Problem with orchid delivery or is it just my inexperience?
 

All, I need some words of advice. I received my first orchid order from a very reputable vendor today. According to the USPS status, the plants were boxed, shipped, and delivered, and the entire process took less than 24 hours.

I'm not sure what mail delivered orchids are supposed to look like, but I didn't expect this. So, can you take a look at these pictures and let me know if you see any problems?

There are two orchids pictured here. The greener one has beautiful roots, but as you can see, the leaves are nearly all bent/broken or torn.

The darker one holds its shape a little more, but so many of its roots look dead. I haven't soaked them yet because it's late, but I will first thing tomorrow. I'll take better pics then, too.

Thoughts?

Well I am also fairly inexperienced so definitely wait for others to weigh in before doing anything BUT! Your title caught my eye! Your exact question has been the hardest thing within the orchid world! It's my nightmare! I hate bringing up issues to begin with but will, if I KNOW it's unacceptable....the problem is, knowing what is and isn't acceptable or expected! Then, when ordering from an "A list" vendor, I would think you would hold higher standards or expectations then a more questionable vendor....Which just makes it a little harder to figure all of this out!

Anyways! From the experience I do have...I can say, that is NOT at all what I would expect! I think I would do exactly what you did and post on here if I received that....

Side note: many sellers have some sort of time limit that you can bring up shipping issues within! Most still seem to request that you bring up problems ASAP...like within a day and pictures are always good to send! I would just double check and make sure their terms don't include a time limit that you can mention shipping issues within so you can contact them before then if needed!

It's a little hard to tell if the orchid in the first photo has all its lower leaves broken or if they are all just extremely floppy/limp...It looks like they are just very limp and from how dry/slightly desiccated the roots look, I would suspect due to dehydration! I know some growers prefer to ship the plant with less moisture during cold temps but I wouldn't THINK they would be in that condition after a couple of days....they are bare rooted but still...then again I am no expert and I haven't even jumped into the Vanda type orchids yet so definitely wait for others they can give you a definitive answer but I can not see that being ok....they don't even look cared for....the dead spike that was never trimmed, the other, darker orchid in the third picture looks quite dirty too...

I personally would not be pleased....When you unpacked the orchids were the broken off pieces of leaves in the bottom of the box where maybe The damage just happened in transit or were there no broken off leaves like they chose that plant in that condition to send to you??

I personally haven't even started into the Vanda Alliance so I can't be positive but all my orchids have come VERY carefully packaged and I have never received an orchid in that condition!

FYI, there is a "vendor feedback" page to post on! It took me forever to find and I wish I had found it sooner!! You just have to scroll down through the forums towards the bottom past the alliances! Very helpful to look through and get recommendations!

Some Vandas have leaves that fold back like that naturally. Both plants look OK to me unless the folded-back ones are really broken and loose.

I noticed you didn't mention the names of the plants. Was that intentional? It seems like that information might help guide our answers.

The plant with darker leaves looks healthy to me. There may not be any active root tips, but that doesn't mean it's not healthy. It's winter in the northern hemisphere. Roots may not be active outside of tropical/subtropical areas. I can clearly see lots of living roots, despite the photo quality, so I think that plant is fine. If the roots weren't healthy, it seems unlikely the foliage would be in such great shape.

The other one is a bit iffy. There is certainly a lot of variation in foliage within the group of orchids most closely related to Vandas. Since many "Vandas" aren't actually Vandas but instead Vanda alliance intergeneric hybrids, having a name might help here. That being said, the plant's foliage does look suspicious, and not necessarily a result of being a hybrid with one of the genera/species that have a natural disposition to that sort of foliage orientation/shape. If you're saying some of those leaves are outright broken (again hard for me to tell due to photo quality), then you should bring it up with the vendor. It could be an honest mistake. It could be something that happened in shipping.

Leaving out the names was intentional as it would immediately identify the vendor, and I really don't want to send out negative vibes if there is nothing wrong or if it can be easily corrected. I included the names in this post since it may help.

I watered them all this morning, and the roots turned green (not all of them, but enough, I think).

I did take better pictures. Take a second look?

The pics were taken about an hour after I watered thoroughly.

The first 2 pics (V. tessellata x V. longitepala) are of a plant not pictured originally. It looks pretty healthy to me, and other than shredded root tips, I'm not worried.

The next three (Vanda ampullacea x V. christenson) are the small darker plant. It has dark green with reddish/purple tinge to leaves. they are a little floopy and loose where they meet the stem, but they at least can stand up. It has a lot of dead roots, but a couple of nice live ones.

The last three pics (V. testacea) are the one with bent, floppy leaves. They are what concern me the most. They seem weak and creased where they meet the stem. Looks like I will lose at least two of them that are torn at stem. It has a ton of beautiful roots, but the center roots are almost all goners. Not a cause for concern with the mass of healthy ones, Right? (V. testacea)

I value any and all feedback.

I think those are healthy plants. I never cut Vanda roots because it's so hard to tell which are really dead.

Based on that, I think they're all reasonably healthy and no significant concerns.

The floppy leaves on the V. testacea was the only thing that might've been a concern, but honestly, V. testacea sometimes just looks like that. I double checked and did and image search for that species and you can see numerous examples of big, happy healthy blooming plants in cultivation and seemingly in the wild that exhibit this trait.

The only thing that might be concerning is the black spot. Not because it looks like an active infection or anything, but typically I'd expect pristine or near pristine leaves from plants coming from a nursery. If I'm buying from another hobbyist, it would be no big deal at all, since leaf imperfections are pretty common in home grown stuff.

So, I can see why you'd be concerned, but I think you're good to go with happy, healthy plants I'd be glad to own (if I had the right conditions).

Thanks so much, everyone! You've eased my mind greatly. What a great learning experience!

Now, I just need to figure out how I want to grow them.....

To me they look like they are likely recent imports--as I see that you are in Florida, they likely came in conjunction with the Tamiami show. If that's the case, having both bought and imported orchids in the past, it's pretty common for them to be banged up. Keep them well watered, humid and give them some TLC; they should bounce back great.
Just my $0.02
AP

Thanks! Any chance, do you think, that those floppy vanda leave will ever stand up again?

Ahhh! They are the experts!!!!!!! Trust them! And they do look MUCH better in the new photos!

I too am wondering if the floppy leaves are just due to the type of plant and that's just regular or if you guys think they will perk back up???

Also! Do Vandas stems/base (where the roots grow) always look so dried and worn????

---------- Post added at 10:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ----------

And how long are those roots really!?!????? So guys, when you have roots SO long, how do you keep them from becoming desiccated if they won't stay/fit in the basket?? Are you left constantly spraying the roots non stop, everyday???

Don't feel bad Kilmiquix! I too wasn't too sure from the first photos! I probably would have been a little concerned too! It's amazing how many differences there are between orchid alliances! Very educational for me too so thank you for that!!

The one with the black spot looks like prior sunburn to me. I have one that sunburned badly when I moved it and thought it would be a bit shadier than it turned out. Whoops. Since mine was a freebie, I just whacked off the offending leaves (which was about half the plant) and moved forward. It's doing fine. (yes, Emma, they can look that way... especially if ya chop off a bunch of leaves.) :)

Frankly I have no business raising a Vanda with my climate/culture. But it appears to be at least surviving anyway.

Not that I'm suggesting you do this, but with time either the new leaves won't look like they've survived a tornado, or it's just the nature of the particular plant. MrRotter seems to suggest that from his search. If after time you don't like the look, just pay it forward and make a note.

Huh! So strange!! I don't know...I guess that makes sense...just like a Phal, their stem will just continue to grow!

Some Vandas always have reflexed leaves like that.

Condition is pretty common for recent imports.

The 'floppy' leaves are not going to straighten out, but they are still live and contributing to plant growth.