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So, while I wait to do my plant care, I come to you as a first time… | Anything about plants | Planta community

BQuag

So, while I wait to do my plant care, I come to you as a first time orchid owner. I just received one this week as a gift and I have no idea what to do with it. The leaves are concerning - dull, browning, not as firm as I think they should be. Do I keep it in its pot for now and see if anything improves with regular care? I know not to use the ice cube watering method and not to cut the stems once the flowers fall. That is about the extent of it, so anything you can share with me is greatly appreciated!

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4 comments

  1. Yungbert

    So orchids usually come from the store in a death sentence (super saturated moss) You’re going to want to repot it immediately into some orchid bark. (Walmart,Home Depot, local nursery) Orchids naturally climb tree trunks in the wild, the bark is as close as you can get to helping simulate its natural environment. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

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  2. Springvision

    Yes, and overwatering is also a death sentence.

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  3. Waspinator

    When watering, use room-temperature water. Get water directly on the roots (they can't pull in water like other plants) and never get water in the crown (the point where all the leaves meet. In the wild these would hang upside-down, so water would drip off. In human care, that spot can trap water. If you splash there, just dry it up, it's stagnant moisture that's the problem.) Make sure water drains well (you don't want root tips sitting in a pool of stagnant water. This goes for almost all plants.) The leaves on yours look slightly wrinkly, and with you mentioning that they're not firm, that suggests dehydration (if that's the issue, the roots will be wrinkled. You can give it a 20 minute bottom-watering soak to help it recover, just make sure it drains really well after. The leaves also show discoloration. That could be from a chemical burn (definitely not sunburn in this case) or from rot (the roots would be discolored and might smell bad. Live ones may be squishy, and there would be a lot of dead ones. To treat rot, use sterilized trimmers to cut away all dead and diseased roots. Dip the remaining roots in hydrogen peroxide. Replace all the bark.) Discolored leaves and roots can also be caused by temperature issues (maybe someone at the nursery used ice cubes. The roots would show scarring but still be firm. If that's the issue, just protect it from extreme temperatures and it'll heal on its own.) You should always repot new orchids since nurseries often use weird packing materials instead of bark for shipping, but repotting can make the flowers drop early. For yours, check the roots; if they look fine or dehydrated you can wait until the flowers are done. If they look like there may be rot, it's best to deal with that immediately.

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    • Waspinator

      And to help you know what to look for with roots:

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