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Post by olihlt on Mar 15, 2016 22:29:49 GMT -5
Greetings! Four years ago we received an orchid as a gift. You know, the $15 kind from the grocery store. The last blossom was seen one year after that. But the plant remained healthy and strong (at least to my noob eye), until about three months ago, when a steady decline was apparent. Below I have a few pictures showing the current condition of the plant, what fertilizer (always used with the dilution as per instructions) and what growing medium I use. What I would kindly ask of you, please, would be the following: Can the orchid's life be saved? If yes, what do I need to do? Do I have the correct pot/medium/fertilizer? 50% of my gratitude up front, 50% when I get some fine advice. :-)
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Post by lloyd on Mar 16, 2016 5:12:51 GMT -5
You can save it but because they are so cheap, it's not "worth" it unless you want to do it as a challenge.
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Post by olihlt on Mar 16, 2016 8:05:23 GMT -5
That is in fact my main motivation. I'm the kind of person that would do CPR on a plant and yell "come on! Breathe! BREATHE!", just to see if it would start coughing.
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Post by lloyd on Mar 16, 2016 10:40:19 GMT -5
I had success with this method. Trim all roots that are shriveled or brown. Pot in a mixture of cedar bark, perlite and charcoal. Not too much perlite, as you want it really well aerated. Put it in the medium so the healthy roots or the whole non-green "rooty" part is covered with medium so the plant will be supported. Water with rain water by soaking the pot and then draining off all excess water. Repeat once a week or maybe more often if the medium is really dry. Very bright daylight but almost no direct sun (even through glass). Room temp and humidity. You will know it is healthy when plump, green aerial roots form. Fertilize lightly monthly after this. If these roots start to shrivel, repeat the process above, usually yearly. Watch for scale.
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Post by olihlt on Mar 16, 2016 15:18:47 GMT -5
Thanks Lloyd! Do I need to get some special charcoal for that purpose?
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Post by lloyd on Mar 16, 2016 15:44:24 GMT -5
If you can find activated charcoal, use some.
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Post by olihlt on Mar 16, 2016 21:26:43 GMT -5
So, I've done everything as described, to the best of my ability. In the picture the pot is currently soaking. Thank you again, here are the other 50% gratitude. Would you like updates on milestones or rather not?
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Post by lloyd on Mar 16, 2016 22:09:59 GMT -5
The water should soak the medium and then be drained out after no longer than a minute. Don't let the plant sit in water or it will rot.
Updates are OK.
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