Well I've killed my first Orchid!

[RosieC]

Ok, so I had been lucky so far and while I've come close to killing some I had so far not killed any orchids.

All that changed today

I bought three mini's in tight moss back in October. A month before I had bought one in the same moss and re-potted it straight in to bark and got bud blast. So to try and avoid that with these I removed some of the moss but did not put it in bark.

I made sure the moss dried out between waterings but it was taking a looooong time to dry.

Well today all the leaves fell off one of them. It's dead right!



Only two of the roots were rotted, the rest looked fine. But it got crown rot which seems to have started from the outside, rather than the center. I think that damp moss against the stem is the cause.

I'm going to pull the other two out the moss and leave them bare root until I can get some bark soaked. Hope they are OK

[Country Gramma]

Rosie, So sorry for your loss. .

Those roots look great. Whod'a thought???

I haven't lost one yet but it's only been 2 months so give me time.
Wait, I do have one in sphag n bag that's looking terrible. May be next week you'll be consoling me.

Karen

[Lagoon]

Aww thats awful Rosie. The crown looks pretty done in, tho' I would still put it in some fresh media wait it out and hope for the best. Don't go down without a fight,lol!

Try Rosie just try - you never know sugar

[RosieC]

Thanks Karen & Gloria.

I've just looked at the other two I mentioned and they are not looking too good either. Well lesson learned... in my conditions never leave them in moss at all. The flowers are still good on these other two, but I've cut the spikes and put them in water. I want the plants to concentrate on surviving.

Gloria... I did keep the roots out the compost and have left them sitting in a plant pot. I put them there with the thought of... maybe...

I'm getting some bark on to soak for the other two so I may well pot it and see... you never know... but I don't expect it will work. It was only a cheep NOID anyway, but I still don't like to lose one.

Karen, I've had a couple in Sphag 'n' Bag in the past. The reason I came to OB the first time was for help on one that was loosing all it's roots and leaves. That's recovering well now, but I had just been lucky until today.

[luckorchid]

Do you have good air flow in the immediate area I have found that the more moisture as well as the more humidity the higher the temp and you need good air flow.... The air flow will help evaporate the wet moss more effectively and help the orchid properly dry.... I am no expert but just some personal experience... I have some 52 Orchids at the moment and am growing the collection....

[Nic100]

Oh, Rosie, I'm so sorry!

You have my sympathy as I have had the exact same thing happen to me - one minute everything looks fine and the next, nothing but a root-ball.

All the mini-NoIDs that my mum got through the autumn had terrible roots when we got them out of the moss, and when she gave them to me to try to revive I found they declined further in bark and now I have them in water culture praying for a miracle.

Maybe you need a little something to cheer yourself up... they've got Burraguera Nelly Islers in Tesco and M&S at the moment!

[SP2340]

I killed my first orchid by underwatering it... it happened b/c everything I read said "don't overwater! Let it dry out between waterings." Eventually I learned that some orchids, like phals, like to stay moist.

[Roy]

Congratulations Rosie, whether it be the first or 50th it still hurts BUT it had to happen some time like it has to the rest of us. To those who haven't killed a plant your time will come. Sorry to be hard but this is a great learning curve, new or long time orchid growers have to accept. Welcome to the club.

[chidlove]

, Yup...now you're well on your way , having croaked one, Just my , but I find a lot of those mini phals to be soo packed in the sphag. Good luck, and the main thing..Have fun

[Connie Star]

Sorry for your loss. I guess it's like the first time you fall skiing.
I used to fly planes and there's an old saying that there are 2 kinds of pilots: those who have landed with the gear up and those who are going to. I stopped before I landed gear up.
I haven't killed an orchid yet (only been growing for 10 months) but I'm not going to give up just because I might (and surely will) kill one.
Come to think of it, I stopped flying because it was too expensive.....