Forgot to pre soak orchid mix

[Antonella]

I replanted my orchids (6 plants) because they were all grown in moss and leaves were going leathery and wrinkled. I watched a "how to" video on youtube, but the lady never mentioned pre soaking the mix (she planted using mix straight out of the bag) only to find out that i missed a step while putting all my supplies away and seeing the directions on the packaging.

Are my orchids going to die!? Is there a quick fix? I've been misting the soil since planting to try and make up for the dryness, but being careful not to over water.

HELP!!!

Thanks to all who rspond in advance, A

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[Dendy83]

You should be just fine, don't worry! Be careful not to overwater but you may need to water twice a week for just a bit. From my understanding pre soaking just brings moisture to the bark before you plant. Just check the moisture level with a bamboo skewer so you won't overwater.

[Ferns Daddy]

When I first started out I was never told to soak the mix first,all my Oncidium's did just fine, but now I do soak the mix before I use it, so yours should be fine

[Antonella]

PPHHEEWW!! Thanks for the reassurance!! I lost an orchid last week d/t root rot from moss, and i nearly cried lol.

A

[orchidsarefun]

my advice to people about watering is to "learn" the weight difference between a pot ( with orchid ) that is fully watered and a pot ( with orchid ) which needs watering. It sounds complicated but you soon get the hang of it and then you can safely keep phals and others in any type of mix.
I have orchids and seedlings in all types of mixes and I successfully use this method. In fact I prefer sphagnum because you don't have to water as often !
Another thing - there is a transition period of up to a year for orchids taken out of sphagnum and into bark - the roots have to get "used" to the new mix. From bark to sphagnum is even worse and some don't make it without proper care.

[RosieC]

What sort of Orchid are they?

For Phals I would soak for a couple of hours with the plants in their media and the water up to the top of the medium. Healthy phals can cope fine with that (in fact I've accidentally left them longer). I would do that a a couple of times, a few days apart and while it might not get into the medium as much as a full soak before potting up it will help. I've done it in the past when I had potted in medium that had not been pre-soaked.

Some other types of orchids might not do so well with that, I know bulbophylum don't do so well with a long soak, though even then I've sometimes forgotten them for several hours.

[Ray]

Presoaked medium will "open up" its structure, and hold water better in the future.

When I have been in a rush and not presoaked, I do the following:

1. Water VERY heavily with tepid water. I'll sometimes put the plant under the tap in the kitchen sink and let it run continuously for 5-10 minutes.
2. Wait 30 minutes
3. Do it again

Usually that single extra step does the trick.

[JerseyGirlBecky]

When you Say you have been misting the SOIL. What did you plant them in?

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[RosieC]

Good point, if it's soil then that's not good.