this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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I'm not an expert but I have five orchids in the house and they're all doing really well, so I just be doing something right - one of them was in worse shape than yours when I got it six months ago, and it's about to bloom for the first time very soon :D
All that to say, caveat this advice with the fact that the watering method/frequency might not be 100% optimal. All the products I use are listed at the end of this post.
All my orchids are potted in orchid bark, with the slitted plastic orchid pots inside of beauty pots.
I use a water bottle and thoroughly spray every orchid once a day, generally in the mornings. I use enough water to start saturating the roots (you can tell when they start to change color from white ish to a darker color). I also make sure to get the potting medium nice and wet, but not so saturated that the pot drains freely, and I want it to be dry 24 hours later so it doesn't mold. It's usually about 25-30 pumps per orchid. I have tried ice cubes in the past but I really don't like that method - very difficult to get water on all the roots.
Once weekly I do the same application method but I use a probiotic&fertilizer spray that I mix instead. I follow the quantum orchid probiotic directions to mix one gallon of liquid, and add about 1/4 teaspoon of better-gro orchid better-bloom (instead of the normal mix ratio that's 1 teaspoon per gallon, because I apply it 4x a month instead of 1x a month as the fertilizer directions state. You can use probiotic daily if you want and it won't hurt the orchids but you can definitely over-fertilize).
Trim the dead/dying parts, get it into some good fresh potting medium, and water regularly. Good chance it'll come back, but it'll look dormant for a while. If you see new leaves start to grow you're in business! Good luck.
Potting medium: https://www.ebstone.org/product/orchid-bark-fine-med/ Pots (something like this): https://www.repotme.com/collections/slotted-orchid-pot Spray bottles: https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B096LN2NBH Probiotic: https://www.repotme.com/products/quantum-orchid Fertilizer: https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B004Z8OL12