Rescue Orchid Help!

13 years ago

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to an orchid, and was always rather afraid to try my hand at growing one, but this poor little guy was sitting half full of water being crowded by the other dying plants on a clearance (death) rack.... I just couldn't leave him there!

I drained the water and paper toweled off some more of the moisture. The roots in the air seem to be dead, and the flower spike is decidedly only a spike. Should I trim those? The leaves seem to be in pretty good shape, other than a split in the middle of the biggest one where it was between two pots.

Oh! I looked it up and found out that it's a Moth Orchid (I think that if it lives it will have those big white flowers with a bit of yellow in it's throat.)

What can I do to help this plant live??

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

arthurm
13 years ago
Maybe put the plant next to your African violets and do a bit of research by putting Phalaenopsis cultivation or Phalaenopsis growing into google to find some complete cultivation notes, look for some that relate to a similar climate to yours in the USA.

There is a lot of information to be found in past posts, try putting Rescue into the search box at the top of this discussion page.

Good luck with your first orchid.
ifraser25
13 years ago
Hi,
IÂve posted this message several times and it has been to shown to work for orchids that are to all intents and purposes dead, ie. have no live roots. Fortunately most orchids are designed to suffer severe stress and are some of the few plants that can survive total root loss.
First you need to think what caused the rot. The commonest cause in cultivation is a build-up of bacteria/ fungus in the compost due to:- too low temperature/not enough light/ lack of ventilation.
The treatment : - you need to cut away ALL the dead tissue with a sterile knife or scissors, wash the whole plant in a mild chlorine or peroxide solution ( no stronger than you would use for a swimming pool for example), then dry with a not too hot hairdryer and place the plant in a fresh, well ventilated place and leave the wounds to recover for 24 hours. There is no need to treat them with anything else*. You must be ruthless in this procedure, however, and be prepared to cut into live tissue. If you leave any infected or moldy part on the plant it will not survive.
Get a large jamjar or small transparent sealable plastic container or similar, quarter fill it with fine gravel and add 2-5 tablespoons of water, not enough to reach the top of the gravel. Sterilize the whole by microwaving for about 2-3 minutes. Don't let the water boil away. When it has cooled, put your plant inside the container (its ICU) and seal the lid. It should fog up. Make sure it is not in contact with any base water.This may seem a lot of faff, but the aim is to prevent re-infection with fungus/bacteria, which occurs very easily. Some people use sphagnum moss, but unless there are live roots, there's not a lot of point. Keep everything very warm and well lit but out of direct sunlight. In a couple of months ( if you are lucky - your plant is critically ill) you will see new roots forming. Some orchid species recover better than others.
If your plant still has some live roots, cut off those that are dead, as above, dust the wounds lightly with sulphur and wrap the live roots in damp sphagnum moss. Place in a sealed container as above and maintain 100% humidity for at least a month, then replant, preferably not in the medium that was killing it originally and remember my third sentence.

*Some people object to the use of these toxic chemicals, which are designed to eliminate bacteria and mold. If you prefer to omit this step, it is very advisable to thoroughly rinse the plant at least once a week with sterile water. Remember also, once you open the sealed container you will be letting in airborne fungal spores, so you need to do it quick.

Good luck.
Related Discussions
rescued orchid - did i do the right things
Q
Comments (3)
Hi alienbox, Welcome to the addiction! ;-) It does sound like it will make it, especially with such good intentioned care. I would like to add some suggestions to help you out. The light sounds ok, but your Phal would probably be much happier if it were in an East-facing window, if you have one available to you. The problem with a North-facing window is that it doesn't actually get any sun. It may be bright to the naked eye, but your plant may not agree. Forget all that "bright indirect light" crap you read on orchid labels - they're talking to people in Florida. We're in the North (some of us more so than others) and plants need all the light they can get, especially since it's not exactly sunny all the time up here at this time of year. Having said this, if you can move them into more light, do so gradually. Think of it as building a base tan to be able to tolerate more light. You said your plant had not done anything in the time you've had it. All those wild roots that were around it - are they new, do they have green growing tips? That means your plant is happy. First come new roots, then new leaves and then finally flowers. You should also note that these orchids are tropical plants that enjoy warmer temperatures. You'll notice it'll really perk up once the days get longer and your apartment gets warmer. That's likely when you'll start seeing a new leaf. Repotting it was a good idea, but you need to use stuff meant for orchids. The stuff for outside use, which the Mosser stuff sounds like, is treated differently and the size is not quite right for orchids. You can go to any Lowes or HD and buy a bag for less than $10. As tiarella advised, you do need to soak it before you use it. Don't water it again - the reason you need to presoak bark is that the bark has been kiln dried to kill off anything bad. It also repels water in this state, water rolls off of it like off of a duck's back. Pre-soaking and rinsing it a couple of times gives it back its water retentive qualities and gets rid of any dust. I'm kind of concerned about the ceramic pot you're using. Ceramics are glazed not to let any water or air through, and orchids are epiphytes that need air as much as water, as tiarella said. They also rarely have lots of holes in them. Most of us put our plants in plastic pots, then slip them inside a decorative ceramic pot. It makes watering very easy, too. As your plant dries, it will get lighter. This will be really easy to tell if your plant is in a plastic pot rather than a ceramic pot. I've included a culture sheet on Phal's that I think will help too. Best of luck! Julie Here is a link that might be useful: Phalaenopsis Culture Sheet
...See More
Orchid Rescue - HELP!
Q
Comments (1)
Pictures 1 to 3 are of Hardcane Dendrobiums. Picture 4 is of a Phalaenopis. Orchid 1 is in too big a pot and it needs warmth, moderate humidity and good light throughout the whole year to do well. The phalaenopsis needs similar conditions but might get by with slightly less light. The damage on the leaves is either sunburn or cold damage. Seek complete cultivation notes on the net that can be applied to the conditions where you live and the conditions you can provide.
...See More
Advice for orchid rescue
Q
Comments (9)
Not an expert but I've kept the same orchid alive for over 15 years. I just re-pot it about every 3rd year or so. When the 'soil' starts looking mushy. I pick up a bag of orchid potting mix at Lowes, fill the new pot about half full, remove the plant from it's present pot, shake off what will come off and then place it into the new pot. After it has bloomed is a good time to re-pot. Water it real good. I also get one of those plastic clear pot/plates for sitting pots in to catch overflow water. I put a couple layers of marbles in the plastic pot/plate and then sit the orchid pot on top of the marbles. Orchids like to have moisture in the air so I keep the marbles almost (note, NOT covered) covered with water. Sunlight is limited to late afternoon rays. The first 5 years it sat on a North facing window sill and loved it. If you trim off the flower stem it may not flower for a couple of years -- been there, done that-- Only trim if you have to. Brace the stem as it can get top heavy with new buds and break. It will form roots that want to go all over the place. When re-potting just tuck them down into the mix. One time my orchid produced a new plant on the end of a stem instead of a flower. I just pinned it down into a second pot, waited until it got big then cut the cord..... lol Now and then give it a shot of Miracle Grow when you water. Water when the top of the potting material dries out. About once a week. That's my 2 cents.... hope it helps. toolbelt
...See More
Emergency Orchid Rescue- need help
Q
Comments (18)
Im going to have to say that I really appreciate all the help, but geez, the entire orchid community better get a grip and have some commonality. Ive just did a ton or research,watched a ton of video and just to be sure I ask the experts in an orchid forum. They are all different answers. Someone says use bleach, someone freaks out and says no way, use hydrogen peroxide. Lots of videos are using HP for cutting and dead roots. Then that is bad and should never be done and will kill them. I cant win, doesnt matter what I do someone doesnt like it. Well its done. They were all cleaned and cut and sprayed with HP so I guess they all die now. Ill have video and pics up soon. You can all debate then
...See More
natvlegl
13 years ago
I've already written and was just sending my question when Firefox crashed and I do not see that my response to the Rescue suggestions survived the crash. IF it does appear, please overlook this.
1st thanks for such a thorough and simple rescue plan. I will try to follow it for my 6" remaining cutting of a Dillon's vanilla plant. It has a node on each end with the potential for roots. I bought a large piece in January and this is all that remains. A piece about 2' (from which this comes) had survived for a couple months then unexpectedly blackened up from the bottom up. So I've trimmed.
I do have a couple questions: Does rooting hormone help? If so would willow water work? (I have some of it on hand and am about 45 miles from the nearest source of powdered). Also, would aloe vera gel possibly work as a nutrient/healer/antiseptic, etc.???
Any thoughts or experience? I am inserting my ph. no. and direct email but with breaks in them as this is RESCUE Emergency time for this endangered "baby". I will return your call to you to spare you the cost. 402 then 358 then 5204 and the other is nativelegal which is at with the symbol @ and then gpcom.net. Thanks for any experience. OH, also .. since baking soda is a fungus killer, etc. would that work to rinse the baby in perhaps as well as peroxide or better? Joyce Simmerman
terri_andrews
13 years ago
DEFINITELY FOLLOW IFRASR's SUGGESTIONS THOSE ARE PHENOMENAL.

If you are truly an orchid beginner...check out some great free articles on growing orchids at home. A lot of beginners have success using this guide - there is a lot of great content that will help you get started!

Feel free to message me if you have any specific beginner questions :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Caring For Orchids
orchid126
13 years ago
An important note in ifraser25's suggestions is "Keep everything very warm and well lit but out of direct sunlight." Don't keep the plant in the dark. It needs light, as much as you can give it without direct sunlight.

Rescue Orchid Help!

Comments (5)

arthurm

ifraser25

Related Discussions

natvlegl

terri_andrews

orchid126

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US