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I’ve had Orkee for over a year now, and I want to keep them… | Pests, diseases and problems | Comunidad de Planta

Zeke

I’ve had Orkee for over a year now, and I want to keep them desperately! I got them around the same time a family member passed on and I have found some new motivation these past few months to keep them alive. The thing is I have no clue what to do about the dry leaf? I don’t know if I should cut it or if I should let it be. I also have a plans to move them to an all water vase for them to stay fully hydrated. (Inspiration from an Instagram post saying that you can leave orchids in water without changing it out, but it seems like it’s for healthy plants only?) What do y’all recommend? I want to make sure Orkee is thriving asap 💞 thank you!!

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  1. Isabella

    yea you should cut the dead leaf and every once and a while you should prop it so i can get even fuller

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  2. MeasomerPi

    I don’t have any experience with orchids in water so cannot speak to that. But if it were mine, I wouldn’t cut off the burned leaf. It still manufactures some food for the plant. Luckily it looks to be one of the lower leaves so the plant will shed it sooner or later. However I would cut the inflorescence back to the base of the plant. I would repot them. It looks like you’re are in the original sphagnum, which is typically tightly packed. That’s not a great setup for the home grower. Generally, you’ll need to repot every 2-3 years or when the media is broken down. When you get ready to repot, I would first give it a good soak as things are easier when hydrated. Take the orchid out of the pot and gently remove the media from the roots. Try get it all, but it’s fine if you have to leave some so you don’t damage the roots. And don’t worry if you damage some roots. It isn’t great but it happens. Just try to minimize as much as possible. Examine the roots for health and pests. Trim off any dead or dying roots. I can see a lot of them in the photos. Dead roots are papery or mushy, black or brown. Healthy roots are firm and green when wet, silvery when dry. Deeper into the media you may encounter pale yellow roots. It just means they haven’t been exposed to light. They are fine as long as they are firm. I would leave any wrinkled roots as long as they are firm. Use an orchid pot with additional ventilation. They are typically clear so you can monitor root development, and have ventilation holes on the sides of the pot. If you don’t have one, you can add holes to a growers pot or any other plastic pot you have on hand. Size the pot so that the roots just fit in the pot. They like a tight fit. To minimize transplant shock, I would repot using a mix of 50% sphagnum 50% bark. That will allow moisture to hang around long enough for the roots to take in what they want without cutting off air circulation. If you are a heavy waterer you can reduce the amount of sphagnum in your mix. My preference is straight bark. The key is a loose airy mix that will allow the roots to dry between waterings. Regardless of what mix you use, gently work it around the roots. I use an old chopstick for the job. The goal is to firmly seat the plant in the pot without packing the media. You want an airy mix that allows the roots to grab the water they want and then dry out. When I water, I soak the pot for 10-15 minutes. Wait until the media dries out (look for silver roots) before watering again. For my setup, that works out to roughly once a week. Each time I water, I use fertilizer at 1/4 strength. Once a month flush with pure water to reduce salt buildup (this is especially important if you are using synthetic fertilizer). Put your plant in in bright but indirect light. Direct sun will burn a phal pretty quickly. Too low and you won’t get blooms. I have mine an a west window that is shaded by landscaping. They get absolutely no direct sun. If the edges of the leaves turn reddish you know you are at the max limit of sun for your plant. The best tip for orchids is learn. Read up on their care if you are so inclined. There are several channels on YouTube with information on orchid care, like Miss Orchid Girl, Here... but Not, Hello Plant Lovers and Growing Orchids With Roger. Podcasts like Plant Daddy and On the Ledge are useful. The American Orchid Society is another handy resource. I especially like their monthly to do lists. If you really want to dive into the rabbit hole, you can look for orchid societies in your area; nothing can replace interacting directly with growers that have been doing it for years. I find caring for orchids very rewarding and mildly frustrating. Luckily they are tough plants. As long as you don’t drown them, you will do great. You might consider posting this in Orchid Oasis. There are helpful people with experience with orchids. Several do have experience with water culture. Good luck!

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