Thought my orchid was dying because I watered it too much, turns out it was the wrong kind of pot

I have a Phalaenopsis that started dropping flowers and the leaves got all soft and yellow. Kept cutting back on water for two weeks but it got worse. Finally took it to a local nursery in Portland and the guy told me it was in a glazed ceramic pot that held too much moisture. He said orchids need those slotted plastic pots or bark baskets so air gets to the roots. Repotted it three days ago into a clear plastic pot with holes and it already looks perkier. Anybody else find out the hard way that pots matter way more than you think?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_riley19d ago

regular pots are basically death traps" nailed it. I killed a fern the same way before I realized the pot had no drainage. Now I just drill extra holes in everything.

brooke_murray18d ago

Regular pots are basically death traps" feels a little dramatic, no? I mean, yeah, drainage matters, but I've kept orchids alive for years in basic terracotta pots and just watered them less. That whole "clear plastic with holes" thing seems like overkill to me. Half the battle is just not drowning the thing in the first place, not the pot material.

garcia.wren18d ago

Saw a study that said roots need that light exposure to photosynthesize a bit, and it made me reconsider @brooke_murray's take.

blair99019d agoTop Commenter

Yeah I learned that lesson the hard way too. Killed two orchids before I figured out the pot was the problem. Regular pots are basically death traps for them. They need that air flow or the roots just rot out. Your story sounds exactly like what I went through. Glad you caught it in time.