How long do your orchids take to adjust?

[3rdMaestro]

Hey everyone,
I've noticed whenever I get a new orchid, it seems to pause growing. I've always attributed this to the shift in growing conditions, coming from wherever they used to be their home to their new home in my growing area. For me, it takes around 3-ish weeks before I start to notice the plant resuming any growth (usually root tips first.) Does anyone else notice this pause for newly acquired orchids? If so, about how long does it take before your orchids resume growing? I realize too, not all orchids have the same growth habits, so this is kind of a general discussion...

[SADE2020]

Hi 3rd.. you are about right the shock of packaging, traveling and changing environment throw them back and normally it is advice to wait until see a new growth or sign of development before repot.

In my personal case, adaptation in winter takes longer and during spring is a bit quickly. Young plans tents to show adaptation quickly and older/adults are slower. Cats and Den I think are more fossy.

But in general I think it would depend of how good and optimal is your environment for that kind of orchid.

Lets hear other opinions 😉

[tmoney]

well, im a newbie here and to orchids, sooooo.... but, ive had many different species of houseplants and garden plants, and to me, so far with the orchids they seem to run a bit of a spectrum. obviously, orchids are closer to the spectrum of cacti on the growth rate side. so, i expected slower recovery rates than i have seen with a couple species. mostly it seems like if they are gonna take, they don’t really seem to pause that much. others we have haven’t done anything at all since we’ve bought them...over a year ago to two months ago. so...i dunno...

plus factor in that a lot of the phals we have bought were in flower, so we’re just in limbo a bit and then have resumed growth as expected. so who knows how long it took them to acclimate i suppose. but then, some crosses we’ve bought have had a spike just started and they are now flowering and kept growing the whole time. orchids are super weird as a group, and the rebound time to me seems quite specific to species. for reference, we have about 15 different species. some don’t miss a beat, some 3 weeks, some never recover, hahahah

[Roberta]

A huge factor is, "How different are my conditions than the ones that the plants experienced in the nursery?" This applies whether shipped or whether I buy them in person (like at a show) It's a reason why I especially like to get plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Andy's Orchids... They both grow a lot of plants (especially the ones that I buy) outside, as I do. And their "outside" is very similar to mine. So those plants hardly notice that they have changed venues. On the other hand, those from much more humid environments (even if temperatures are similar) are going to take longer. If I acquire plants in winter that I know CAN accommodate my overnight lows but have been greenhouse-grown, I put them in the GH until spring, move them outside so that they have a full set of seasons to acclimate. For those, I do typically ask the vendors about their conditions to decide how much I'm going to need to pamper the new acquisitions. Spring and summer acquisitions I just go by the general needs of the plants as far as deciding where to grow them.

[SouthPark]

True. There are lots of possible factors that contribute to the growing activity. If an orchid just happens to arrive during some particular time like a relatively cold time, then that could be a factor that explains visible slowdown or maybe halting of noticeable growth activity.

Also depends on what state the orchid was in at the original location where it came from - such as whether it was growing activity at the time of shipping. And depends on what the environment is like (temperature, humidity, lighting etc) at the destination where it goes.

If on average three weeks is noticed for activity to start up, then that's a desirable situation.

And some orchids might have rest periods in their regular growing environment too.

[DirtyCoconuts]

i agree with Roberta 100%

one other factor is, of course, the time in the box. A short trip is a lot less stressful than getting stuck in a sorting center for a week.

i find that orchids which are about to start new growth will rebound the fastest, in general, but there are so many factors that come into play.

[DeaC]

Guess we all can suffer from jet lag and plants are no exception. I avoid buying in winter time and get a bit OCD when new plants arrive in spring or summer. No excuses for myself not getting them to thrive. I read all I can before and after gifting to myself. Super hobby!

[Shadeflower]

I've got an Aerides Houlletiana that has not produced a new set of roots in the 2 years I've had it. I'd say it is still settling in. The first year it did nothing then the leaf it produced in its second year was half the size it was supposed to be which I honestly believe is from over a year before it actually grew the leaf although I might have sprayed it with hydrogen peroxide at the time, too long ago to remember.
It is now growing it's second leaf and once I see new roots I'll declare it adjusted.

[camille1585]

As the others point out there are many variables, but I can still draw some general conclusions from my purchases.

I buy mostly Phals (which can be in active growth year round), and mostly from vendors who grow them in warm humid greenhouses, with shipping times of no more than 3-4 days, and I would say that they generally need 3-4 weeks adjustment before showing signs of growth (roots).

For other genera this has often been a bit longer especially if I purchased them before the active growth phase. For instance, I bought a couple Catts late winter, and didn't see much happening until about 2-3 months later once new growths (and so new roots) appeared.

[Phalaenoptics]

Sort of along the lines of this discussion, I've been wondering - do you guys repot your orchids as soon as you get them or do you give them an adjustment period to acclimate to your home environment?

Context: I'm new to this and trying to learn! My home environment is extremely dry/low humidity. The phals and miniphals I've bought come in that tight oversaturated sphagnum moss or tight small bark chip media. I have been repotting as soon as I get home, but I noticed the two that I let "dry out" for about a day or two seemed to do better.

Is there any orchid wisdom to this or does it not matter?


( Also, hi! Recently got bit for the orchid bug ☺️

I'm mostly learning and reading everything but I thought I'd say hi as I interact more!)