Rhynchostylis Gigantea red bought from ebay came through super cold, will it survive?

[ninad]

poor guy

[Dollythehun]

Leaves don't look good. Root...Maybe OK. You are going to have to wait this one out. BTW, as babies, these start out very slow, so if it lives don't expect much for awhile. I got mine in Aug/Sept. Same size as yours, it still looks exactly the same. Consider this a learning experience. Also, check the Board under vendor feedback. You will learn a lot there too.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by ninad

leaves are soft

My condolences on the plant. The leaves look gone. You can keep it awhile to see if any sign of life remains but don't get your hopes up.

R. gigantea is fairly common. My red came as a bagged orchid from a big-box store (Lowes). I hope you can replace it.

[orchidsamore]

First you should never buy plants from Thailand direct. If the custom inspectors had seen the plants they would have been seized and destroyed as shipping without Cities documents is a federal crime. There are many illegally shipped plants on ebay and you can be charged for importing them.

I ship all over the country and flowering plants that were lost for a week this month still arrived in perfect condition. All my plants are allowed to go into the low 30s regularly as my entire nursery is outside with no heat protection. I am in Florida and it is only in the 30s for a few hours a night.
With all the thousands of plants I have shipped with USPS I have never had any get so cold as to kill the plant. It takes about 5 hours under 32 degrees to kill a plant. Trucks warehouses planes etc do not get that cold.

[estación seca]

Unfortunately the delivery trucks of the US Postal Service, as well as private shippers, are not usually heated, nor cooled. The box might be loaded into that truck sometime during the night, sit outside until the morning, and be the last delivery of the day.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by orchidsamore

It takes about 5 hours under 32 degrees to kill a plant. Trucks warehouses planes etc do not get that cold.

Jerry, during the shipping period the OP was talking about, his part of the country dipped to single digits or teens F, highs in the 20s or 30s F. I think you could freeze an unprotected plant in less time under those temperatures.

[u bada]

yes, my condolences... this is a pretty tough species and easily found, so definitely worth getting another one if this one doesn't make it...