Rescued orchids from Walmart....pleas help!

[Bonita~flores]

I'm fairly new to orchids but I now have 8 plants total, 1 is doing great but the rest are fading fast. The one's I rescued today have been outside in the rain 4 who knows how long, flowers are black but still clinging to the stalk. Roots and most leaves are still green and firm, I've removed them from their soil/wood chip mixure and hung them in the shower to dry. Is there anything else I can/should do 2 ensure their survival? They're all phals if I'm not mistaken and ive heard conflicting stories on how to water them, but the safest out of them all I think would be the ice cube method...any other suggestions would be great.

Thanx

[dbarron]

Err, no offense but this absurd idea of watering phals with ice cubes sets my teeth on edge. One) the water is insufficient, almost (admittedly some few plants might not like this...but very few) any plant in the world should be freely watered with as much as it can take at one time. The only issues are drainage and frequency of watering. Two) It's COLD and may damage parts of the plant if touching. Water should always be room temperature or there abouts...not frozen.

[Bonita~flores]

My biggest concern right now is saving them, I appreciate the info but since I'm really thinking of mounting any survivors none of the methods of watering are logical. Any suggestions on what to do to better their chances of survival

[Subrosa]

Keep them so you can see the roots. As long as some are green, hold off. When they turn silver, water.

[mimigirl]

When you water the phals dont let water sit on the base of the leaves, especially near the crown. They are very susceptible(?) to crown rot. I use a napkin almost like floss to get right in there.

[OfLeafandLimb]

When you water, gently lift up the leaves with one hand, and water into the media directly, so none gets into the crown. If you do get some into the crown, you can take paper towel and dip a corner into the crown to draw the water back out. The ice idea is probably one that came from marketing teams at the big box stores, not from experienced orchid growers. It's pretty universally understood by most orchid growers that putting ice on the roots of a tropical plant- which would never experience ice in nature- is definitely not a good idea. Maybe for North American terrestrial species, that might be a neat idea, but certainly not Phals.

You could also try soaking them from below, by setting them in a sink and bringing the water level up a few inches. The trouble with this is that it disturbs the potting media, and they can get uprooted due to some of the media floating out of place.

I hope your plants start to make a good comeback. Good luck with them!

[Bonita~flores]

Thanks for all the good information, right now I have them hanging in the bathroom drying out a little. I haven't decided whether I'll repot them or mount them, I guess it all depends on the roots once they'vedried out a bit. Any suggestions on how long I should allow them to dry

[OfLeafandLimb]

If they're now bare root, you don't want them going for more than a few days without watering, depending on your home's humidity level. They're going to need to get back into some media soon.

I'm not sure why you removed them from their potting media. Was the soil actually dirt and bark/wood chip or was it all bark/wood chip? If it was all bark/wood chip, and it wasn't rotten, it should have been fine. You can still repot, so don't panic. Have you mounted orchids before? Can you post pictures?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 PM ----------

Also, the way you describe the roots and leaves makes them sound perfectly healthy. Just because the flowers are dying, that doesn't mean the rest of the plant is dying. If you can post some pics, that will really help.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by Bonita~flores

My biggest concern right now is saving them, I appreciate the info but since I'm really thinking of mounting any survivors none of the methods of watering are logical. Any suggestions on what to do to better their chances of survival

Definitely there are some logical watering methods and some illogical watering methods.

Everyone on this board will tell you that watering with ice cubes is flat-out a bad bad bad idea. Many orchids are tropical plants, growing in hot countries like Brazil, Thailand, and Australia. They don't want ice water. Ice cubes are not enough. The company [who must not be named] that promotes just adding ice is probably doing that so the orchids they sell will die, leading people to buy more orchids from them later. If something goes wrong, it will take long enough to kill the plant that they can just blame it on the consumer anyway. (My opinion)

You can water in one of two ways, in my opinion.

1- Get a pot bigger than the pot your orchid is in, and put your orchid's pot into that pot. Fill with water up to the base of the plant (but not touching the leaves). Let the plant sit for 10 minutes (up to a few hours, it really doesn't matter and I am forgetful). Remove the orchid from the bigger pot and let it fully drain and air out. I water once per week this way.

2- Take your orchid to the sink, and let tepid water rush through the pot near the base of the plant, getting as much of the media wet as you can. Water water water, sing a little song, and when it's had a good 30 second-ish soak, take it back to its spot on your shelf and let it air out and dry up. Again, I water once per week this way.

Both of these are highly logical ways to water.

I refuse to mount my orchids because when you mount them you must water them almost daily, which is a huge pain in the butthole. Mounting orchids is great for people who over-water, and if you can keep the plant hydrated on a mount, go for it. Just because I hate it doesn't mean you will.

If they have some healthy roots left, just put them in a proper bark potting mix in a REALLY SNUG well-ventilated pot, and baby them for a while while they recover. I make pots from old water bottles and I just poke holes in them myself. I can get almost any pot size this way.

You should not have left them outside in the rain. This can lead water to enter their crowns and rot the plant. This could be too much water, depending on your climate. If you are not sure what you are doing, you are best keeping your plants inside until your knowledge grows.

Also, saving sick plants can be really depressing. It can take over a year (or more!!) for a plant to reflower. You might be better off tossing these, and buying a new and healthy plant and learning to care for the healthy plant. I have a handful of rescue plants, but over 80% of my collection was purchased healthy and is currently healthy, and I am much more happy with my healthy plants.

[RandomGemini]

If a plant has received a lot of abuse in the store, it can take years for it to recover. I have a rescue Phal that I saved in similar condition. I bought it about two years ago. It is still recovering. When I saved it, it had four good roots and two leaves left. It now has four leaves and twenty or so roots. Maybe someday it will bloom again, but I'm not holding my breath. For most beginners, the wait for recovery is just too frustrating and it will save you a lot of time, effort and frustration to just pitch nearly dead plants and buy healthy ones.'