Help!Someone messed up my plants

[Indigorabbit]

I live with someone and I was gone for a week.She watered and fertilized my stuff without telling me and now the flowers dropped off of my orchids and they dont look good.What do I do?

---------- Post added at 06:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 PM ----------

She was apparently watering and fertilizing them daily😣

[rbarata]

I water and fertilize daily many of my plants under my conditions.
It would be helpfull if you tell us what are yours and which plants.

[Keysguy]

Been there, done that.
Decent help is hard to find, especially when it's volunteer.

I opted for a divorce to fix my issue. (I'm just kidding)........I did thank her for killing a dozen rare plants and then begged her to stop "helping".

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Indigorabbit

I live with someone and I was gone for a week. She watered and fertilized my stuff without telling me and now the flowers dropped off of my orchids and they don't look good.What do I do?

Only the flowers dropping off is a nice 'save'. It could have been much worse - or still could be much worse.

So just make sure that the media (bark etc) isn't over-loaded with fertiliser - that's to avoid further degradation to the health of the orchids.

Maybe a flush of the media with water can be beneficial. And make sure the roots and media are not saturated with water ----- ie. hopefully the drainage is good, and air-flow through the pot.

[DrDawn]

Please give us more info! What kinds of orchids do you have, what growing conditions do you usually use? Then we will be able to give you the most relevant advice. (Although so far the advice to give them a good flush to get all the extra fertilizer out sounds good to me!)

[Leafmite]

This reminds me of my own experience with having someone 'help' me with my plants. Many years ago, I collected African Violets and had a very nice collection for many years. I had them set up so I only had to water once every other week. Unbeknownst to me, one of my children decided to 'help' me take care of them. She watered them every day...on the leaves. When the day came that I usually watered them, I could not understand why most of them were in such terrible condition. I did what I could to help them recover but they continued to go downhill. Then I caught her watering the plants...too late.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Flowers only last so long. When you have made 5 posts you can post photos. Photos would be very helpful to us in giving advice. Is there a name tag on your plant so we know what kind it is?

[Indigorabbit]

I think they are all moth orchids,2 are just smaller.I got them on clearence at the grocery store where I work so nothing fancy really.And one of them was just starting to bloom before the flowers started looking bad it's likethe stem and flower kind of wrinkled and dried or something?She claims they were watered and sprayed with miracle grow orchid fertilizer daily.

---------- Post added at 12:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 AM ----------

Before I left for the week they all looked great except for one,that one the tip of the stem with the flower unfortunately broke off because I recently move and it must have broken when I transported it to my new home.

---------- Post added at 12:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 AM ----------

The roots at least look ok for now

---------- Post added at 12:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 AM ----------

I did just try to flush everything out.

[estación seca]

Moth orchids are in genus Phalaenopsis, abbreviated Phal., and are mostly hybrids. They need warm termperatures, shade with no direct sun ever on the leaves, and plenty of air at the roots. Most of the ones sold in markets come in thin transparent plastic pots with sphagnum moss. If the moss is watered to the point of being wet too often, and the roots stay wet, they can rot.

If your plants are potted as I mentioned above, slide them out of the thin plastic pot. Do the roots look green, or are they black? If they're green they are still alive. Leave the plant out of the plastic pot someplace with good air circulation, like under a fan, so it can dry out.

If they're black, pull off all the moss. Are there any green roots? If so, let the plant dry out for a day and repot. Read the first few pages of this thread:
The Phal abuse ends here.

If the roots are black, cut off as much as are black and slimy. Leave the parts that aren't black. Are there any roots left?

[Indigorabbit]

The roots are green I checked on them earlier

---------- Post added at 01:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:32 AM ----------

And I've been thinking about getting better pots for the two tiny ones I have.They came in glass that looks more like a candle holder than anything else.