New orchids arrived cold & looking sick!

[arleneg]

I ordered a couple of mini-Catts from a nursery in So. Carolina last week. Well, they were delivered earlier this evening, and to my surprise, both have wilted new growths, buds turned brown, and a few leaves were starting to turn brown. Can both be saved?? If so, how?

I plan on calling the nursery tomorrow morning and ask for an exchange or refund. However, I'm somewhat hesitant to call...just don't like going thru the refund or exchange process. Plus, it was my fault for not checking for a faster shipping method.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think the nursery or the shipping company are at fault. The plant should have been marked parishable on the outside of the container, and the shipper should not have let the box be exsposed to the point of freezing, which is what it looks like to me. Definitely send the picture to the nursery. They look quite hopeless, frozen from the bottom up.

[arleneg]

The box does have "LIVE ORCHID PLANTS: PROTECT FROM HEAT AND COLD" on it. It seems that the shipper may be at fault. If these are hopeless, I'll ask the nursery to ship a replacement...hopefully, of the same exact types (fingers crossed here). One of them I just fell in love with and just have to have it.

[jerrymeola]

I do not see how they could possible gotten so cold in California. I have had me Cats go to 28 degrees last winter and did not have this much damage.

In any event, certainly contact the shipper. If it was one of my shipments I would quickly replace the plants.

To try to save them cut off all the damaged sections, even down to the rhizome. Feel the bulbs for the next week and cut off anything soft.

The plant will go into shock and it may be months before it begins to grow again.

that's a long commute for any plant especially orchids,at this time of year the results are unpredictable,( so carolina to nw central california? right?) jmo i try to order a little closer to home and rarely order anything during the winter months. last week the temp fell to the teens in pa. now temps are up again.

[SwTLaDYy16]

wow...this is the reason why i'm hesitant to order orchids online....

[flaorchidfan]

they may also had a layover in the midwest somewhere such as st. louis or chicago just like people not getting a direct flight. it was real cold the last few weeks in the midwest.

[arleneg]

Rena, this is the first time I've had this happen. The other orchids I've ordered online arrived just fine. Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't opt for a faster shipping method which I usually do. I guess, I was so distracted when I placed my last order that I forgot to request it.

Andrew, the nursery will be monitoring the weather this time around before shipping the orchids out. So I'm hoping that the replacements will arrive in better condition than the last.

[Daniel S. Barrett]

This time of year, with the Christmas rush on some shippers like USPS & UPS will have their shipping terminals so full that they will leave trucks parked in the cold for hours waiting to unload, sometimes over night, many times packages sit on the docks too, without heat. after the 1st five days of December, it's bad to ship anything. live.