A maybe dead orchid. Half the stems are green. Some of the leaves are dark green. We're aren't sure if we can save her but we don't want to throw her out, if there's a chance. Any help appreciated!
this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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Definitely not dead yet! Just snip those stalks down. If you decide to remove the dead leaf (probably for the best) don’t tear it off but remove it as close to the base as possible. I’d recommend scissors for trimming, I had my best luck by ensuring the cuts would be single and clean, even on dead leaves. That will leave some little stumps behind from the stalks, but after a while they’ll die and it’ll be easy to pull them out with a little wiggling.
Mhm! The bad leaf popped off without issue for my wife. I snipped the stalks down. Hopefully she can recover... The plant, I mean. Not my wife. We both don't have green thumbs but really want to.
Thank you for the advice!
Absolutely! I found my love for orchids by accident, without realizing what I signed up for lol I was actually surprised at how resilient they were in spite of my mistakes. I’d often get multiple blooms a year though!
My general rules of thumb that kept my 2 grocery store orchids going for almost 3y was to keep watering low (I did ~1-2 tablespoons once a week), prune stalks after the flowers die (don’t rush this since can die before the rest grow in), and use cloth/canvas pots that can breathe.