Not even talking about the flowering as I know that’s seasonal. My leaves get yellow, the stems get brown and crunchy, and this one that’s reblooming atm has sad flowers that fall off. I put in 2-3 small ice cubes once a week and leave them in this window which faces SW.
Can these get healthy again?
How do I prevent this in the future?
TYSM
by princessves
13 Comments
Because you have a computer in your hands but don’t use it. Sorry but it’s incredible that so many people can’t get used to opening their phone browser or youtube and typing “orchid care videos”
Your orchids likely were underwatered thanks to your ice cube use, which dried up the roots and without roots well, the leaves go next. Doesn’t take long to realize ice cubes aren’t suitable for plants to thrive.
Definitely the ice cubes and it needs a loose bark medium so the roots have air!
No ice cubes
Stop using ice cubes. Water them when the roots turn grey but don’t let them sit it water for more than a few minutes. The plant on the right will probably rebound if watered properly. The one on the left doesn’t look like it has good odds.
They are dehydrated and can’t handle direct sunlight.
They are tropical plants as well. They never see icecubes in their natural habitat at all. Scratch that icecube stuff.
You water orchids once a week by fully bathing the pot (rain water is best). To make it work even better: water them when the roots are silvery, not green).
About pots: use a chunky bark mix. However, they can develop all sorts of issues in a pot: root rot, crown rot (never water from top), fungal infections, stem rot, mold etc. Plus roots can’t properly develop their velamen nor photosynthesize.
I keep mine mounted, which prevents all of these issues and roots can properly develop and photosynthesize. Caveat is that you have to water/heavily mist a mounted orchid every day. Sometimes even twice a day or more (depending on your climate).
I think they are getting too much direct sunlight. Try moving them to a still very bright place, but farther back from the window.
I rotate my orchids at different points throughout the year. When we are in the gloomy and overcast months, I keep my orchids on my west-facing windowsills, but move them to a nearby bookshelf when the sun gets intense in late spring. Then I move them again when the rainy season comes back.
In my experience, an orchid can come back from this if the roots still look good. How do yours look?
Look up videos on water culture too! I’ve been successful with mine in water. Once it’s hydrated again you can repot.
Watch Missorchidgirl on YouTube!
Too much sun
Ice cubes = bad. Full soak in a large bowl for 15-30 minutes. Only soak once a week, IF the substrate is dry. Only pot them in orchid bark and sphagnum moss.
The problem sounds like the one many face: Many storebought orchids are intentionally potted in bad substrate and given misinformation in regards to care, like ice cube watering, knowing full and well these orchids will die in a few months from it.
The wrinkled leaves suggests severe dehydration is the main culprit, which could come from underwatering, or the roots rotted away which prevented it from taking in water. I disagree in what some others are saying here though in regards to light, the leaves don’t appear sunburnt nor have they produced any of their purplish anthocyanin pigments, so i don’t think the light is too intense for them here.
General Phalaenopsis Care:
Potting: The roots cannot be in anything too dense or soil like or they suffocate and rot. Phals are typically potted in a mixture of mostly large bark chunks with some loose sphagnum moss and horticultural charcoal. Drainage holes are required in the pot.
Watering: Allow much of the pot to dry out before watering thoroughly, saturating the mix and letting excess drain out. Phal roots that are exposed to light will be silvery when dry and green when hydrated, so i highly recommend a transparent pot to help give you an idea of how dry the pot is. They don’t really care about water quality in my experience, but you want to avoid getting water on the leaves too much as it could cause crown rot or bacterial infections. If the leaves wrinkle, that is a sign of extreme thirst. Flowers will prematurely drop much sooner than that point as well.
Light: A bright window, but Phals do not like too much direct sun. If slowly acclimated, they tend to take on a purple tint to their leaves when they are nearing their max tolerance for light. If they are still green and not showing any signs of sunburn, they are fine where they are.
Climate: They prefer humid but can handle some fairly dry air. Extreme cold or heat will stress them out, but they handle your average range of comfortable indoor temperatures just fine.
Hopefully this will help you get your current orchids back into good shape! Or in the worst case scenario, be prepared for the next one you get.
you need to water them correctly and not place them in direct sunlight 🙂
A lot of the one’s at the store also have existing root rot from over watering, making chances of survival worse.