Fear of overwatering...best practices?

[Twilight Orchid]

Hey there everyone....I've been happily reading many of the threads on this board and learning so much!! I've seen reference to the use of a stick to help determine the moisture content in orchids....being a newbie, and having killed many plants due to overwatering, I would like to know more about this "stick" or any other methods/practices that can be used to determine how much water to give to my 'chids.....I recently repotted two of my Phals that were in moss, and I was finding that they would remain moist for such a long time...they also began to look odd, so I decided to pull them out and have a look...sure enough they were beginning to rot....I've since put them in the typical orchid mix that you can purchase at Home Depot...Shultz brand....and they seem to be perking back up which is good!! I also would like to know how much water I should be giving them at one time..when I see that most people are watering once a week, I think I maybe water once every couple of weeks....which leads to believe that each time I water, I'm giving them too much perhaps? I use the typical little green houseplant watering can, and I've been using Shultz Orchid food each time I water, but Im concerned again that Im overfertilizing.....PLUS, I have very hard water and I've been given to understand that hard water is a no no.....

Any advice, suggestions would be most appreciated!!

Thanks again,

[littlefrog]

Two basic rules gets you a long way.

1) When you water, water the tar out of them. You want water running through the pot, and lots of it. This flushes out a bit of salt buildup (especially if you have hard water) and some of the fine material that can accumulate as your mix breaks down.

2) For almost all orchids, when in doubt, don't. Water, that is. Wait a day, and repeat the process. Far better to wait a day longer than necessary than to go the other way.

[Ross]

I'd add, though, that for most mounted orchids, more frequent watering is necessary to prevent dessication - Haraella comes to mind as a prime example.

[Twilight Orchid]

Thank you both littlefrog and rsfrid.....I've just watered my new plants....all of the ones that are blooming size and in 4" pots or larger are all in bark mixes and I've watered them as I water my Phals....now as for the rest of them, they are in 2.5" pots and in moss.....only 2 of them appear to be dry so I gave them a little drink (until the pot felt heavy)...the rest still felt moist (to me) and because of my past experiences, I'm afraid to give them a drink.....should I leave them, or give them a tiny drink as well?

Thanks again!!

[Ray]

Water is a plant's friend.

A potting medium that becomes so saturated that the airflow throughout it is impeded after watering is the enemy.

If overwatering is a concern, use a more "open" medium.

Personally, I find that it's a lot easier to water more often without worrying about waterlogging the medium, than to have to "poke" a pot to check the status of the medium. Not only that, but a plant will tolerate going a bit too dry for a few days far more easily than it will being suffocated.

[markr]

Among the most useful things for me when I was new to orchids were transparent plastic pots. It is very easy to see if your plants need watering or not and what condition the roots are in. After a while you develop an intuition for when to water and don't need the transparent pots any longer, but they are very helpful for those starting out.

If you don't like the way they look, you can easily place them inside larger opaque pots.

If you have a humid area to keep them, try mounting your orchids - you'll never have to worry about over watering again.

[Twilight Orchid]

Hey there Markr and Ray....thank you both for the great advice....I've only got 3 orchids in clear pots, the rest are in green ones...and I agree, I can easily see what's shaking in the clear ones.....is it me, or is it difficult to find the clear ones?

I don't really have a humid area for them...although mounting them is an intriguing idea....thanks again to you both!

[gmdiaz]

I like to water THROUGHLY. . .

I dunk all of them in a bucket of RO water mixed with MSU fertilizer. . .125ppm every few days.

If the roots on top, look dry in between waterings, I just mist them but otherwise wait for dunking day.

But for mounted orchids in my tank, I am misting them throughly every day with fresh RO water. . .and dunking once a week or so.

Ray, is sooooo right, it's the lack of air that's the problem, not really too much water. I am really seeing this for the first time. Read Rays article on "Air Management"

You have to be REALLY REALLY careful with spagnum moss if you tend to overwater. When I have the opportunity to safely do so, I transplant over to a good orchid mix.

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[Twilight Orchid]

Very interesting gmdiaz...goodness, I'm lost with all these acronyms...what is RO water? Rained Over water?? LOL...

Yeah I'm pretty nervous about the moss....they're small, medium and large seedlings that are in the moss, in 2.5" pots....I'm afraid to repot them and disrupt them too badly, simply because I don't feel confident in what I'm doing or looking for....Ive repotted my other older Phals...successfully, I think....(well, they're still growing, so I take that as being successful LOL) but I've just used the Shultz orchid bark that is available at Home Depot....should I look at something else? The bark is pretty big, does that make a difference? I'm starting to get overwhelmed

[gmdiaz]

Reverse Osmosis. . .sorry about that.

Go slow. . .there is no hurry.