Here’s my original post on Feddit.org, a german instance: https://photon.slrpnk.net/post/17757233

I still made quite some effort to translate it manually for you.

I bought two phalaenopsis orchids about two months ago.

A pink, and a gold one.

First the pink one. I got it from a discounter, and… well it already looked like shit when I bought it. The roots were pretty much all dead.

Now, it recovered, and even put out its’ first flower spike!

It still looks a bit dehydrated/ leathery, but otherwise it’s in a stable condition and recovers very well.

The other one is from a proper garden center, AND IT LOOKED EVEN WORSE!

Not only were the roots completely mush, but it also had a new buddy in its sleeve, I call him “worm buddy”, my new pet.

Now, it looks like this:

It grew new flower pods and already started to bloom! How awesome is that?

On top of that, I showed the pictures a worker in the shop I bought it, and they were so embarrassed, that they gave me a voucher for a new plant, because they called it “inrecoverable”. So I got this Oncidium orchid additionally for free:

This post is just a small reminder that plants can be very tolerant to anything, and with some luck and experience, you can save them.

  • Guenther_Amanita 🍄@slrpnk.netOP
    1·
    2 days ago

    You can’t just use LECA straight as a 1:1 replacement for soil (or bark in your case).

    Right now, I’ve made a introduction guide for example that, but sadly only in German yet. You can try to read it by translating it automatically via your browser, maybe it works.

    https://photon.slrpnk.net/post/slrpnk.net/17681128

    In that post I also explain what fertilizer I use.

    TL;DR: Wash and soak your LECA first after arrivial, and use orchid fertilizer at 1/2 strength or so. But proper hydro fertiliser should be better.