Regarding the time Orchids can go without water...

[lotis146]

Let me just start by saying I wasn't going to say anything... That said, after my Hausermann's splurge - which I very willingly shared photos and IDs from - I had to leave town (I have Orchids in two places) with the expectation that I was coming right back (nearly so). I watered my group the day I left. However many things came up that kept me from returning. To make matters worse I could not get someone to water my BRAND NEW "big haul" as some of you say. All I kept thinking was OMG all those plants with all those blooms. The more time that passed and I was unable to get back the more I felt like such a fool like throwing money and beautiful plants out the window

Three weeks people. Three weeks. Every time I thought about them I had to shake my head free of the thoughts, there was nothing I could do until I could do it.

Heading home all I could do was think about my plants. I tried every way to reason with myself about what might make it okay that they've died - well it's like gambling, your risk losing to win; maybe I've got too many plants already, this obsession is out of control; just one or 10 or however many less things to worry about; you can always look for more of these plants you picked out, sure you'll find some; don't tell anyone; etc etc etc - but I couldn't completely shake my guilt. I should'a this blah blah...I told myself again and again they're probably all dead, maybe a few survived, hopefully there will be a a handful I can nurse back to health like my "starter group".

The moment arrived. I put the key in my door and let myself in. Sure, there were other pressing matters to deal with, but uh I had to go upstairs anyways. Plus, I couldn't stop thinking about what appeared to be some kind of blooms in the upstairs window, could it be?


Dear lord, they all survived. Miltoniopsis, Oncidium, three mini Phals (well Dtps), a Slc ('Dark Waters'), a couple Phals, and many Dtps if I'm remembering correctly as I type this. Better still - yeah, I know! - almost all of them were still in bloom, big time.

The ones who suffered the most were Miltoniopsis Karl Lennar(t)d Gottling 'Hula Skirt', Oncidium Heaven Scent 'Redolence', Slc. 'Dark Waters', & the two Dtps. Cranberry Lianher 'Red Bean' (minis). Milt. lost all its blooms and some leaves and pbulbs are suffering (2 bloomed before I left, about 3 left in bud). Oncidium had one spike mostly in full bloom with 2 other spikes on their way. Flowers fell off the first spike as I touched it but the other two were/are in full bloom. Some of its leaves and pbulbs are also suffering. Slc. Jewel Box 'Dark Waters' had 3-5 flowers initially with more than 6-9 (including new buds) on their way to blooming; about 4-5 remain in bloom now. Some of its pbulbs are looking rough. One of the Red Bean 's spike died completely (it was in full bloom, but already wilted sorta when I bought) and the other had two budded spikes and now only two blooms on one spike remains and all the other buds have blasted.

Of all the others, well Dtps. Fusheng Sweet Paradise 'Golden Leopard' is happy as can be. Not only did it only drop one of over a dozen blooms but its leaves are perfect and its MANY roots are still VERY green-tipped, almost like it was happy to dry out so terribly! Then Phal. Taida Golden Lawrence #3, which had a couple of blooms with 5-6 buds initially, is in full bloom and perfect by all means. Plus I figured out its flowers are kind of shiny and perhaps mildly fragrant! Phal. Mingho Princess x Phal. Lightning is also still pretty awesome with a big full multi-branched spike in full bloom (with a couple buds yet to open) AND its got a second spike coming up. It did however have some bugs I noticed after watering. Couldn't really confirm if they were springtails but I went ahead and repotted it.

Dtps. Chia-shing Focus '181' only lost most of 1 of 2 spikes because when it dried it got top heavy and fell over. The leaves of these last two are a little less than perfect but overall plants are pretty happy. Moving on still the third mini Dtps Champion Swan is great, three spikes still developing. Dtps. Chingruey's 'Goldstaff', PERFECT. Still completely in bloom, terminal spike and all. Dtps. 'Jungo City' suffered a few flower losses but still holding its two spikes strong.

Is that everybody? I think so.

If you want further analysis/details here goes:
The minis were in what I'd call flimsy plastic starter pots and so I'm not the least surprised they suffered the drought.
Milt, Onc, & Slc were all potted in mixes other than just moss, thus they would have dried out much sooner than the rest that were in full moss, and a lot of it.
Of course the last fact, that most were in dense moss (without certainty I'm pretty sure they're all fairly packed), is what I think saved them. When I repotted Phal Minho Princess x Phal Lightning I noticed that its roots were healthy but not a very big system so one could argue it was over potted in the 6-8" plastic pot.
To add to this, I don't expect the house got more than 72 degrees.

So this is a lengthy message yes and still embarrassing that that almost happened, but God blessed me here even if in this small way by saving these little beauties (some not so little!). I really wouldn't have guessed they'd all survive 3 + weeks and still be in flower. I decided it would be good to share this with you all for several reasons. One, that this is possible. Two, how important cool temperatures can be and are. Three, how AWESOME moss really can be despite its bad reputation. And last but certainly not least (and probably not last), that God is great.

If I think of anything else, be sure I'll type it up. Later...

---------- Post added at 10:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 PM ----------

Now all I can do is wait and observe to see how they fair. Of course I watered them right away, soaking all for 30 minutes and then feeding with Miracle-Gro Orchid food 20-20-20. Keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't any consequences that have yet to be felt. Then probably several of them should be repotted. Oh yes and I also repotted the three minis.

[reliablefool]

I would definitely be cautious with watering since it's possible some roots desiccated while away so water uptake/media drying may be slower...also poses possible rot issues. But yes...orchids can be quite tough. I didn't manage to kill off any of my orchids through years of VERY sporadic watering...we're talking a couple of months between waterings at times (just lost interest). The thing that really surprised me is that two of them are phalaenopsis and they managed to make it!

[Orchid Whisperer]

The plants with thick leaves, thick roots, and pseudobulbs have those features so that they can survive dry spells. So, it is not surprising that your plants survived. Big plants will survive more readily than small plants. Plants left in the shade for an extended time will have fewer problems than those left in the sun. The orchids in one of the grocery stores in my area are rarely watered, if ever.

Some orchids are less tough. I think my Restrepia brachypus would not have survived 3 weeks with no water, for example.

All plants have an optimum watering schedule, but we have all had the occasional emergency that requires us to deviate from the optimum.

[RandomGemini]

Agreed. Cattleyas and Phalaenopsis are pretty drought tolerant and oncidiums, while they like to be wetter than these, are built for a small amount of abuse.

I forgot about my orchids for three weeks once. Life got busy. It was the best thing I ever did for my phals. I got a ton of root growth during this dry period. Everything is happy now and I have a bunch of spikes.

[tarev]

I had similar situation early this year, we went on vacation for about 3 weeks, and before we left I did some heavy watering on my orchids. I had no one to entrust them, so I was ready to face losses on my return. As it turns out, they did not suffer much. I guess our timing was good since weather outside was cool, and it has been unseasonably dry here in Cali. I just kept the plastic foil down on their growcamp, just in case there would be sudden winter hard freeze while we are away. Even my Phals and Paphs indoors managed very well.

In fact, I have some good blooms too, and active roots, and new pseudobulbs growing on most of them..so I guess the plants somehow bounce back once conditions improve. A good learning curve for me, especially in winter time handling. I think the timing of leaving them with our weather cool but not freezing, keeping them comfortably dry while away helped them..or did they feel threatened to force them to go on survival mode and bloom...who knows..

Happy for you lotis146! We both dodged a bullet woohoo!

[lotis146]

Thanks everyone for sharing your own experiences in regard to this. Prior to this becoming an obsession for me I would have thought nothing of it but it almost hurts to know more! (Ah to be blissfully ignorant again...lol... ) I couldn't stop thinking about the Orchids I did have around me and how I had watered them several times and had begun to wonder if I should start watering some more than once a week.

It makes a lot of sense though as in the wild conditions are not routine or scheduled beyond the larger scale of seasons (wet/dry, summer/fall/winter/spring).

I must add quickly that I left these plants days after bringing them home from Hausermann's greenhouse, so I was that much more worried considering they were in these ideal conditions (lighting, humidity, regular watering and feeding). But then to find them not only alive but doing WELL it all made sense. Could it be like Holiday weekends, buffets of awesome food, a weekend of partying, as much as you like to go all out, gosh it feels good to eat a bowl of cereal or piece of fruit, guzzle some water and get your a** running, walking, or riding your bike (among so many other things). Perhaps they were happy as RandomGemini also shared that hers grew a lot.

ReliableFool I appreciate the note of caution. As I said the Onc, Milt, & Catt's pbulbs no doubt suffered and I don't doubt that there's some dessication as you said. I wondered how best to carry on from here. I'll be sure not to water them again too soon.

I have to add that now I'm glad to share this, not only because so many of you have also committed this heinous act of neglect and your plants survived (MONTHS ReliableFool!?) but because I think this is a great story for beginners. Of course the take home message isn't "don't water, don't worry" but rather that not all Orchids are as finicky as they're believed to be. I know going back just to the beginning of the year for me I would feel better reading about these experiences as they would show me I can keep Orchids without devoting my life to them (again, I know not all Orchids can handle this, look at Milt, no flowers!).

Point being, if we were trying to recruit new members telling our tales of neglect survived like these is a good way to go.

[tarev]

I think there is a threshold that the orchids can take not getting any moisture. Plus the timing when it occurs, I think I finally understand that during cool weather, they can go a bit more without moisture since they do slowdown growing, so consumption is minimal..but come warmer weather, time to resume their normal watering sked, since they are finally back to their preferred temps.

That being said, if it is much longer, like several months long, that will be another story..after all, these are living plants..they need water I am just glad I was just away 3 weeks

[Leafmite]

I have some plants that would be dead within a few days if they didn't get watered daily while others are extremely tolerant...the same goes for my orchids. I am a prisoner of my plants....

[RandomGemini]

I do have one orchid that has to be misted daily. Ironically, during my neglectful period, I still misted this orchid daily. It's part of my morning routine to get up, go down the hall, mist my dracula, then go make a cup of coffee. If it hadn't been part of my routine, that plant would be dead.

[tarev]

It's funny how sometimes I learn more from my accidental neglect...like one time leaving my Wils. Hilda Plumtree in the little bucket of water..I forgot to remove it there after spraying water on the orchids, left it there I think for three days, sitting in water..to my surprise, the pbs plumped back..hah! So it is a water hog after all..