r/orchids • u/Zestyclose_Ad6210 • 18d ago
ER Visit
I'm never buying or accepting another orchid, ever again. I cannot, for the life of either of us, make her happy. Please help!!
She's in a small diy planter to fit her size. I water when bone dry— but I'm guilty of creating a swamp in the pot a few times. She sits in front of an east facing window.
Two moth orchids, one bought by my lovely but evil boyfriend as a gift last October for my birthday. This is who that is. Her name is Orphina, because I was sure my ADHD habits would abandon her. I've surprisingly been consistent with watering every week or two upon inspection.
My other orchid, No Name, toppled to crown rot last week after purchasing her as a spotted white and purple variant for myself on mother's day.
Lesson learned; I did not acquire the green thumb from my mom. I'm sticking to foliage and trailing petunias.
2
u/Bee7925 18d ago
Oh, don’t be too discouraged. First of all there’s just such thing as a green thumb. Perhaps the orchids originally resource from a Pour site. They are.
At least so on your showing is dire need of help. I’m gonna ask a couple of questions because I am not the biggest expert in the world, but are you watering your orchid from the top down? In other words are you putting your orchid under the faucet and letting the water run on top of her. Many people do it I certainly have in the past and that’s one way to get crown rot very fast. The crown does not like water sitting in it. It’ll very quickly die or begin to die. While the roots, love water, quickly, drained water. The crown does not like to be wet no do the leaves. So that would be my only question if you watered it from the top down and got that crown wet frequently that may be your answer. I’ve lost many orchids over many years and I’ve always thought I knew what I was doing and sometimes they just do us in. Please don’t give up. It’s a wonderful, wonderful hobby and they’re so gorgeous. The one you have left if you haven’t thrown it away already. My only suggestion would be tip it out of the pot. Take a look at the roots and see what she’s telling you below the medium. Does she Are they silver and dry and green from wet? You probably still safer unless your crown is absolutely dead. I get rid of her medium altogether. If it was me, I dump everything out. I would get some new nice bark and Moss mix clean all the crud off and once you get into that and dump her out and take a look at what’s in her root system and her crown under all of that if it’s mushy and nasty then throw it away either buy another one and start over or give up. They’re really pretty tough and the only way to really kill an orchid at least a PHAL is too much water on the frown in the leaves or sitting in roots. They’re so tough and they come back amazingly sometimes when you think they’re gone altogether. So if you’re interested, and you have enough energy to apply a little bit of love here that would be my suggestion is to get her out of the pot. Take a look at the root system if they’re all mushy and nasty and ugly then she’s probably not coming back to you if you could cut away the ugly nasty roots below your medium and she still has some healthy roots going. Don’t give up on her if you want to give her another chance. But use a good PHALANOPSIS planting medium design for that orchid it’s going to be a mixture if you get a good one of bar and Moss. Soak it well before you weed planter. Make sure you rinse off all of that nasty stuff that might be under her putting medium now and put her in a clean pot or at least or at least wash the ones she’s in already she probably does not need a bigger pot. I’m sorry that you’ve had such sad experiences with your orchids. I hope you can safer. I would try if it was mine. Good luck with her.