Pray for me, I finally gathered enough courage to repot my orchids.
It's important to note that due to ADHD, I am usually fucking terrible at keeping anything other than a cactus alive when it comes to houseplants.
Almost four years ago my mom got two little mini orchids and left them in my kitchen (at our old apartment), saying she'd take them home once they stopped blooming or started doing poorly. Maybe it was knowing their lives didn't actually depend on me, maybe it's fucking magic, but either way, those suckers THRIVED. (And survived moving with us!)
All I had for knowledge about orchids was some miscellaneous facts and one five minute special on This Old House that I saw one time. They just kept growing and blooming, to the point they have been blooming a minimum of four times a year. Oh, and we're not talking just one or two flowers, oh no. One time it was eight flowers, and almost never less than four.
But then Chaos decided to start watering them without checking with me first and he almost killed both of them this spring. And on top of that, they outgrew their pots a long time ago, but I was chickenshit about attempting to repot them and kept putting it off.
One of them was doing extra bad, to the point it stopped blooming. I discovered that one had some root rot because of how packed the moss was in its pot. The other one has been blooming for a month, and apparently was growing out of really old garden foam instead of moss, which explains why its roots were in better shape, as it had better drainage.
I also repotted the little plants I propagated last year, because they weren't happy sharing a pot with the baby spider plant anymore. Other than my orchids, all my plants in my kitchen are technically pirated? I found a broken piece of a Tradescantia on the floor of Aldi two years ago, pocketed it, brought it home and rooted it. It grew, and then I was in a trader joe's six months later and they had a slightly different variety, so I sorta pinched off a bit and brought it home to root it.
Then last year they had a bunch of neglected plants there again, there were talks of workers planning to strike... And I came home with three little "cuttings" in my pocket, and no regrets. They rooted, but didn't like the cold of winter so they didn't really start growing until it warmed up this spring.
The shit lighting this time of day doesn't do my Tradescantias justice, as they are actually really vibrant.
The biggest tip I have for keeping orchids happy is to use rice water. Doesn't have to be every time you water them, just now and then.
Honestly most plants freaking love rice water, so I typically fill a pitcher with it when I'm washing the rice in my rice cooker pot before cooking it. Orchids also like humidity and air movement, which is partially why mine stay in the kitchen (it's also in the sun for most of the afternoon).
Anyways, please send my orchids all the good vibes you can, because I've grown emotionally attached to them now, like a parent who swears they don't want anything to do with the pet their kid brought home... 🥲
