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Are your orchids dying back, refusing to flower, or developing yellow, wrinkled, or mushy leaves and you’re not sure why? Although these symptoms look different to the eye, they may be caused by the same common mistake that plant parents often make when growing orchids.

In this guide, a plant pro reveals the number one worst thing for orchids that often causes these plants to fail, and offers expert tips to help orchids grow and bloom better.

Meet the Expert

Rebecca Finneran is the Grand Ideas Garden director and a retired senior horticultural educator from Michigan State University.

The Worst Thing You Can Do to Your Orchid

The number one reason why orchids struggle in homes is due to watering stress.

“The most common mistake growers make is not overwatering, but watering incorrectly,” says horticulturalist Rebecca Finneran.

This includes overwatering, underwatering, watering plants in the wrong way, or simply growing orchids in poorly draining pots or substrate.

The good thing is you can prevent most orchid watering problems, and help overwatered and underwatered plants recover faster by understanding orchid growing needs and avoiding a few common watering pitfalls.

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5 Things You Should Avoid Doing to Your Orchid

In the wild, orchids grow as epiphytes and cling to trees using their aerial roots. This unique root structure helps orchids absorb water quickly, but it also make orchids more vulnerable to overwatering and watering stress.

This is why it’s so important to water orchids with a careful touch and to avoid these five potential issues when watering.

Overwatering

Any plant can develop root rot if it sits in soggy soil too long, but orchids are particularly susceptible to overwatering; their roots can rot and turn mushy, slimy, black, or string-like if they aren’t allowed to breathe.

To avoid this issue, make sure to grow orchids in well-draining pots, and water them just once every 1 to 2 weeks when the substrate starts to feel dry.

Use Clean Water

You may want to water with rainwater or distilled water if your tap water contains a lot of chemicals or salts.

Underwatering

Orchids with root rot often develop yellow or mushy leaves as the rot progress, but underwatering can affect orchids too.

“Think about where orchids come from: the rainforest,” Finneran says. “When their leaves are not firm or look like raisins, the plants need a good soak.”

Running water through orchid pots should ensure your plants are deeply watered, or you can bottom water your plants.

“Take the orchid pot and submerge only the root ball for 1 to 2 hours in a bowl or pan. This allows the fleshy roots to absorb water and will help them immensely,” Finneran says. “I soak all my orchids for one hour a week.”

Watering Into the Bud

Make sure that you don't water directly into the depression in the center of newly emerging leaves, also known as the orchid "bud."

“If you get water into the ‘bud,’ the orchid will rot,” says Finneran.

When watering, do your best to direct the flow of water onto the orchid’s aerial roots and let the water run, low and slow, over the plant’s substrate until the water runs through the pot’s drainage holes.

Watering With Ice Cubes

Plant labels and viral orchid care videos often recommend watering orchids with ice cubes, but Finneran warns against this practice too.

“Imagine if you were a tropical plant having ice-cold water on your roots,” says Finneran.

That just doesn’t make sense. Instead, use room temperature water when watering orchids, which is less likely to shock their delicate roots.

Not Repotting

Even if you water orchids correctly, these plants can develop root rot if you keep them in their original store-bought pots; these pots are often lacking in drainage holes and are commonly filled with a dense floral foam or moss-based substrate that keeps orchid roots far too wet.

Repotting orchids as soon as you bring them home into pots with drainage holes and bark-based orchid substrate is a quick and easy way to ward against rot and prevent overwatering in the future.