this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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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!

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[–] pishadoot 3 points 5 days ago

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