Hi all,
I’m not someone who regularly keeps plants but I was gifted an orchid in September and have been doing my best to care for it. The care instructions were to give it 1-2 ice cubes a week depending on the dampness of the soil.
I have attached a picture of it at the end of January where it was thriving and a picture now in March.
All of the flowers seem to have dropped since I moved house. It had dropped flowers before but rebloomed however this looks a lot barer.
Any advice on if it could be saved would be great
by pennypolexia
2 Comments
The ice cube method is the best way to kill an orchid. That is the worst advice you could get.
To know when to water, you just have to look at the roots: when the roots (inside the pot, not the aerial ones) are silver, you can water. And to water, just put the orchid in a water-filled container for 15 minutes. Do not put water on the leaves or crown, and don’t use tap water.
You can cut the stems when they are dry.
She still looks healthy on your photos.
Orchids dropping flowers after a move is super common, they really don’t like changes in environment 😅 light, temperature, even airflow can trigger it
The good news is the flowers falling doesn’t mean the plant is dying, just that the bloom cycle is over or it got stressed. If the leaves and roots still look firm and green, it’s totally fine.
You can keep caring for it the same way, maybe switch from ice cubes to a proper soak every couple weeks if you’re up for it. With stable conditions again, it can rebloom, they just take their time 😊