Need some advice, Orchids are dying!

[Possum-Pie]

I've always been a sucker for trying to save dying plants. I LOVE Lowes/Walmart bargain rack where I buy nearly dead things and nurse them back. Having said that, I agree that the Phalaenopsis. pictured is nearly beyond hope. I have it in course bark under a gallon bag to trap humidity. If it dies, so be it, but I never have thrown out a plant that wasn't completely dead.

[Dollythehun]

Then that's probably not the method to use. Try the Bag and spagh method. Barely damp spaghnum, lay plant on top and mostly seal bag.

In get it but, just as I can't save every person, you can't save every plant...pick your battles.

[Possum-Pie]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Then that's probably not the method to use. Try the Bag and spagh method. Barely damp spaghnum, lay plant on top and mostly seal bag.

In get it but, just as I can't save every person, you can't save every plant...pick your battles.

Thanks, I will try that. BTW I am a registered nurse, and learned a long time ago that I can't save every person either-but I don't give up on them...Guess it spills over to plants also.

[Dollythehun]

I'm in the helping profession also. I've learned tight boundaries.

[Possum-Pie]

I want to thank all of you helpful folks for the great suggestions. I am realizing that the most probable reason for the demise of my beloved orchids was a combination of shock from transplanting from moss directly to bark, and the low quality of media. The bark contains too much small soil-like components. If I would have known to rinse/sieve first, I probably wouldn't have killed them. Diagnosis: suffocation. I'm going to learn from my mistakes, and hunt around for some more Orchids to start again. I had a beautiful yellow and hot orange one that I will miss the most, I'm going to try to find one like that. BTW, not to get off-topic, but Longwood Gardens near Philly is doing their Orchid Extravaganza until the end of March. It is thousands of orchids and worth the trip. Picture

[Laticauda]

Check out Trader Joe's as well
Lots of beautiful Phals and easy care intergenerics. I even found a Dendrobium nobile once. (If i already suggested this to you, i apologize)

[WaterWitchin]

Late to the convo as usual. For what it's worth, for orchids I use a potting medium with, I buy Orchiata right off Amazon. I usually buy several different sizes in a large quantity, so with free shipping it's great. I've purchased some really nice pots off repotme.com (clear ones). Phals also do well in S/H, if you do it the right way. Or mounted, but that's kind of time-consuming and doesn't work well without the right setup and conditions.

Also, I do a LOT of growing in clear pots, then just stick them down inside those pretty pots you have. If the pot is too tall, just stick a few rocks in there to bring up height.

The thing that stinks about successfully growing in a beautiful ceramic pot, especially the one with the holes, is that sooner or later you'll need to repot. You'll either get a lot of damage getting it out of the pot, or resort to a hammer to break the pot. Which is okay if you just want to go buy another pretty pot.

PS I understand exactly what you mean about transferring your profession over to your hobby or passion. Unfortunately for the two plants I saw, those are past the point of salvation. No amount of life support is ever gonna improve their QoL. No offense.

PPS I've been to that at Longwood. It's truly amazing.

[Possum-Pie]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

The thing that stinks about successfully growing in a beautiful ceramic pot, especially the one with the holes, is that sooner or later you'll need to repot. You'll either get a lot of damage getting it out of the pot, or resort to a hammer to break the pot. Which is okay if you just want to go buy another pretty pot.



PPS I've been to that at Longwood. It's truly amazing.

I think I will plant in clear plastic pots, dropped down into the ceramic ones. I have a nice large Phalaenopis that is planted that way. A tug on the crown and the whole thing comes out of the decorative pot. Just planting in the Ceramic directly didn't allow me to see the tell-tale signs of root rot until it was too late.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I grow most of my Phals in unglazed terracotta pots. A few have extra holes in the sides, many don't. Oh, and use the smallest pot that will fit the roots.

Also, my potting medium is not expensive. I use Better Gro orchid bark ($5 per 8 quart bag, Lowe's and similar stores), medium is layered in the pot with coarse drainage material in the bottom third of the pot (chunks of styrofoam broken up a little larger than the bark works well), middle third of pot 50% bark, 50 % styrofoam, top third all bark, or bark with chunky charcoal. You can substitute gravel for the styrofoam, similar size, if you prefer a heavier pot (for top heavy plants, I do).


I have zero problems keeping healthy roots. It is all about drainage and water management. I have looked at the Miracle Grow stuff before, not the greatest but sift out the dust with a colander, you could probably use it.

[Possum-Pie]

A quick update:
I emptied all of my pots into a mesh colander and shook the media over a pan. TONS of soil/powdered bark came out. I'm convinced it was the mushy powder that choked them. I took the whole bag and sifted it to only have large bark chunks left. I added some lava rocks to aerate the bottom and will try again. I am sick that I caused the death of almost all my orchids b/c I didn't check the media closely enough. I guess I thought most plants grow in soil, a little can't hurt the orchids. Boy was I wrong!