Looking for help with a salvaged orchid.

[DickyBreeding]

So about two months ago I found a poor orphaned orchid in a garbage can as I was filling my tank up at a gas station. However, given the situation it wasn't really in that bad of shape. It had a flower spike on it that was dried up and dead at the tip, with no flowers on it. I suspect this was the reason someone saw fit to toss it. I clipped off the spike, and a bunch of either dried up, or mushy roots, and repotted it in some bark I picked up at the garden shop down the street. It still had a good amount of roots, three solid ones, and since the repotting it has grown about seven new, perfectly healthy ones. My main concerns are of the leaves, though. They are very soft, and sort of veiny looking. After looking around on the forums I've put a tray of water out underneath it, to help with any possible humidity problems, but I was hoping for some other suggestions as to what could be wrong. Is this a possible symptom of a bad repotting job? It's growing new roots all over the place, which I would assume is a sign of a fairly healthy plant. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[whygreenberg]

Hi there! Were the leaves in that condition when you found it, or have they become that way since you rescued it? My guess is that, either way, it's due to overwatering. But, that's just a guess assuming that it is a Phalaenopsis. Could you post a picture of it so that we can know for sure what kind of orchid we're dealing with?

Lots of new root growth is a positive sign, however. If it is a Phal, they should only be watered once the potting mix inside (along with the roots inside) have gone dry. If the leaves were in that condition when you rescued it, you may be doing everything just fine – once the Phal leaves get droopy from overwatering, they do not firm back up.

A photo might help others here weigh in with more info. Crossing my fingers for ya.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

New leaves are soft. They're supposed to be.

Unless that tray you put underneath the orchid's pot has gravel to raise it above the water, I think it's not wise to let the plant sit in the water. You would have undone the effort into growing the new roots if you allow the pot to sit in water.

In my opinion, don't touch anything, or you'll risk losing the orchid.

[DickyBreeding]

Thanks for the quick replies. I see now that my original post lacked some necessary information, and clarity. The plant in question is a phalaenopsis, of which I'd love to post a picture, but I'm having some frustrating camera driver issues that I'm putting off fixing for the time being. The leaves weren't in this condition when I found it, and I know now that I was overwatering it at first. I was giving it daily waterings infact, but thankfully I stopped that pretty quickly. Hearing that the leaves never firm back up is relieving, because I've since began watering properly, and the unchanging leaves were making me think I still hadn't fixed the problem that was causing them to be so soft. As far as the water tray goes, it's just sitting on the window sill next to the pot. I actually don't think it's needed so much, as it's pretty humid here. Thanks again for the replies! My mind has been eased for the time being.