What do I do with an orchid?

[DustyLee123]

I’ve been given an orchid, and don’t know what to do with it.
I’ve seen TikToks where they remove all the soil and keep them in water. I was told by a work colleague not to water it too much.
Now the bottom leaves are going yellow, and it’s got roots sticking out the pot that are going brown.
Help!

They don’t need soil - the bark chips in the pot are just to anchor them in. I water once a week by standing the pot in a bowl of water (with a squirt of orchid feed) for 10 mins then drain. The aerial roots are normal. Keep it on a windowsill so it gets plenty of light. Chop off the flower spike once all the flowers have faded and it will flower again after a while.

I find spraying with orchid food spray helps prolong flowering.

You are probably over watering it. Is it in a clear pot? Water when you can't see any more moisture. If it is Phalaenopsis, they grow on the trunks of other trees in rainforests, so don't need constant water but need humidity around their roots. Most people kill them by too much water rather than too little.

P.S. if the brown roots are squishy, they are rotten and should be cut off.

Ok, so I’ve cut the brown squishy roots off and dunked it.
Theres some green roots growing out of the bottom, so I assume it needs a bigger pot? Or do they prefer to be confined to a smaller pot? And I’ll get some food.
Honestly, it’s another job I don’t need! I know I’m supposed to be grateful, but I’d have preferred nothing over something I’ve now got to care for!

Orchids are v easy and really need minimal care.
as pp says fill pot with warmish water once every 7-10 days and leave for 15 mins or so then drain.
keep out of direct sunlight so a light but not sunny windowsill
cut off flower stalks after flowering complete. They will likely grow another stalk in about 6 months or so
dust leaves now and then ( or run under tap)

Is it still flowering? If so just leave it in position and enjoy it. Maybe water a little once a week/month.

If it has finished flowering and you don't want to keep up, then treat it like cut flowers and bin it.

I find they usually flower annually, if you don't want it hanging around for a year then don't feel obligated to!

https://amzn.eu/d/cY2k1is

you need these. Self watering pots- the plant pot sits in a “skin” so the water drains to the bottom and a cotton thread gradually sucks it into the soil.

been a game changer for my orchids. They flowers regularly and grow really well. I could never keep them alive before.

They need benign neglect. Water by immersion occasionally as described, but mainly leave it alone. Ideally use rainwater.

The other question is where is it?

For some reason people think I “like” orchids and so I have found myself with quite a collection. Some are almost 20 years old. They continue to thrive and flower over the years, with minimal attention.
They have moved house with me several times.
They now sit on a window ledge which is east facing.
I water them, a little, once a week.
I leave them outside in a shady, sheltered spot when I go on holiday for two weeks every summer.
When they stop flowering I stick them in the veranda with the tumble drier until they start to flower again, which they always do.
The cats often do a bit of digging around their pots- perhaps this helps?
Amazing plants.
My record with other house plants is shocking though.

Benign neglect, I water about once a month. East facing window sill if you have one. If you don't then it will be easier to assume it will die off in due course.

Definitely benign neglect and mine are in round vases so the roots gets lots of light. I try and keep them away from direct sunlight.

They truly are a pointless gift.

Put in bathroom window. Leave alone completely.

Phalaenopsis orchids need to be kept in clear pots because they don't grow roots like normal plants do, they have aerial roots which need light. In the wild they grow on tree branches. That's why the roots are green - they photosynthesise - and are grown in orchid bark. The bark is only there to hold the plant in the pot.

Dunk the whole thing in water every so often, and then put it on the draining board so all the water can drain out again.

They truly are a pointless gift.

Not so! Perhaps eccentrically, dd asked for some flowering plants for her 18th birthday so I got 2 orchids. The flowers lasted for about six months, she left them in my care (ie mostly forgotten on her bedroom windowsill) when she went to uni and they've flowered again since.

They’re a great gift! Perfect for many occasions. Much lower maintenance for the current trend of little terrariums.

This is exactly what I do. I don't water it, the steam from the shower is enough. Mine is on its second set of flowers this year.

Basically indirect sunlight and spritz with water every week a bit of water in the roots every so often and thats it.

Yes. It's the only plant I've ever kept alive for any length of time simply because I left it on the bathroom windowsill and ignored it. I'd actually thought it was dying/dead and it came back to life of its own accord.

When you say the roots need light, should I not have the opaque plastic bark filled pot they came in in a traditional decorative plant pot then? Mine are alive - I do the dunk in water and drain once a month - but they don't re-flower.

I'm useless with flowering house plants can keep an orchid going for years but couldn't get them to flower again....I tried a spoon if coffee ground in water and around 3 weeks later they've all started to bud.

jannier to get them to flower depending on the type they like a difference in temperature. I put mine next to the kettle and they started making flower spikes . I then moved it back to the bathroom windowsill

I was given one for my birthday last year (June) and it had instructions that it liked light and not to let the inner pot sit in water inside the decorative pot cover. I give it, say, half a measuring cup of water once a week and drain any excess from the cover after about half a hour. It is on a windowsill.
When it finished flowering I followed the instructions and cut off any brown pieces of stem and carried on with the watering routine.
It now has lots of lovely flowers again!