To ask what the hell I do with this flower?

[endlessummervibes]

It was a gift. It's very pretty and Google tells me it's an orchid? I'm no good with indoor flowers. Took it out of the plastic container to put it in a pot and thought it would lift straight out. It didn't...it was in bark and it's tipped over onto the carpet 4 times now the roots are just loose! Can I save it?!

It is an orchid. If you still have the bark/soil that fell out, put it back in. They do like weird bark/soil mixture. Others with better advice will be on soon but do not overwater it. They like a humid atmosphere and don't seem to like direct sunlight. I have only managed to keep one alive for over a year. All the others gave up long before!

They usually live in trees attached to the bark. Just wet the roots every few weeks.

They live in the pot it arrived in. They need light around their roots. So shake it off, pop it back in, then trickle the bark back in around the roots.

Ice cube every week will be enough water

Mine likes a north facing window, I potted it into a square glass vase. I’ve heard people say to give it an ice cube every week- it slowly releases the water. I just give mine a slosh every now and then.

They have some air roots too that are meant to be out/on soil surface.

Once a week put the whole thing in the sink and fill the fancy outside pot with water to the top. Leave for 30 minutes and then drain all the water out. Use a sieve because the bark it’s planted will float out, so you need to put it back into the pot. They need to be in a clear or opaque outer pot because they rely on sunlight to produce a bacteria that they need. Do not cut off any aerial roots.

It’s a nice orchid and would have been expensive. Do you still have the plastic pot and soil that fell out? Reassemble if you can as it will need more soil than you have left. If not you can buy some potting mix and ideally a ceramic pot at a suitable shop but if you are not a plant person you might not want to be bothered. Maybe offer it to a plant loving friend? Not as a gift but as a rescue mission.

By some miracle I’ve kept one alive for 18 months. The instructions were to sit the pot in water for 10 minutes every 2 weeks. This has worked well for me.
my friend puts hers in water overnight every 3 weeks. That’s my extent of orchid knowledge ☺️

You can buy orchid bark in garden centres do get some more of that and refill the pot.

Thry need to be in the clear pot for the light.

Mine are happy on a north facing window (my kitchen.) I give mine a drink of rain water every couple of weeks.

When the roots are silver it needs water. You can sit it in water for half an hour and the roots will go green. Dont feel like you need to constantly water it. They like the bark as it gives them some air around the roots, dont plant in soil.

Thank you! I have the plastic container still but it's difficult to force it back in and distribute the bark to how it was? I wish to god I had left it in there! Does it need to stay in the plastic pot then be put inside another? Not sure i can get to a garden centre to buy specialist bark. I already need to buy an exterior pot for it to go in as have nothing (other than the measuring jug it's in 😂)

I don't do plants, I am no good at house plants as they just die.
BUT I was unexpectedly left with 4 orchid plants 5 years ago, they were like green sticks, no flowers apparently had never flowered.
I put them in my south facing, humid porch window and for the past 4 and a half years all of them have been in flower 24/7 365 days of the year I have no idea how!
I use a shot glass and each gets 2 shots every Sunday, I use tepid tap water as I have seen them on trees in tropical countries and the rain water is never cold haha.

Yes it needs to go in the orchid pot, you can buy these pots in garden centres as well, they are clear and need drainage holes in the bottom.

If you want to put it into a 2nd pot that needs to be white but it doesn’t necessarily need the second pot iyswim.

Yep you should have left it alone!

No gift should be that needy - I'd bin it now, it's going to end up there any way.

When's your next bin collection? - maybe say a few words in grateful thanks as you dump it send it on it's merry way to a better life...🙄

My orchids seem to do well, as long as I mostly to ignore them. Give a wee bit of water occasionally.