Curled in leaves

[iwillard]

Here's my story!

I went away for 3 1/2 days to check out couple of properties down in SC and left my orchids in the care of a possible caretaker who will occupy our guest house in exchange for taking care of my cats,dogs and orchids when me and DH decides to go away for few days.
I left all the written instructions,went over the details with him then just closed my eyes and walked out. Came back to see half of the mounted orchids with leaves curled in with rock hard moss pads. Spend the whole days yesterday soaking them in coconut and RO water. My beautiful,lush kolopakingii bottom leaves had turned sickly yellow,upper ones were linp. After treatment,they seems to get enough hydration to perk up but I can see the green color is departing at the tips.

I'm not a crying type of a gal unless I lose a cat or a dog of mine but this incident made me cry my eyes out. I don't know what the overall loss would be but this young fellow will never,ever get anywhere near my animals or orchids again. He is young,his mama said!, the response I wanted to give was 'yes,young and dumb".

He left the greenhouse shut up for all 3 days,never bothered to turn on the misting system and the only response he gave me was,they all looked green to me!

I am grateful that it was my DH who was looking after the fluffies.

 

[Candace]

They will hopefully survive the rough treatment. At least you know he's not trustworthy and can't follow simple requests:< Yikes.

 

[NYEric]

That sucks. You should have asked a nice neighbor or near-by orchid friend. I used to water for another orchid person. I hope I did a decent job.

 

[Chicago Chad]

Hey Inci- sorry for the situation. I owe you a Dendrobium (or two )so let me know if there is anything that doesn't make it.

 

[SlipperFan]

That would be so disheartening, Inci. I really hope the orchids come back to their former lusciousness under your care.

 

[ALToronto]

I hope you can find someone reliable! Honestly, I wouldn't trust my plants or pets to a young man unless he had plants and pets of his own that he was looking after. Maybe consider a fellow member of your local orchid society, or at least a garden club?

 

[iwillard]

Eric and Al,

I wish I knew someone nearby who is into orchids,I have looked at all options and our local garden club has 2 types of members,those who take pride in their gardens because they can afford team of landscapers working around the clock and those who work hard to make their yards look good.
I live in an area where everyone's idea of orchid is what you buy at a hardware stores or walmart (ice cube crowd).

"Every cloud has a silver lining" is quite applicable to this situation,I could have trusted him with my animals where they are my number one priority,everything else is secondary and can be replaced as I tell my DH when he gets ornery..

Chad,

You are kind with your offer,thank you! I am hopeful to bring them back into their old selves since I have witnessed how tough they can be,as in,threw away a Stanhopea reichenbachiana into compost bin after it's death. After many weeks I decide to dump more dead flowers and I saw the darn thing with 4 new growths. Of course I retrieved it immediately and potted up,back to growing it again.
Ditto for my Den.bellatulum. Giving enough time and conditions,they really don't want to die.

Dot,

It is disheartening and loads of extra work. OTOH,I may have found the right home down south. Spanish mosses hanging in every tree,plenty of acreage for my over sized retired livestock guardian dogs and a great spot for a new greenhouse. Unlike PA's EPA rules and regulations attached to building a free standing greenhouse,all is needed is a local building permit if the property is located in a subdivision and this place is not. :clap:

 

[kellyincville]

the right home down south.

Yay SC! DH and I have a place in Charleston and we love exploring the state.

 

[SlipperKing]

Let me guess; DH stands for damn oops, I mean Darn Husband, right? At least that's what it means in Texas.

 

[Ozpaph]

Sorry to hear that.
I would suggest you automate the watering and misting system so if you go away it (almost) takes care of itself. That's what I did as I find my teen children are not the most reliable. You can go back to manual control on your return.

 

[kellyincville]

Let me guess; DH stands for damn oops, I mean Darn Husband, right? At least that's what it means in Texas.

Dear or damn depending on when you ask!

 

[chrismende]

The going away vs watering has kept me home much of the past four years! I finally hired someone really knowledgeable to water and went away with a calm spirit. It worked out well!