Orchid in LECA Advice
As a back story, I got my first orchid for my birthday a few months ago, and that launched me into a hyper-fixation. I have tons of houseplants but have never tried orchids since I knew they were a bit finicky. I asked my husband for a new orchid for Mother’s Day. He talked this up as a pretty rare one he found online since it was pretty expensive, and he had it delivered for $100+. When it arrived, it was a bit underwhelming. I’m pretty sure he was bamboozled since my googling shows this to be a pretty common variety and they are currently available at the grocery store or Home Depot for much less. No big deal, I still think it’s beautiful and my objective was just to start building my collection so this perfect!
It arrived in a pot with no drainage, covered in moss, and the instructions said “splash with water once a week” which I knew to be an insufficient method of care since I’d just been down a rabbit hole learning to keep my first one alive. I pulled the moss back, and there were two small containers with a ton of styrofoam to hold them in place, covered by 3 inches of moss. The moss had mold on it and some of the roots are black and mushy.
I’m going to try repotting them in some LECA in a net pot I had on hand! Any tips or tricks for growing orchids in LECA is appreciated!