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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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My Orchid that is
I have a couple (4) of indoor plants. Generally they do quite well. I have a spider plant, doing well, an Easter Cactus, also doing well, a plant in the bathroom also doing well, and an Orchid, which I though was doing well. I’m a bit crap when it comes to watering.
The Orchid has a new stem coming up with buds on it and I noticed the entire plant was loose in the pot so in my wisdom I decided to take it out & repot it. OMG! all of the earth at the bottom of the pot is soaking wet, so removed most of it before replacing with earth from the bag I have. The roots on the plant were so long and looked rotten - so I cut them  just most of the ends, still a lot of the roots left, repotted it building it up on one side to support it, took off the shrunken woody stems from the last lot of flowers. Put the support stick next to the new stem to support that and it’s all potted up now….
Any keen gardeners here who can aye or nay to what I’ve just done? It was a present from a friend when my mum died, in 2018. |
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Use a good quality orchid compost when repotting as it has slow release nutrients in it.
Leave it in the same place if it's happy but stop watering it.
I soak mine in a pot of boiled water that's left to cool for 24 hours once a month. They live in the bathroom so it's high humidity anyway.  |
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I've had quite a few last for a good many years (I'm not a gardener of any sort) but I found that they like a little water and lots of dry spells which encourages growth.
No direct sunlight but lots of indirect light as well as a very loose soil/bark combination.
Oldest one is now about 15 years old and they will recover from trauma with patient care as it can take a while.
Best of luck x |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I've had quite a few last for a good many years (I'm not a gardener of any sort) but I found that they like a little water and lots of dry spells which encourages growth.
No direct sunlight but lots of indirect light as well as a very loose soil/bark combination.
Oldest one is now about 15 years old and they will recover from trauma with patient care as it can take a while.
Best of luck x"
That’s good with infrequent watering & dry spells as it certainly gets that with me  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Use a good quality orchid compost when repotting as it has slow release nutrients in it.
Leave it in the same place if it's happy but stop watering it.
I soak mine in a pot of boiled water that's left to cool for 24 hours once a month. They live in the bathroom so it's high humidity anyway. "
Ok I didn’t know that about the soil, it’s just bog standard potting stuff I have, although I do have orchid feeder drops I add to a litre of water, but as I’ve got arthritis in my finger joints I can’t open the bottle
Definitely not going to water it for a while
Thanks |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
"My Orchid that is
I have a couple (4) of indoor plants. Generally they do quite well. I have a spider plant, doing well, an Easter Cactus, also doing well, a plant in the bathroom also doing well, and an Orchid, which I though was doing well. I’m a bit crap when it comes to watering.
The Orchid has a new stem coming up with buds on it and I noticed the entire plant was loose in the pot so in my wisdom I decided to take it out & repot it. OMG! all of the earth at the bottom of the pot is soaking wet, so removed most of it before replacing with earth from the bag I have. The roots on the plant were so long and looked rotten - so I cut them just most of the ends, still a lot of the roots left, repotted it building it up on one side to support it, took off the shrunken woody stems from the last lot of flowers. Put the support stick next to the new stem to support that and it’s all potted up now….
Any keen gardeners here who can aye or nay to what I’ve just done? It was a present from a friend when my mum died, in 2018. "
I used to grow orchids for entry into the local village flower show! It sounds like you've done the best you can for it. They are hardier than they look, but do need a little aeration around the roots. I always used perlite in the soil, about a 10/90 ratio to soil. If you have room, put it in the bathroom, with good light but not direct sunlight for a few days. Heavy watering isn't a problem as long as you give it some drying out periods too. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
|
"My Orchid that is
I have a couple (4) of indoor plants. Generally they do quite well. I have a spider plant, doing well, an Easter Cactus, also doing well, a plant in the bathroom also doing well, and an Orchid, which I though was doing well. I’m a bit crap when it comes to watering.
The Orchid has a new stem coming up with buds on it and I noticed the entire plant was loose in the pot so in my wisdom I decided to take it out & repot it. OMG! all of the earth at the bottom of the pot is soaking wet, so removed most of it before replacing with earth from the bag I have. The roots on the plant were so long and looked rotten - so I cut them just most of the ends, still a lot of the roots left, repotted it building it up on one side to support it, took off the shrunken woody stems from the last lot of flowers. Put the support stick next to the new stem to support that and it’s all potted up now….
Any keen gardeners here who can aye or nay to what I’ve just done? It was a present from a friend when my mum died, in 2018.
I used to grow orchids for entry into the local village flower show! It sounds like you've done the best you can for it. They are hardier than they look, but do need a little aeration around the roots. I always used perlite in the soil, about a 10/90 ratio to soil. If you have room, put it in the bathroom, with good light but not direct sunlight for a few days. Heavy watering isn't a problem as long as you give it some drying out periods too."
Orchid is in the kitchen not in direct sunlight, my bathroom has a plant in there already as that didn’t do well in the kitchen. There are times I don’t water them for ages but I now think because I found so much compost at the bottom which was thoroughly soaking it never got a chance to dry out completely but I won’t water it now for a couple weeks see how it goes.
Can I ask what Perlite is? Thanks |
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