Revive your orchids in 11 simple steps

Orchids are exquisite and equally delicate. These beautiful plants comprise over 30,000 species and over 200,000 hybrid varieties - that makes them one of the largest plant families in the world. Orchids can be grown both indoors and outdoors, but growing them requires time, patience, and lots of dedication.

We have outlined a few facts that could help you in understanding these plants better and make a few tweaks that could help you in determining how to keep your orchids healthy so that they do not need any “reviving.” Read about growing orchids indoors.

Below are the facts for caring orchids:

Fact 1 – Orchids are susceptible to rotting: Most of the Orchid varieties wither away due to Crown Rot. If not taken care, damaged orchid tissues develop necrosis that leads to plant death. Necrosis is the cause of morphological distresses orchids face.

Fact 2 – Orchids need more than regular garden soil: Most of the Orchid varieties are epiphytes, i.e., they feed off of the nutrients from precipitation and moisture in the air while growing upon another plant. Hence, when potting your orchids, use bark chips instead of any regular soil media. This mimics Orchid's natural growing environment and the moisture retained by the soil medium might be detrimental to the orchid.

Fact 3 – Orchids hate hyperhydration: Over-watering reduces the photosynthetic ability of the orchid roots and causes it to wither away due to crown rot. Thus, drain off excess water from the container in which you have planted the Orchids. Wipe off extra droplets off the orchid leaves to avoid mold spots. Read about 20 essential tips on watering houseplants.

Now that you know ways to keep Orchids healthy and happy, let’s look at 11 simple ways of reviving them.

Things you need to revive the orchids:

• Clay or plastic container with drainage holes
• Bark chips
• Hydrogen Peroxide (3% solution)
• Water
• Tissue Papers
• Rubber Hand- gloves
• Hand pruners or secateurs
• Water Spray bottle
• Decorative container

Follow these 11 simple steps to revive the Orchids:

1. Use rubber gloves to prevent splinters or insects from harming you.
2. Slowly remove the orchid from its old pot and include some soil from the old pot. Be very careful and do not break any of the functioning roots of the plant.
3. Clean the roots and remove inert materials.
4. Gently wash the roots under the running water. The water will reveal the colors of the roots. The root color will help you judge the root health. The crisp and green roots are the good ones while the yellow or brown ones are distressed. Do not cut away the white but crisp roots; the white color is due to less exposure to light as they have been buried too deep.
5. Tap the washed roots with paper towels and shed off excess water.
6. With hand pruners sever the terrible roots and get set for reporting.
7. With Pine tree, bark chips prepare the new medium. As Pine bark chips are nutrient-rich, you would need minimal synthetic fertilizers.
8. With a spray bottle, mist the roots with hydrogen peroxide. This solution will disinfect the roots, kill snails and any other unwanted organisms that may impede the Orchid’s growth.
9. Place the orchid halfway inside the new container, making sure that the roots closest to the leaves hang out of the pot.
10. Slowly pour the substrate towards the bottom of the pot and cover the long roots. Do not pack the container with the material, as it will hamper the ventilation.
11. Place the repotted orchid in a location where it will receive ample of indirect sunlight.

Are you aware of any other ways of reviving orchids? If yes, do not forget to share in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you!