For how long can/should I soak my orchids? Brassias, phalaenopsis, oncidium,etc

[astrid]

Hey everyone!!

I recently posted about my orchids with slightly wrinkled pseudobulbs.

Some of you told me to soak them overnight! I have always been scared to soak them longer than 5 hours or so. What would you say is a maximum soaking time for the types I listed before I accidentally kill their roots?

Can I soak a plant for 24 hours?? I prefer to water 1-2x per week, so I usually soak for 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Thanks, everyone!!

[801229001]

Idont think soaking them overnight is a good idea.

what you are doing currently seems fine for the types of orchids you listed.

[Subrosa]

I've accidentally soaked orchids overnight several times without incident.

[LightsCameraFlowerspike]

Yea, I think what you're doing now is fine.. for the phalaenopsis at least.

However, oncidiums, i'm curious too... I just repotted my oncidium into bark and I'm not too sure how often I should be watering it.

[MrHappyRotter]

I'm going to sound like an old man here, not that there's anything wrong with that, but in all my years of growing plants, I can't think of a single case where an overnight soak in plain water caused any issues for a plant.

The exception was some tillandsias (bromeliads) soaked overnight in water containing fertilizer -- more specifically seaweed extract. For whatever reason, that resulted in severe "burning" of the leaves.

But, I'm pretty sure that was an exception to the rule, and it was more a result of the seaweed extract than of the actual soaking in water.

There are dangers inherent in "soaking", particularly if you're talking about soaking the whole plant. You'll need to make sure that the foliage, especially the crown of the plant, dries off pretty quickly after the soak is over. Otherwise, you risk pools of water forming in the crown or at the base of leaves, and in that case, fungal and bacertial rot can set in because the water sits for days and exposes the plant's tissue to invasion by pathogens.

Also, if you're soaking a plant with water that contains fertilizer, or which naturally contains high levels of salts and minerals, then I could see the potential in harm coming from that.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by LightsCameraFlowerspike

Yea, I think what you're doing now is fine.. for the phalaenopsis at least.

However, oncidiums, i'm curious too... I just repotted my oncidium into bark and I'm not too sure how often I should be watering it.

Oncs like more water than phals. I have 6 oncidium type orchids now, and they all prefer something more like twice a week watering. I have them in a bark, sponge rock, charcoal mix with a sprinkling of sphag mixed in.

I just don't know how long of a soak will be beneficial to them. They do fine with a 30 minute soak every 5-7 days, but I am not sure what will be better than this yet.

I like to soak them longer, and I should probably water them more often.

---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------

Originally Posted by MrHappyRotter

There are dangers inherent in "soaking", particularly if you're talking about soaking the whole plant. You'll need to make sure that the foliage, especially the crown of the plant, dries off pretty quickly after the soak is over. Otherwise, you risk pools of water forming in the crown or at the base of leaves, and in that case, fungal and bacertial rot can set in because the water sits for days and exposes the plant's tissue to invasion by pathogens.

Also, if you're soaking a plant with water that contains fertilizer, or which naturally contains high levels of salts and minerals, then I could see the potential in harm coming from that.

Oh gosh no! I am terrified of rotting my plants. I just water them to about 0.5cm above their base in a pot, and let them sit for a while. I go into a panic when water gets on the leaves so I'd never soak a whole orchid!

[Daethen]

I am the one who said soak over night. I wouldn't do it on a regular basis and not with the phal. I have several onc. and as long as you don't have the whole plant under water I do not hesitate to soak overnight on occasion. If your media is really dry, it helps to revive it so that it actually holds a bit of water. Make sure there is some air flow on the plants so the leaves can dry out afterwards. I have a few mounted onc. that I regularly soak. At least once a month or more some times. They are happy and blooming with no rot. They are water hogs, but they need light to go with it.

[The Mutant]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

I've accidentally soaked orchids overnight several times without incident.

I've done/do this too, and in my case, it's never healthy water they stand in either. I have most of my Paphs standing in trays filled with leca pellets and water, and I don't clean these trays as often as I should, so there's all kinds of things growing in there. This is the water some of my Paphs occasionally stand in...sometimes for more than one night... I'm a baaaad Paph owner.

I think you can let your plants soak in water during night occasionally. If standing in unhealthy water hasn't been enough to kill off some of my Paphs (and they're species too, so they're quite picky), healthy water most probably won't harm your orchids.

[NYCorchidman]

I don't think 24 hour-long soaking is any more beneficial to say, 5 hour one, which is more than good enough.

When I water my orchids, I sit them in water (the entire pot) for at least about half an hour. and I thought this was too long. lol

Every now and then I just leave them in water and go out and do things.
My observation is that one hour is more than enough to fully hydrate orchid plants.
For severely dehydrated orchids, single soaking won't revive them, but it will take a few times of good soaking.

By the way, the main genera of orchids I grow are paphiopedilum, dendrobium, cattleya, oncidium, phalaenopsis, all the usual but good stuffs I guess. lol

[astrid]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

My observation is that one hour is more than enough to fully hydrate orchid plants.
For severely dehydrated orchids, single soaking won't revive them, but it will take a few times of good soaking.

I have several oncidium types that are wrinkly, and one severely dehydrated one – my Nelly Isler. I doubt she'll ever forgive me, though, and that bulb will stay forever wrinkly. I don't mind leaving them to soak for several hours, and as long as it won't hurt them and has the potential to reverse a bit of the wrinkling, great!!

I am starting to always soak them for several hours. I suppose for the oncidium-types I should up the quantity of waterings because the duration is probably long enough.