Don't over-water your orchid

4 months ago, I received my first orchid as a hostess gift. I'd never owned an orchid, and my indoor gardening has been pared down drastically over the years. I had the impression that orchids were difficult to sustain.

This "Just Add Ice" orchid came with instructions to water with an ice cube every 3 days. The blooms were gorgeous and the plant bloomed for a couple of months. After 2 months, the blooms started dropping off so I moved the plant to a steamy bathroom with filtered light. Every three days or longer, I added an "ice cube's worth" of water.

In my 4th month of ownership, the leaves were starting to yellow and the stems had faint, black spots. A bit late, I finally consulted the orchid website.

On the website, I learned that the plant was double containered. At any point I could have pulled the plastic inner planter out and checked on moisture at the roots. Now as I did that, water gushed out of the pot, and there was a faint odor of decay.

I'm in the process of drying out the plant, and will blog further on its survival.

My mistake was over watering and not reading the website. I've always thought one learns more from mistakes than from success so we'll chalk this up to my education.

January 12, 2013 Update
The orchid has dried out nicely. I removed another yellow leaf (have only lost 2 leaves total), and cut off the dried-up stems. When I pulled the inner container out, the roots looked dry so I added a small amount of water. I may save it yet!

January 19, 2013 Update
The orchid is still holding up nicely. I pulled the inner container out, and found standing water. I better leave the outer container off so I can keep an eye on the moisture level. The roots look crowded and the potting medium is very porous. I plan to research and determine if re-potting is recommended.

March 29,2013 Update
New leaves and a stem are sprouting. A recovery is definitely underway!
May 26, 2014
The plant is still healthy and growing although I haven't been able to get a flower.