It sat in water!!!! Help!

[StefH]

Hi there everyone!

I'm a new orchid owner. I bought my orchid in mid March; it is a phalaenopsis....nice deep pinkish purple colour that I love.

When I got the orchid, it was in full bloom. I did a lot of reading for "beginners" about how to grow orchids and keep them happy.

My orchid has been growing well, blooming, and producing more buds and flowers! I've been quite pleased with it!

And actually, the day I brought it home, I broke the tip of one of its two spikes off, along with the two buds were growing there. It has just recently started to grow a new spike out of the existing spike that was broken! So, I expect to see some new buds growing. Since I brought it home, the other spike has probably bloomed about 5 new flowers.

Sounds like a happy orchid, right?

Well, even though I read about only water 1/4 cup once a week, apparently that was too much for my orchid.

A few weeks ago, I noticed some mold (white fuzz) growing on the roots, and I thought, "Wow, maybe I shouldn't water it for a while."

So I didn't water it for about 2 weeks. It really didn't seem like the mold was very bad, but it wasn't getting any better either.

Tonight, I decided to do some reading about orchid root rot. This prompted me to take the plastic cup that it sits in out of the decorative pot and check out the roots more closely.

OH BOY! My orchid was sitting in a huge puddle of water. I know this isn't good!!! But I think I only watered the thing about 4 times since I bought it in mid March. Obviously it wasn't using/absorbing the water I was giving it.

Now, I don't know what to do. My roots aren't doing well. I have a lot of root rot. I did some reading about how to re-pot with new potting matter, so I now understand how to trim the "sick" roots and clean it up. But I'm afraid to do that and then lose my flowers and beautiful, healthy spikes.

So what do I do?

For tonight, since it's Sunday night, all the stores are closed, and I don't have fresh potting matter, I removed the plastic cup/pot from the decorative pot and put the orchid on a shallow dish where it can hopefully dry out.

PS the leaves are still really healthy as well!

What should I do? Repot to save the plant and lose the flowers (I hate to do this since the one spike is growing a new spike out of it)? Trim the spikes and put them in a vase on their own, repot and salvage the leaves and the rest of the plant?

Help?! Suggestions?

[Eyebabe]

Four waterings over a six week period is not alot of watering.

For your plant it is not so much the amount or frequency of water but the ability for the media to drain and become dry again.

If your plant remains too dry, the roots become damaged and cannot take up water or nutrition when you do decide to water.

Water is actually not "taken up" by orchid roots the way you are thinking the usual terrestrial plants do.

I would evaluate my root system.
To do this I would purchase some bark mix before removing the plant from the pot. If the current mix has degraded from sitting in water you will need to have it handy.
After you repot the plant, make sure you understand that your watering regimen should enable the plant to almost dry out before watering again.
The easiest way to do this is about once per week, immerse the plant/pot in water for about 10 minutes. Remove from the water and drain in the sink about 10-15 minutes before putting the plant back in its usual area.
I would not remove the blooms/spike unless the roots were really bad.

[StefH]

Ok, how bad is "bad" for bad roots?

And if I repot and trim the roots, will I lose my flowers/spikes?

[scy]

Also, I would make sure that your current pot has enough drainage holes for the water to flow through since you said that it was sitting in water. Sometimes stores will have orchids in decorative pots that aren't really suited for orchids.

If you repot in bark, you should presoak it overnight in hot water overnight. The next day, get rid of any bark that isn't floating, because it's waterlogged and will retain too much water. Rinse the bark you have left and you can use this for your repotting.

[StefH]

Well, it was a pot in a pot. The thin plastic pot that the orchid is actually planted in has lots of drainage. The ceramic decorative pot that it was sitting in definitely doesn't have enough drainage.

But I know all that.

What I'm trying to figure out is how bad is "bad" roots. When do I know when to sacrifice the flowers for the rest of the plant?

[scy]

A photo would help. If the roots feel mushy and are brown, then they are dead. When you repot, you will need to trim those off with sterilized razor or scissors. It really depends on how much damage has been done to the roots.

[StefH]

You guys really aren't answering my questions. You're telling me stuff I already know.

What I'd like to know is if I trim all my rotten roots to save the plant, and replant it in new potting medium, will I lose my flowers?

Am I better off to lose the flowers and save the plant or can I afford to wait until the flowers are done before repotting?

Should I just let them dry out and see? Or replant right away?

[StefH]

I can't examine the roots too closely right now since it's Sunday night and I don't have new potting medium at home with me right now with which to repot. I will have to completely pull the plant out of the pot to see how bad the roots are. And I don't want to do that until I have new bark.

If/when I do that, will it hurt my flowers?

[scy]

Originally Posted by StefH

You guys really aren't answering my questions. You're telling me stuff I already know.

What I'd like to know is if I trim all my rotten roots to save the plant, and replant it in new potting medium, will I lose my flowers?

Am I better off to lose the flowers and save the plant or can I afford to wait until the flowers are done before repotting?

Should I just let them dry out and see? Or replant right away?

1. There's a chance you could lose your flowers. No one can guarantee one way or another. It all depends on how much stress it's going through and how much damage has been done to the roots. No one can answer that for you, because there's not enough information given. You will know when you unpot and assess the damage.

2. I believe it is better to save the plant and lose the flowers, because you can nurse it back to health and have blooms in the future. No one can tell you if you should wait until the blooms are done because we don't know how much root damage there is. Cutting the spike will make the orchid focus on putting all of its energy into recovery instead of recovery AND blooming.

[scy]

Originally Posted by StefH

I can't examine the roots too closely right now since it's Sunday night and I don't have new potting medium at home with me right now with which to repot. I will have to completely pull the plant out of the pot to see how bad the roots are. And I don't want to do that until I have new bark.

If/when I do that, will it hurt my flowers?

I understand that you can't repot because you don't have any new medium now. We've all been there. When it is time to unpot, looking at the roots is minimal damage in comparison to trimming roots and having to adjust to new medium. If it was potted in bark prior, then the transition should be smoother.

It really depends on the individual orchid and your current conditions (root damage, how close your growing conditions are to where it was grown, etc). I've had bud blast because my home conditions were a bit cooler than where it was grown so the buds fell off and didn't flower. Any number of scenarios can cause it to blast but that doesn't mean yours will or won't. But with a different orchid, I had root rot and wound up cutting half of my roots off and left the spike and the flowers bloomed for months and it bounced back by Spring.

I personally would leave the spike until after the repot and then assess the situation and cut the spike as a last resort if you have little to no roots left. If you still have lots of roots left, then leave the spike on, enjoy the blooms and just keep a watchful eye on it for any changes.