Question
QUESTION: Hi, I gave allot of thought to the purchase of a beautiful orchid to my partner on her birthday, however what I didn't do is research how to maintain and care for it.

It was put outdoors, receiving full sun , received high wind being on the 3rd floor balcony and was watered 3 times a week. I know what you are going to say, that Full Sun, no no no, In the wind, no no no and overwatered..

After doing some research as my partner said the Orchid dying is a symbol of how the relationship is going I felt absolutely focused and determined to revive the orchid. These were its symptoms: It was infested with ants, and one of the bulbs was hollow, the leaves were sunburnt and yellowing, the roots were brown and soggy, and the bulbs were wrinkled and brown.

This is what I have done so far.
1. removed the hollow bulb
2. removed the bulbs from the old pot, removing most of the dead roots that were soaked and limp, and removing all the old wet potting mix.
3. used 2 50/50 new orchid potting mix and orchid coarse growing media to rived a medium aerated mixture to retain little water and provide air flow, and used a clay pot.
4. replanted the 3 bulbs, exposing the bulbs butnot the roots, have not watered it for 7 days.
5. removed the insect scale by spraying with Yates insect spray which contains 20g/L Petroleum Oil, 0.3g/L Pyrethrins, 1.2g/L Piperonyl Butoxide
6. moved the orchid indoors which now receives indirect soft sunlight and has no wind blowing on the leaves.

The bulbs are still light brown and wrinkled and are very firm. The leaves are still sunburnt but are 90% green with no scale. Two leaves are growing out of one bulb, these leaves are dark yellow, no green at all.

What is your advice from here on.

I couldn't tell you the species of Orchid, however the flowers were a very light pink, almost white with a dark pink center, 4 - 5 flowers per stem. Also there are no stems growing, we are in Autumn/Fall here in Australia and the wet season has not arrived yet.

Your advice please.

Thanks

Dale
ANSWER: Dale, I'm going to assume that you have a dendrobium orchid although the advice would not be much different if it were a Cattleya orchid.  Thank you for the detailed description.  I commend you on the actions you have taken to try to save the plant.

Orchids with pseudobulbs have an active and a resting period.  Repotting is normally done when there is new growth beginning to emerge at the start of the active period.  However, repotting on an emergency basis such as yours will not damage the plant.  You should be sure that your plant is firmly anchored in its pot. A test for that is to be able to grasp the plant and pick it up without having it come out of its pot.  This is accomplished by compacting the potting mix between the plant and the pot by pushing down using a potting stick.  You can also use rhizome clips which clamp on the top edge of the pot and hold the plant in place.  Bamboo sticks that are firmly anchored in the mix and tied to each pseudobulb can be also be used to anchor the plant.  The plant should be tight in its pot and not be able to "wiggle".  It will do little good to water the plant at this time except to prevent dessication which can be accomplished by misting the first half of the day.  You can resume watering at the first sign of new growth.  As with watering, the plant cannot use bright light now that it is not growing.  When it starts new growth grsdually increase light levels as you start watering.  Lots of air movement in bright light helps to cool the leaves and probably is why you didn't suffer more leaf burn than you did.  At the same time, with more air movement, you need the watering and humidity to prevent conditions in the potting mix from becoming too dry. Your fresh potting mix with coarser particles will help to protect against future root rot from overwatering. Once new growth starts, dappled light from a tree would be ok if you want to place it outside.  You will need to be vigilant about the possible return of scale.  Also, the same applies to light levels, your plant should have enough light so that when you place your hand between the plant and its light source, you can see a distinct shadow cast upon the leaves.  Ultimately, a well grown plant will have leaves that are a light green in color.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Also, I forget to ask when I removed most of the brown soggy dead roots, all I removed was the sheath, the outer sleeve as it was easy to pull off the underlying thin root. Should I have removed the entire root? I didn't as there was hardly any solid firm roots at all and I thought If i remove all the roots that the orchid would die.

Thanks again

Dale
ANSWER: That's fine Dale.  The root hairs will not decompose.  The sheath serves a very useful function and when it is dead it should be removed. The root hairs can help to anchor the plant in the potting mix.  Hopefully, you still have a few firm,healthy roots to help the plant get reestablished.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again, just a couple more questions.
1.When and how much should I water the orchid that was repotted 2 weeks ago now and has not been watered since?

2.How often should I water the Orchid and how much?
3.Can I send you some images of the Orchid and its current state, as it is starting to get more yellow each day, and perhaps you may be able to "See" whats going on.

Thanks again,

Dale

Answer
Yes, I would like to see any imaqes you can send.  I don't think this web site is designed for pictures so you can E-mail them to me at [email protected].  Since you have a coarse mix, I think you can resume watering twice per week and mist it in between waterings.  Be sure to mist or water only in the morning except when it is over 90 degrees F and then the misting can also serve to cool the plant.  When temps drop below 70 degrees F during the day you should cut the watering to once per week but you can continue to mist in the morning whenever you are able.  When watering, flush water through the potting mix (maybe about a gallon per watering).