My Orchids Made it Back From the Dead!
In January 2018 I had these beautiful thriving orchids that we needed to transport from West Virginia to New Mexico. It was cold, and we knew that there was a good possibility that I might lose one or all of them. Our road trip was long and it was freezing in the car where they were packed up. I worried about them the whole trip.
After a few weeks of watching them slowly wither, the leaves becoming the color of asparagus when it’s cooked too much, I thought I would lose them all. The only thing left was their root system. No leaves, the crown on each orchid…dead.
Yet, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t throw them in the garbage. There were two small orchids that died, crown and roots, but three of my others still had juicy roots. I put them in a water culture and would
fertilize them once a week. After a few months, the first one got it’s first leaf back. Then the second one, and finally the third.
Never give up hope on you orchids! They can survive.
I’m hoping next year to put them in a good orchid growing medium again. For now, I’m just going to continue to baby them.
They’re still in their leafing phase, but I’m hopeful they will send up their first flower spikes after rising from the dead.
I need good names for these three little flower warriors! They’re underdogs and badass orchids.
Maybe a good Viking name for each of them would be appropriate.
I prune off a little more dead material each month. As you can see in the photos the original dead crown is still present, but I just pick at it ever so delicately.
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