From our perspective, the most telling signs of your care regimen manifest in our root systems, hidden within the potting medium. When you overwater us, the environment becomes perpetually saturated. Our roots, which require periods of aeration between drinks, begin to suffocate and rot. You will notice this if you inspect us; healthy roots are firm and typically silvery-green when dry, turning green after watering. Overwatered, rotting roots become soft, brown, or black, and may feel mushy to the touch. They often emit a foul, decaying odor. In contrast, underwatering forces us into a state of drought survival. Our roots become extremely dry, hard, and brittle. They may shrivel, turn a pale gray or white, and lack any flexibility. While they are desiccated, they are not initially rotten.
Our leaves are the broad canvases that display our overall health. The hydration imbalance writes a very different story on them. In an overwatered state, our leaves often become soft, limp, and floppy. They may appear dark green and feel cool or cold to the touch due to the excess moisture. In advanced cases, they develop water-soaked, blister-like lesions (oedema) and may even turn yellow and drop off, starting with the lower, older leaves. Conversely, an underwatered orchid communicates its thirst through wrinkled, pleated, and leathery leaves. The leaves lose their turgor pressure, becoming limp and dehydrated, but they retain a leathery texture rather than a soft, mushy one. They often take on a yellowish or greyish-green hue and will not show signs of blisters or oedema.
Our reproductive efforts are highly sensitive to stress from improper watering. Both extremes can lead to bud blast (where buds dry up and fall off before opening) and premature flower drop. However, the context is key. Overwatering-induced bud drop is often coupled with other signs of root rot and systemic failure. The plant is essentially dying from the roots up, aborting its energy-intensive flowering process. Underwatering causes bud blast because we simply lack the necessary water pressure (turgor) to develop and sustain these delicate structures. We must conserve our limited water for essential survival functions, sacrificing our blooms first.
While not a part of us, the potting medium is our entire world and its condition is a direct reflection of your actions. An overwatered orchid will sit in a medium that is consistently soggy, wet to the touch, and may have a musty or rotten smell. Algae or mold might be visible on the surface. The pot itself will feel heavy. For an underwatered orchid, the medium will be extremely dry and hard, often pulling away from the edges of the pot. It will feel bone-dry to the touch and the pot will be noticeably very light when lifted.
