Simply put, you are doing the right things for your orchids, Elaine. You have hit on a very important point. We kill many more orchids by over-watering than by over-drying. Where is your location?

Wow your phals are beautiful Elaine. In the past I always worried about under-watering, but over watering may have been the reason they died. I've killed at least 3 phals, and I had another orchid that I killed, but I'm not sure which variety it was.

I think learning how to water your orchids is the hardest part of the learning curve, but I see a lot of folks overwatering their other "house plants" too.

So right, Carol. Getting the watering right for each different type of orchid is at least half the battle.

Ken, I am in Sarasota FL. Great conditions for growing orchids outdoors most of the year, but a few cold nights in winter, and a lot of heat and humidity in summer make it still a challenge.

This year it rained a lot, especially for several days when TS Debby was here, then TS Isaac went by with heavy winds and rain as well. I had to move a lot of orchids under the overhangs of the house to keep them from staying too wet.

It's especially true of Phals that too much water and not enough air flow to dry them out between watering is trouble. I travel a lot, and most of my orchids go out to the corner of the yard under the big oak tree for my trips. I have a mist system on a timer, and they get misted every day when I'm away. But not the Phals. I'm never gone more than a week or so, and I just place the Phals where they will get good light and maybe a few drops if it rains but other than that they get no water at all when I'm away. Too little is better for them than too much, for sure.

Here's the rest of my Phal Phamily not in bloom - two of which I've had for 3 years and the variegated one is mounted on a piece of a palm boot.

I've always had a problem overwatering my houseplants, except last year when I wasn't watering them enough.

Cameron, I went nuts and rescued another big Phal from Lowe's death rack this afternoon. Thought you'd be interested to see the rescue/repotting. It was completely crackling dry on the top of the moss that was packed in the pot. It also had a plastic pot inside the nice clay pot you see in the picture. First I carefully removed the plastic pot. Some of the roots were stuck to it, and I did break one off removing the pot, but there are lots more.

Let me say up front that I grabbed this plant because despite the obvious problems, it has pretty nice healthy looking leaves, and a lot of new roots coming out of the moss at the top of the pot, reaching for the air! See the shiny roots with the brownish tips in the pictures? This is a good sign that the plant is fighting for life. Btw, I cut the holes in the side of the pot with a little wheel on the Dremel tool. Can't have too much air flow to the roots!


I pulled handful after handful of moss out, and it got wetter and wetter towards the middle of the lump. Last picture shows the 2 gallons of sphag that was stuffed in the pot. I soaked it to get the last dry bits off the top, then took the naked plant out and hosed it off gently with water that had sat in the hose all day - warmish. Also washed out the nice clay pot, and then brought it in and scrubbed it with soap and a little bleach, just in case of fungal infection. Dusted the damp roots with cinnamon, cut off a few brown ones, and now it's ready to put back into the pot with the crown on a slant, and nice new bark mix to let it's roots breathe. It's dark now, but in the morning I'll take a couple more pics. Nice big healthy plant for less than $4. Can't beat it.

This plant has had a good soaking tonight, so for a week to 10 days all it will get is a light misting of the leaves and aerial roots. Need to let the lower roots dry out and heal up.

I'm so glad you were able to rescue another plant. I can't believe you pulled out the much sphagnum moss. I'm sure the orchid is thanking you for giving it better care. I really wanted to rescue the large orchid I saw on Friday, the one that looked nearly dead. Maybe if its still there I'll rescue it lol. It was in a container with dying bromeliads in moss.

Take a picture of it with your phone and post it here, we'll give you lots of opinions on whether to try to rescue it.

I only rescue the ones that look fairly good, Cameron. If the leaves are shriveled, but still have a little bit of shine, there's a chance it will revive, but if they are dull and dry, and feel hard when you squeeze them, give it a pass. Also look at the roots if you can. If there are fat, white roots or shiny roots coming out the top of the moss, the plant is still trying to survive.

I'll also sometimes gamble on a big plant if they've marked it down to under $5 or so.

On Monday I may stop by to see if its still there. The leaves on it were shriveled but they still had a little shine to them. I didn't see any roots coming out of the moss but I'll check tomorrow. I'll see if the store associates will mark it down even more. They usually do.

Great pictures Elaine!

In my opinion Dendrobiums are easy to grow and divide. I only have one variety of den. and it was given to me as a "dead" plant by a patient 4-5 yrs ago. The variety is not known. I have a rather large "mother" plant, with the longest stem being approximately 32" long and the overall width of the den. plant is approximately 26". There are three flower stalks present and two more were cut off after blooming. This plant has been in bloom for almost two months and will likely be in bloom until January. I have a 1 yr division that has a flowering stalk and two 6 mo divisions that have not yet grown stalks. These were taken from the mother plant.

The first and last pics are of the mother plant. Notice in the first pic the darker green and older stems and flower stalks on the left and the light green stems on the right. In the last pic the older growth/flowers are on the right with newer growth on the left.

The middle pics are the flowers. Perhaps someone can come up with a name for the variety. Remember to click on the pics for best view. Ken

Wow, gorgeous den, Ken.

Thanks, Elaine. If I only knew what it was! Ken