Aaargh! How could have I been so careless! My poor orchid!

[orchidaddict789]

I'm usually very careful with my orchids (really!!!), with the exception of today. I did something .

Well, I put this decorative ceramic pot outside the boring plastic one that holds my miltonidium. Makes it look so much better. So today it was thirsty and I just filled the ceramic pot with water and dunked the orchid in (as usual--this is my regular way of watering). Guess what? I left the poor orchid to drown in there for 4 hours! Aaarrggghhh! I've been very busy today and I just forgot that orchid and left it in its bathtub for 4 whole hours!

By the time I discovered it my poor orchid is completely soaked. It has excellent roots, and I don't want to ruin them! Now it's out and I put a paper towel under it so it can soak up some extra water.

I still feel .

Anyway, is it all right to soak an orchid for 4 hours? I don't want to kill it or give it root rot. Will it be hurt? I bet my mtdm is mad at me right now.

[LJA]

LOL!

It's not mad at all, Lily. That didn't do any damage whatsoever, so you're in the clear.

[orchidaddict789]

It's not mad at all, Lily. That didn't do any damage whatsoever, so you're in the clear.

Thanks, LJA !

Phew! *sigh of relief*
I've never soaked any orchid for so long... ...that little "mistake" just scared me a bit.

[OrchidTraci]

I did the same thing yesterday, but was left all day. OOOPPPS! I soaked it in superthrive, and I hope I didn't overkill. They were some dens someone sent to me because they were just going to throw them away. There are actually keikis forming on it, maybe it will speed up the roots on the keiki's. Or I'll get really deformed flowers. I don't think your plant will be harmed from it though.

[orchidaddict789]

Y'all are right !

My milt got over being angry, and now is thanking me. You know why? I fattened up its pbulbs. (They used to have slight creases on them. No big deal, though. I never planned to soak it for 4 hours, but obviously that did the trick.)

Sometimes things that seem bad may have a bright side to it...

[Orchidzrule]

Hi Lily,


Sounds to me like you're already feeling better. What you did is not likely to result in root rot. Root rot is usually the result of never allowing a plant's roots to get sufficient oxygen--this happens if you keep the medium waterlogged all the time. Plants can handle the occasional incident like yours today without any ill effects.

Cheers,

Rob

[Anna]

Before I have read that the orchids should be put into water for like 5-10 minutes I used to put them there till like 1 hour. Of course, before that I've heard it should be one hour. I hope the last info is the correct one.
Anna

[orchid-man]

Anna
Just had a read of the above posts and all seems OK.We all have our own therories ,but in general the advice is correct.

[Jmoney]

to flush out the salts properly, you water once, wait an hour, and then water copiously with fresh water. you might do this once every 3 weeks to 2 months, depending how how "hard" the local water is and how much you fertilize.

[Anna]

I fertilize once every 2 weeks. I water my orchids every 4-5 days with dead water, I mean I put them into the dead water and let them in it for like 10 minutes. I have never asked how hard our water is but I guess quite hard as we live in a block of flats. Should I water them also from the upper side with spraying? I've heard sometimes it's not good.
Anna