in the decorative pot? Also, should I not water it today - it is 8 days since it was last watered. #OrchidLovers
2ft to light, indirect
4โ€ pot with drainage
Last watered 6 days ago
Hi. It's good to hold off on watering in your case. As long as there are still enough roots inside the pot and you see they are still green/ the medium is wet, don't water. Ignore the app. It needs time to get to know your orchid and learn its schedule. What you did was perfect: check if there is still moisture and the visible roots inside the pot are green. If they are, don't water. If you don't see roots, still don't water, unless you see signs of stress ( limp leaves, wrinkles, droopy flowers). If you feel the medium stays damp for too long and you don't see any functioning roots, there might be an issue, but for now, I don't think that's the case). Once the water is gone and the visible roots inside look silver, it's time to water. Don't forget to log your watering on Greg, so the app has the chance to learn.
The plastic pot is absolutely normal, as is the ceramic pot. The best Orchids pots are transparent and have a bit more aeration holes than the normal plastic pots ( but it's also okay if they don't). The ceramic pot is perfect since it has enough air around the plastic one to still provide good airflow.
If you feel there is something off with the duration the orchid keeps damp, but you see roots, maybe the medium isn't the right fit for its surroundings. That could be meditated during the next repot. I would wait with that, though, until the bloom is over.
On a sidenote, if you use hashtags on your post, it helps other Greggers that are interested in your topic find it. #orchidlovers would have been perfect under your post for example.
Have fun with your orchid.
Here are more pics. #OrchidLovers
@LeadChincactus hi! I just wanted to say that when my orchid was in this same type pot I used a sharp knife to cut slits into the side of the pot, where there smwas no risk of cutting the roots, in order to create more drainage and air flow. Also, when I did finally take my orchid out of the plastic nursery pot, I found that there was an extremely huge amount of sphagnum moss stuffed in between the roots. I think that it was holding onto moisture for a very, very long time because of this. Which explains why I only had to water it about every 14 days when it was in that set up.
Nellz' idea is what I do often as well. I just use a drill. Others use a soldering iron. But her situation is different than yours. Moss can be tricky, and yes, more ventilating helps. but from the looks of it, yours is in pure bark (though I suspect there is a spongey plug in the center that needs to be taken care of during your repot). So more aeration can wait. The bark looks okay, as do the roots. To me, it looks almost completely dry. The roots are on the verge of turning silver, and you could water at this point. Well hydrated roots are a more vibrant green and look plump. Your orchid looks great.
Sadly, Greg is a bit weird with hashtags. They don't do anything in the comments but need to be placed in the original post. (You can edit it in though, if you want). Also, commenters will not be notified of your answers unless you @ them, so they might miss your answers.