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Hello orchid & plant friends 👋🏼🌸 … welcoming all advice🥹 Pictured… | The Orchid Oasis | Planta community

Chris J Tiger

Hello orchid & plant friends 👋🏼🌸 … welcoming all advice🥹 Pictured here are most of my Orchid Ladies, all currently in bark (orchiata & pine w/a little Leca) History/quick background info: -seasonal repot for the entire collection was completed end of last Summer ‘24 (last Aug/Sept … except for top left: fostering & prepping for repot soon) -grown indoors w/full spec grow lights -currently being watered weekly (w/kelp) -Central Valley, CA Dehydration issue: They were doing well during winter but now they’re drying out and looking dehydrated. **should top ALL of them w/sphagnum moss to help retain moisture? Flowering orchid roots issue: It tried to flower in winter and I removed the spike. Persistent gal re-spiked towards end of winter. I will be cutting the flowers off now since it’s losing a leafy and looking scrawny. This gal has/had a huge root system when I repotted last Summer, hence the pot size. Unfortunately, I can only see the top of some of the roots. Just watered 4 days ago. Clearly she’s not thriving🙁 **with only one visible root being active, should I unpot and downsize the pot (if the root system fits a smaller pot)?

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3 comments

  1. Jen

    Different times of year may just require a different watering schedule. If you can see the roots on all the others, and they seem firm and healthy, just water a little more frequently- whenever their roots go from green to silver. If that’s every 5 days instead of 7, that’s your new schedule. As far as your flowering plant- orchids are definitely more thirsty when flowering- I have some that need watering every 3 days. You may want to repot if only to add some sphagnum moss to your bark- it’ll retain more water. But I’d repot anyway, just to check on why that yellowing is occurring. One lower leaf isn’t unusual, but I think I see some discoloration on the last 2 leaves- and you may be looking at root rot that has traveled into the axis of the plant. Crossing my fingers that it’s just the plant sucking the life out of the older leaf to support the flowers. Speaking of which- I’d definitely cut that flower spike to let the orchid focus its energy on recovery.

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    • Chris J Tiger

      Thank you for your input Jen. I will increase watering for all of them as needed; most have visible roots and roots look well. I have removed the flower spike to help rest this orchid. As the bottom leaf is aging, there is another leaf coming in. I am worried about root loss/rot, so that current pot size is probably too big. I think a combo of sphag moss and bark will definitely help this orchid. I will repot … hoping for recovery🥹👍🏼 Thank you again!

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  2. Chris J Tiger

    Still has a lot of roots but was definitely able to downsize its pot. Switching to 50/50 bark & moss. Very grateful for the input/advice!

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