Hello All, My mother just received these orchid x2 from her caregiver team yesterday. While the moss is wet, there are several roots on top of the large plant that are rotted. There are nice green roots as well. The small orchid has been jammed into the pot and also appears to have some good roots. How should I approach this? TIA.
Gently remove from the pot and work loose the old moss from the roots. Use sharp scissors and cut any dead or wilted roots away. Replant in a larger pot with good drainage and orchid bark or moss. Let the moss or bark almost dry in between watering and fertilize every other watering.
2 J'aime1-get rid of the plastic pot. Get a pot that has holes on the sides. 2- you may need to soak it to get off old moss. Make sure there’s no cage/basket around the crown. 3-trim. If papery cut it off. You want plump green. 4-replant with chunky orchid bark. Nothing that resembles dirt. Sometimes I’ll “sift” if I can’t get good bark.
1 j'aimeThank you both!! Duh! I didn’t notice the plastic pot didn’t have holes/slats! I assume I plant the two in separate pots?? Also, do I need to wait a certain amount of time due its move to my mother’s house?
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You could frankly drill holes in the plastic pot if you wanted and that would work fine. Then I usually put the plastic pot inside a nice “cache-pot” (which doesn’t need holes) because the plastic is ugly. Orchids often come in moss because it keeps them from drying out while they’re in transit, but it retains too much water and ordinary mortals like us tend to overwater, so it’s good to repot into a chunkier mix. Adding a little moss back to the chunky mix isn’t a bad idea, and it will keep you from having to water as often, but 100% moss is rarely a good idea.
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You also could separate the two plants into different containers. Or keep it like it is.
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