Rescued orchids from Walmart....pleas help!

[Bonita~flores]

Ok guys, I removed them from their pots because they were literally drowning. I did not leave them outside, that's where walmart had them. The roots were still firm and thats why I bought them and brought them home, the leaves are not in perfect condition but they didn't drop off when I checked the crown.

Now as far as giving up on them and just buying healthy plants, I refuse to do that. I pride myself on the fact that most of any plants I have ever had were rescued from the clearance rack at walmart and returned to perfect health. With a little patience and a lot of babying I'm sure these can also be saved, I will continue to baby them and nurse them back to health. I will try to get some pics today before I remove any damaged roots and/or leaves. Then I will keep a picture diary on their condition as they begin to improve.

I appreciate all the helpful information, y'all have been great

[dbarron]

Yep, if that's where you'd rather invest your time and money....versus less time and possibly overall less money, to start with a healthy plant.

[Bonita~flores]

I only paid $0.89 for each plant and if they dont survive the ceramic pots are worth that, so money spent is no big deal. I have the needed paterials already to repot them, so there's no added money there either.

I don't seem to be able to upload pics right now, sorry.

[Bonita~flores]

Trying to attach before pics, I'm gonna trim the orchids back and repot in fresh media today.

[snowflake311]

I would like to see photos of the plant. I have a rescue phal $2.00 from petCo. It was in good shape over all just kept in extreamly low light but they hardly watered it so the roots look good I was surprised. They were just neglected not fully abused .

I almost killed 2 of mine own. It took both 2 years to recover. After 2 years I have 2 spikes I am so happy. It is very rewarding to save these plants. I also have a rescue milatonIa that is growing like a week now and I can't wait for a spike.

It's does not take that much time of money to save an orchid so just give it a little love and in a few years you will get flowers.

[Raqsharqi]

Bonita~flores, I'm with you on trying to rescue plants. I've lost a few, but I've also learned a lot from trying to save them. Good for you! You have kept a lot of plants from the compost heap!

[OfLeafandLimb]

The one on the left doesn't look too bad at all, and the one on the right looks salvageable.

If the pots had no drainage holes, I can see why you would remove them from the pot. The ones with rotted roots do need a little root trimming, too. Just mind you don't clip a healthy root by mistake.

Good for you for committing to their recovery! It can be frustrating if you're eager for blooms, but if you enjoy rehabilitating plants, and have a lot of patience, bringing them back to blooming will be a very rewarding experience!

[Bonita~flores]

I removed them from their pots because they were so wet that I was afraid they wouldn't dry out quick enough and it would fully destroy them. Plus I wanted to inspect the roots for any rotting, so they could start to recover and not continue to deteriorate.

The one concern I have about the roots is, is it normal to curl them up in a pot?

I know it will take a while for them to fully recover, but as long as they are on the road to recovery I'll be happy. I've done a little reading and know that orchids are slow growers and produce 1-2 leaves a year. To me though it's very rewarding to see even the smallest amount of improvement, it's exciting to watch them grow. I'm kinda like a kid waiting for Christmas

[plantluvver]

Congratulations on your purchase. At $0.89, it is not a major investment. But I hope that you will splurge a little and buy some healty orchids too. I am still new enough (or just a bad orchid mom.) I like to buy mine in bloom at Trader Joes, Like them even better if they have a name tag. That way, if i lose them, i will at least i will have experienced their bloom once.

And I consider orchids whick can bloom for weeks, or even months as cost effective compared to cut flowers.

[Bonita~flores]

My healthy orchid is what prompted me to save the others from their watery grave.