My neighbor's prize orchid got a bad case of root rot

I was helping her repot it in her sunroom when we saw the roots were brown and mushy. She was about to throw the whole plant out, but I told her to cut off all the rotten parts with clean shears and soak the good roots in a 3% hydrogen peroxide mix for ten minutes. We put it in fresh bark mix and it actually started pushing out a new leaf after about a month. Has anyone else saved a plant that looked totally gone?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.xena10d ago

Wait, you just had 3% hydrogen peroxide sitting around? I only ever have the super weak stuff for cuts. Did you have to water it down from a stronger bottle or do they actually sell plant rescue peroxide now? That's the part that blows my mind, I would have had to make a special trip to the store.

olivia47810d ago

Honestly, root rot gets talked about like it's a death sentence but most plants are way tougher than that. I've seen orchids bounce back from way worse just by letting them dry out completely for a week, no fancy peroxide needed. People panic and do too much sometimes, and the plant just needs a break. It's cool it worked, but I bet just cutting the rot and leaving it alone would have done the same thing.