Newbie and already overwatered my orchid I think :-(

[Saraperry03]

I bought two orchids last week in the local garden centre. The man there told me to water them once a week from the bottom ?!? Which I already thought was very weird as I have not heard of that before, but as he said it (a person working in a garden centre that looks after plants) I just took his word for it.
I watered the plant as he said and eversince yesterday I have a feeling I did the worst thing I could have possible done... the soil feels way to moist and the tiny roots are all turning brown... I have attached some pictures and now of course I want to save my orchid... can I do this ?!? And if so... how... I really don´t want this to be a lost project... please can anyone help ?!?
Also does anyone know what this orchid is ?!? Thanks a million...

[mothorchid]

It is dendrobium. The potting medium looks very dark and wet. You could take the plant out and replace with drier medium.

[Saraperry03]

By medium, I presume you mean the soil it is in ?!? Sorry I have only just started an interest in Orchids and am not aware of the proper terms of everything. Do you think the roots still look ok ?!? Thank you for your help.

[krpot]

Yes, it seems to be in something a little too water-retentive. This makes sense especially if the person at the center said it would wick up water from the bottom; if it's in bark/something more free draining it shouldn't do that. The only way to know if the roots are okay is to take them out of the pot. They should be thick and green/green tipped. If they're squishy or mushy those are dead roots. Here's a link about your orchid http://aos.org/images/img_content/PD...ium_novice.pdf. I'd replace it with orchid bark mix to make it more simple, you can find this at most garden centers and lowe's. You soak it for at least a day before potting. I hope this helps a little.

[mothorchid]

The roots look okay. ( as long as they are not mushy and black). Yes, I mean "the soil" it is in. ( Stores usually use Fir Bark for orchid potting medium but not soil. You need to use anything that drain water well. Soil absorbs too much water. Generally, water retention goes by the following order:Sphag > Coconut husk > fine bark > medium bark > large bark > inorganic rock/gravel/clay)
If I were you, I will either get new orchid potting medium or dry out the bark and re-pot the plant. I am a newbie also and I am sure you will get lots of help here soon.

[krpot]

Sorry, I didn't take a very god look at your photos. Yeah, the media looks like it's broken down (compacted and fallen apart not letting enough air flow in and holding too much water) too much. I would take a close look at the roots, chop off the dead ones and put it in something less water retentive like mothorchid said ^^.

[Saraperry03]

Everything is close today, but I will go and buy some medium tomorrow... hopefully they will have it here ( I live on an island where that sort of stuff might not be available.) In case they don´t... in order to dry out the bark, I just get all the medium away from it and let it dry ?!? Where do I put it on, or shall I leave it with bark in the pot ?!? Thanks for all your help...

[Saraperry03]

I have actually moved it to my office now where sun shines in all day long... but not directly on the plant... hopefully this will help dry out the medium...

[mothorchid]

you could even put the medium in the oven at a low temp. to dry out.
I would not put the bare roots plant under sun. If you could not pot it today. you could put it in a bag with some wet Sphag ( or tissue...) loosely covered the roots.

[Saraperry03]

Originally Posted by mothorchid

you could even put the medium in the oven at a low temp. to dry out.
I would not put the bare roots plant under sun. If you could not pot it today. you could put it in a bag with some wet Sphag ( or tissue...) loosely covered the roots.

So I would get all the medium of the roots (perhaps dry them in the over for a short while to dry out), and then put a bag over the roots and seal off or over the whole plant (It is quite a high spike though) ?

And as for putting the sphag (or tissue) over the roots... if it is already too wet, is it ok then to cover the roots with wet tissue ?!?

Thank you...

[syndywindy]

You are making this a bit harder than it has to be. You have from the looks of the pictures a phal type dendrobium. Whatever the medium is in the pot looks severely broken down and the orchid needs repotting. There are some commercial brand orchid mediums out there that would be fine for your purposes. If however you can find a mix with good chunky pieces of bark, that would be ideal. Before repotting, whatever you end up purchasing, soak it first so it retains moisture better for future waterings.
I have never heard of anyone putting old medium in an oven to dry it out. It's old I wouldn't reuse it, I'd repot in new. That goes for the orchid also!
Dendrobium roots typically are small thin and numerous so unless there are a lot of brown mushy ones, I'd leave it be. From what I can see they look fine.
Use a pot that is slightly bigger than the root mass, this will allow for future growth.
This type of dendrobium can handle and needs a good amount of light as well as watering. With mine right now in winter, I am watering every 4 days, summertime when they are outside almost daily.
Here is a link to the AOS culture sheet for dendrobiums. just know it is a general guide, dendrobium is a very diverse group of orchids and it's not one size fits all for these. Any questions, ask, we are here to help you.
Dendrobium Culture Sheet

[mothorchid]

Bag the root not the whole plant. you want some moisture in the bag so the roots won't dry out. Put the whole plant in shady area until you could repot it.

[mothorchid]

syndywindy has a very good point, if the medium is old don't use them. Only if you still have good quality bark, you could dry them and resue them. I am glad someone with more experience is helping you now.....The culture sheet is very useful!!

[FLBob]

First - it's almost impossible to "overwater" in just a week.
Second - any bark mix will look dark and broken down when wet, especially in a low resolution photo. Broken down bark will appear more like soil, what I see in the photo are chunks.

The plant in the photo looks well grown and is obviously well bloomed. Radical measures are not necessary.

Air movement around your plant will help them dry out faster. I grow similar dens in very bright light and water well once a week.

[Saraperry03]

Originally Posted by syndywindy

Before repotting, whatever you end up purchasing, soak it first so it retains moisture better for future waterings.
Dendrobium Culture Sheet

I am presumming you mean the medium right... that you need to soak. How long do you let it soak and do you leave it then for some time or do you pot the plant in it right after soaking ?!? Sorry all these questions seem so stupid but this is all new for me... and I really want to make this work... :-) Thanks to everyone for their help...