Watering too extensively is one of the most common mistakes when caring for orchids. If the exotic flowers are too wet, root rot is inevitable. You can find out here which strategy you can use to save the floral care situation.
How do you save an orchid that is too wet?
If your orchid is too wet, save it by removing it from the pot, removing rotten roots, repotting it in fresh substrate and cutting off excess stems. Avoid watering for 8 to 10 days and instead mist the plant with soft water every 2 to 3 days.
How to identify possible rescue options
To properly assess the chances of survival of your orchid that is too wet, pot up the problem child. As long as at least 1 or 2 silvery-green aerial roots appear, the effort of a rescue operation is worth it. The chances of a successful outcome are significantly increased if 1 leaf, 1 pseudobulb or 1 shoot is presented in lush green. An orchid is actually only dead when it has no green plant parts in either the root system or the herbaceous area.
Repot an orchid that is too wet as soon as possible – this is how it works
Once you have explored the possible chances of survival of your wet orchid, the plant should be repotted immediately into fresh, dry substrate. How to do it correctly:
- Remove the wet substrate and cut off any rotten root strands with a disinfected knife
- In the new culture pot, fill a 2 cm high layer of expanded clay (€19.00 on Amazon) above the water drain as drainage
- Pour some special substrate for orchids on top to position the cut root ball in the middle
Now fill in the remaining substrate piece by piece, occasionally opening the pot so that the pieces of bark are distributed without gaps. For the next 8 to 10 days, do not water or submerge the orchid if it is too wet. The plant should only be sprayed with soft water every 2 to 3 days.
Cut off unnecessary stems
If there is still a flower shoot or pseudobulb on the plant, please cut it off. As a result, the orchid focuses on growing roots and leaves.
Tip
Charcoal powder is ideal for cheaply and effectively disinfecting cuts on sensitive orchids. To do this, place a piece of charcoal in a mortar and grind it into a fine powder. If exposed plant tissue is pollinated with it after pruning, pests and pathogens have no chance.
