Does your moth orchid, or Phalaenopsis, have droopy leaves (and maybe even wrinkled leaves) and you're not sure what's causing it? And you don't know how to fix it?
Keep reading because I will tell you the various causes of of this issue and the 1 thing that you can do to fix the situation!
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Droopy and wrinkled orchid leaves are cause by 1 critical fault in culture. And that is watering!
Table of Contents
Causes of Droopy Orchid Leaves
In plain and simple terms, the cause of the majority of all droopy and wrinkly orchid leaves is improper moisture levels for your plant.
To complicate matters, this can happen if your Phalaenopsis orchid is kept too dry AND also when it is kept too wet! And this can vary quite dramatically depending on the potting media that you are using. Bark mix will dry out much more quickly than sphagnum moss, for example.
So, how do you know the difference? The solution is below.
Keeping Your Orchid Too Dry - Underwatering
The answer is quite simple. If your orchid's bark mix or sphagnum moss is kept too dry for long periods of time, it will become dehydrated and the lower leaves will be the first ones to suffer.
Keep this up even longer, and the whole plant will eventually droop. Your dehydrated orchid will first start to show limp leaves. Then your orchid's leaves will wrinkle, and then finally, you will start to have yellow leaves at the base of the plant.
Phalaenopsis orchids do not like to go completely dry, especially for extended periods of time. This is also one of the main reasons for orchid bud blast.
Keeping Your Orchid Too Wet - Overwatering
On the other hand, if you keep your orchid's potting medium wet for too long, it will suffer root rot.
Once the orchid roots start rotting out, it can't take up water through its roots anymore, and thus you are also dehydrating your plant and it will result in droopy, wrinkled leaves!
It makes senses if you think about it this way, right?
Too Dry or Too Wet?
I'll tell you exactly what I'd like you to do when you notice that your orchid leaves are limp and wrinkled.
I'd like you to feel your potting medium. Whether it is bark or sphagnum moss. Stick your finger in the pot.
Is it bone dry? Or is it wet? Remember, keeping your orchid too dry for too long OR too wet for too long will cause the same issue.
If you already know what you did as far as keeping it too dry or too wet, great! If not, I'd like you to look at the roots. If you can, take the plant out of its pot and inspect the roots.
OR, if you use clear plastic pots (which I LOVE for orchids), look through the pot and inspect the roots. I buy mine on Amazon.
3 freshly repotted orchids. I used clear pots so I am able to see the roots.
I love them because you can clearly see the root health of your orchid and also help you determine if anything unusual is going on. The health of your orchid's root system is one of the most important things you should be keeping an eye on.
If your roots inside the pot are a bit wrinkled, shriveled and dry themselves, this means that you have kept your orchid way too dry.
I'm not just talking about the aerial roots...I'm talking about the roots inside the pot. Aerial roots will need special attention because these can easily dehydrate if you don't water those too.
You can still have an orchid whose roots are rotting inside the pot, but has dehydrated aerial roots if you never water those aerial roots. So don't get the two confused! There is a difference! I will tell you how to properly water an orchid later.
If, on the other hand, your roots are brown and mushy, and pull away easily from the plant, then your plant has stayed too wet for too long.
Healthy roots should be plump, firm to the touch, and usually a silvery gray color when they are dry, and turn greenish when wet.
Next, let me talk about what you can do to revive your droopy, wilted orchid and then I'll get into causes of why your plant stayed either too dry or too wet for too long.
If you want to learn all about how to get your orchid to rebloom reliably and have healthy, thriving moth orchid plants, don't miss my signature, online orchid care course, Become an Orchid Master. It also includes bonuses with support from me, personally, to guide you in your orchid journey!
Reviving Your Orchid
How to Properly Water an Orchid
If you've determined that your orchid has stayed too dry, the "treatment" is simple! You're going to have to UP your watering game when it comes to fixing your limp orchid leaves.
You can water in one of two ways:
Take your plant to the sink. Using tepid water, thoroughly soak ALL of the potting medium for a good 15-30 seconds. You can not add too much water because the excess will drain away through the drainage holes. Don't forget to wet the aerial roots too. Make sure dislodge any water that is stuck between leaves in order to avoid root rot.
The second method is to let your plant soak. Set your potted orchid inside another pot, or even a bucket, with no drainage hole. Add water until water reaches the rim of the pot. Allow your plant to soak for 15-30 minutes. Discard the excess water.
If your orchid is extremely dehydrated, you will want to choose the second method to water, but leave the plant soaking for a few hours or even overnight.
And don't worry, this will not rot your plant out! If you do this, discard all the excess water.
You may need to do this every time you water until your orchid is healthy again.
For the orchid below, that I rehabilitated for a friend, it only had two full sized leaves when I received it and they were droopy and leathery.
This plant was extremely dehydrated and I used method 2 for watering.
After some intensive care and time, it grew new leaves, which are nice and firm and upright and is even flowering now!
The lower leaves, although they still stayed in a lower position, are not wrinkly anymore and the plant is healthy.
What about if your orchid has been kept too wet and most of its root system has rotten out?
Reviving an Overwatered Orchid
If your plant's root system is mostly rotted out, you will need to clean up your orchid's roots and repot your orchid. Cut off any of the rotten roots before repotting. Severe root loss is one of the most common reasons for droopy foliage.
It will likely need to be placed in a smaller pot. If it is in a smaller pot already (such as a 3.5" or 4" pot), you can keep it in the same sized pot.
Lastly, I'd like to finish off with some common causes of why your orchid stayed either too wet or too dry.
Causes for Dry Orchids
Perhaps you're not watering thoroughly enough. Or worse yet, you are watering with ice cubes! I feel so strongly about this that I wrote a blog post on why you should not use ice cubes to water orchids.
You repotted your orchid but didn't pre-soak the bark mix in water to condition the bark mix.
You may have used bark chunks that are way too big for your plant. Or perhaps didn't pack the mix in properly and left numerous gaps in the potting mix.
Your bark mix may have disintegrated and washed away and your pot is mostly just roots. It is hard to keep an orchid in this condition hydrated.
Lastly, you might just have kept your potting medium dry for much too long in between watering sessions.
And many times, it is a combination of the above factors!
Also consider the amount of light. Too much bright light can also cause your potting medium to dry out too quickly. You want the right amount of light for the plant to be healthy and bloom, but you can have too much light. They don't need to be in direct sun all day inside (in fact, it can even cause foliage burn).
Your orchid will do well right in front of a window that has only indirect light, but my favorite place to grow these plants is in front of a Eastern facing window where they will get gentle, direct sunlight in the morning. This is enough light to keep them very happy.
Causes for Overwatered Orchids
If your orchid stayed too wet and rotted out, the causes can be many:
You perhaps let your plant sit in water for extended periods of time (days or weeks). Orchids can NOT tolerate this.
Your bark mix may have broken down and the medium is staying wet for longer. Orchids need to be repotted every so often!
If your plant is growing in sphagnum moss and you are on a "once a week" watering schedule, your plant can potentially stay too wet. Use your finger to tell you when to water, not the calendar!
Orchids growing in sphagnum moss can go a lot longer without water compared to those growing in a bark mix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can wrinkled orchid leaves recover?
Up to a certain point, yes they can recover! But only with consistent, proper care. Assuming your leaves are still green, with proper attention to watering (and patiences and time) your leaves can recover. With consistent attention to moisture levels, your orchid plant may also start to grow new roots at the base of the plant.
But it will take a while. Orchids respond more slowly compared to other plants, but with a watchful eye, you can get there.
If you're starting to lose leaves, check out my blog post on orchid leaves falling off so you can determine what is happening and how to prevent it.
Should I cut off wrinkled orchid leaves?
To best way to approach this is to only cut them off if they have fully yellowed. Moth orchids typically only grow one or two new leaves per year, so leave the old leaves on if they're green (even if they're still droopy).
Confused on whether your new growth is a root or flower spike? Be sure not to miss my root or flower spike post where I visually show the difference so that you can easily distinguish between them!
If you'd like a concise, down-to-earth, quick-read guide on growing moth orchids, check out my best selling eBook, Moth Orchid Mastery.
In less than an hour, you will have all the information that you need to grow orchids successfully!
Thanks so much for this watering guide!!! I have an orchid that has wrinkled leaves and did just soak it. My question is how quickly do I soak or water again? I know I can look at the roots but was wondering if there is a general guideline? I do live in a drier climate, in Flagstaff AZ. Appreciate any advice
Hi Gina! If you live in a drier climate, you can probably easily do this twice a week probably. Take a look at the roots. You will know if they start to shrivel that they need more hydration. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Hi. I'm in NZ. I've had my orchid for about 15 months & it's on it's 4th flowering I think so I presume it's in the right spot. I realised recently the pot it was in didn't have holes & it was sitting in water so I repoyted it with new bark & cut holes in it. Now the leaves have gone limp & after reading your article had a look & see it's very dehydrated. I'm just soaking it in water up to the base of the leaves in a bucket overnight. I just noticed there are no aerial roots anymore so they've either shrivelled up or I buried them when reptting. Does it matter there's no aerial roots & should I put it back in a pot with no holes? The reason I put holes in the pot in the first place was I noticed the leaves were going limp & yellow &, having a decent look inside, thought it was waterlogged. I don't have much luck with plants - they seem to die on me generally from overwaterring but this orchid gad been doing really well given the number of flowerings. The flowers on it now haven't opened up & look limp - too dry I presume. Any advice please on how to get it back into good condition? Many thanks Sonya
Hi Sonya. Do you have pictures that you can share? It would help to see photos. For orchids in bark mix, I would recommend a very thorough watering once a week, but if your orchid has lost a lot of roots, it will need more pampering. If you can send me photos and more details of what happened, I will try and help! I will email you and you can attach the photos.
Thanks so much for the very informative article. I learned a lot. I have an orchid, from Costo, in an "orchid pot" that has holes along the side. Does this mean it will dry out quicker, and that I have to water more often? Also, should I be "misting" my orchid? Thanks again.
Yes, the holes on the side of the pot means that there is more air flow so the medium will dry out more quickly. You can mist the plant and especially any exposed aerial roots. It would definitely be beneficial for orchids. Just be careful that water doesn't accumulate in the crown (the middle) of the plant where the leaves emerge from, in order to avoid rotting.
Hi April! Please use the contact form on my website and included details of your care and what the issue is, and when I reply, you can attach some photos.
I have 4 questions, please if you can help me. A friend had given me this beautiful double-spiked blooming orchid after both of my parents had passed away in 2019, and it just finally rebloomed this year (2021) a few months ago!!
This is I think the third month that my beautiful Phalaenopsis' one single spike has been in a BIG bloom. The lower leaves are however, all drooping, and now I'm thinking after reading that I've overwatered her. So question #1 is: How long is TOO long to wait to water? (It's been a week she's still too wet.)
2) Should I take her out of the white glass pot (she's actually growing in a smaller clear plastic pot that sits inside the white glass pot) in order to let the clear plastic pot to dry out? Or keep her plastic pot in the white glass pot?
3) After I had taken her out of the glass pot to examine her roots (they were really wet), I noticed little Springtails crawling around at the bottom of the white glass pot. Periodically I've seen them on the windowsill. Do you know how I can kill them without killing my beautiful plant daughter?
4) All other orchids I've ever had have unfortunately slipped away into orchid heaven. :(( I'd love to keep this one alive. In fact I wonder, how long do they live? This one is 3 ft. tall and I wonder if she'll keep growing?
Thanks so much for any input. I sure appreciate it.
Hi Trish. First off, I'm sorry to hear about your parents :-(. What is your plant growing in? Is it in sphagnum moss or a bark mix? Once I know this, I can make a more specific recommendation. What kind of light is it receiving and where exactly do you have your plant located? It is perfectly OK to leave it slipped into a decorative container. Has it been sitting in water at all? How are you watering it? Having enough light will be really important in allowing the plant to dry out more quickly. The springtails won't harm your plant, and if you can allow your plant to dry out more, you should see less of them.
My orchid is very droopy. I followed the steps to repot, and clean out root rot. It keeps turning yellow. It was too wet. The leaves are leathery. I use a bark mix. I cant revive it. Any suggestions?
Hi Shannon. These plants are very slow moving and it takes a long time to recover from being stressed. You'll have to give it more time and give it very consistent care to recover. Try and achieve a good moisture balance in the bark mix. It's hard to "overwater" an orchid in bark mix, but at the same time, try and not let the bark mix from going bone dry. You need a happy medium. Hope this helps!
My orchid leaves are leathery and droopy. I live in Minnesota. It's gets humidity in my bathroom.
I'm not quite sure what is wrong. I had 2 new shoots that appeared like they were going to flower. The one shoot looks like the tiny yellow flower dried up. Can I email you pictures?
Hi Kristy! Did you let the potting medium dry out too much? Did you feel it? You can send me photos. Use the contact form to email me, and when I respond, you can attach photos.
Are they all getting enough light? Are the ones that aren't blooming in the same location as the one that is blooming? Light is the most important factor. Another factor to trigger blooming are cooler nights for a few weeks in late summer/early fall. Night temperatures of 55-60F or so for several days will often help trigger moth orchids to bloom as well.
Thank you for your post and tutorial. I just realized I neglected to water a really important orchid and am hoping I didn't kill it. It does not have any blooms at the moment. It had four really pretty healthy leaves on the bottom part of the plant and they all fell off due to lack of water. A new leaf sprouted about 8 months ago towards the top and it was very healthy but now it's droopy.
I will try and soak it overnight but since I lost the bottom leaves do you think I killed the whole plant?
Hi Darcy! If it still has a green leaf, it is not dead. With attention and care (and consistency), you can still bring it back. Try soaking it overnight once a week and monitor the progress. It should slowly start to come back. Hope this helps!
Hi, I have several orchids that I have successfully got to rebloom. Once a week I soak them in in a pail of water with some orchid food. ( very little maybe a 1/2 tsp or less.) I let then drain off in the sink before returning to their decorative pots. This year however I noticed the flowers are smaller than last time. Also I have 12 leaves on the plant..that seem very healthy. Should I cut back some of the leaves, or is the plant just getting bigger?
Hi Nora! Definitely keep the leaves as long as they are green! What kind of fertilizer are you using? You may want to try and experiment with a "bloom booster" type fertilizer next year a couple months before you anticipate blooming. This may help. Always steer toward the low end of the fertilizer amount. Less is more and orchids are not heavy feeders, so very dilute is good. Try and use a urea-free fertilizer too. Hope this helps!
I have enjoyed having orchids for over 10 years with success but suddenly over the past several weeks I have seen the flowers drooping. I don't believe that I have changed how I care for them but wonder why the change in their appearance. Please respond.
Hi Lyndra! I'd need more information on how you're caring for them. Is it just the flowers that are drooping? Have they been open for a while? How long? Are they just old flowers perhaps?
Thank you so much for information provided. I am new to orchid growing and have successfully grown a beautiful (purple) bloom. The orchids were originally in a pot, but decided to attach to palm tree. The orchids are thriving but leaves seem to be limp. I have been spraying the roots daily, however, although the roots are mostly green, the leaves are limp. The orchids are thriving. Could it be that they are not getting enough water?? I live in Florida where it is very hot and humid. Thank you for any additional information.
Hi Lynn! When did you attach it to the palm tree? Is it securely against the trunk? It could just take some time to adjust to the new environment. Keep an eye on the roots and make sure they keep looking good. Your plant will start to recover. It sounds like you're attentive with daily spraying of the roots since they're now exposed so that's great! Are they in a shady area outside? That's the only thing I'm concerned abou, especially since it's also very hot there (but the humid part is great! 🙂 ). If the new leaves look normal, then you're doing OK.
How do I get rid of gnats that tend to come to my orchids? Do they damage the leaves or the blooms?
Hi Victoria! Check out my fungus gnat blog post for help: https://www.ohiotropics.com/2021/01/31/killing-fungus-gnats-houseplants/
Thanks so much for this watering guide!!! I have an orchid that has wrinkled leaves and did just soak it. My question is how quickly do I soak or water again? I know I can look at the roots but was wondering if there is a general guideline? I do live in a drier climate, in Flagstaff AZ. Appreciate any advice
Hi Gina! If you live in a drier climate, you can probably easily do this twice a week probably. Take a look at the roots. You will know if they start to shrivel that they need more hydration. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Hi. I'm in NZ. I've had my orchid for about 15 months & it's on it's 4th flowering I think so I presume it's in the right spot. I realised recently the pot it was in didn't have holes & it was sitting in water so I repoyted it with new bark & cut holes in it. Now the leaves have gone limp & after reading your article had a look & see it's very dehydrated. I'm just soaking it in water up to the base of the leaves in a bucket overnight. I just noticed there are no aerial roots anymore so they've either shrivelled up or I buried them when reptting. Does it matter there's no aerial roots & should I put it back in a pot with no holes? The reason I put holes in the pot in the first place was I noticed the leaves were going limp & yellow &, having a decent look inside, thought it was waterlogged. I don't have much luck with plants - they seem to die on me generally from overwaterring but this orchid gad been doing really well given the number of flowerings. The flowers on it now haven't opened up & look limp - too dry I presume. Any advice please on how to get it back into good condition? Many thanks Sonya
Hi Sonya. Do you have pictures that you can share? It would help to see photos. For orchids in bark mix, I would recommend a very thorough watering once a week, but if your orchid has lost a lot of roots, it will need more pampering. If you can send me photos and more details of what happened, I will try and help! I will email you and you can attach the photos.
Thanks so much for the very informative article. I learned a lot. I have an orchid, from Costo, in an "orchid pot" that has holes along the side. Does this mean it will dry out quicker, and that I have to water more often? Also, should I be "misting" my orchid? Thanks again.
Yes, the holes on the side of the pot means that there is more air flow so the medium will dry out more quickly. You can mist the plant and especially any exposed aerial roots. It would definitely be beneficial for orchids. Just be careful that water doesn't accumulate in the crown (the middle) of the plant where the leaves emerge from, in order to avoid rotting.
@Raffaele, Thanks for the infor. Really helpful. Jerry
Hi my name is April if I send u a pic of my orchid could u possible tell me what u think .?
Hi April! Please use the contact form on my website and included details of your care and what the issue is, and when I reply, you can attach some photos.
Hi Raffaele,
I have 4 questions, please if you can help me. A friend had given me this beautiful double-spiked blooming orchid after both of my parents had passed away in 2019, and it just finally rebloomed this year (2021) a few months ago!!
This is I think the third month that my beautiful Phalaenopsis' one single spike has been in a BIG bloom. The lower leaves are however, all drooping, and now I'm thinking after reading that I've overwatered her. So question #1 is: How long is TOO long to wait to water? (It's been a week she's still too wet.)
2) Should I take her out of the white glass pot (she's actually growing in a smaller clear plastic pot that sits inside the white glass pot) in order to let the clear plastic pot to dry out? Or keep her plastic pot in the white glass pot?
3) After I had taken her out of the glass pot to examine her roots (they were really wet), I noticed little Springtails crawling around at the bottom of the white glass pot. Periodically I've seen them on the windowsill. Do you know how I can kill them without killing my beautiful plant daughter?
4) All other orchids I've ever had have unfortunately slipped away into orchid heaven. :(( I'd love to keep this one alive. In fact I wonder, how long do they live? This one is 3 ft. tall and I wonder if she'll keep growing?
Thanks so much for any input. I sure appreciate it.
Trish
Hi Trish. First off, I'm sorry to hear about your parents :-(. What is your plant growing in? Is it in sphagnum moss or a bark mix? Once I know this, I can make a more specific recommendation. What kind of light is it receiving and where exactly do you have your plant located? It is perfectly OK to leave it slipped into a decorative container. Has it been sitting in water at all? How are you watering it? Having enough light will be really important in allowing the plant to dry out more quickly. The springtails won't harm your plant, and if you can allow your plant to dry out more, you should see less of them.
What are your thoughts on planting orchids in clay balls. The orchid society here in Venice, Fl. recommends them
Hi Celia! I'm actually just starting to experiment with that and recently wrote a blog post :-). https://www.ohiotropics.com/2021/06/29/growing-orchids-in-leca/. Have you gotten any details from the orchid society?
My orchid is very droopy. I followed the steps to repot, and clean out root rot. It keeps turning yellow. It was too wet. The leaves are leathery. I use a bark mix. I cant revive it. Any suggestions?
Hi Shannon. These plants are very slow moving and it takes a long time to recover from being stressed. You'll have to give it more time and give it very consistent care to recover. Try and achieve a good moisture balance in the bark mix. It's hard to "overwater" an orchid in bark mix, but at the same time, try and not let the bark mix from going bone dry. You need a happy medium. Hope this helps!
@Raffaele,
Thank you! I will watch it.
Thank you for the good info. I'm new at growing orchids. I love them.
You're very welcome!
My orchid leaves are leathery and droopy. I live in Minnesota. It's gets humidity in my bathroom.
I'm not quite sure what is wrong. I had 2 new shoots that appeared like they were going to flower. The one shoot looks like the tiny yellow flower dried up. Can I email you pictures?
Hi Kristy! Did you let the potting medium dry out too much? Did you feel it? You can send me photos. Use the contact form to email me, and when I respond, you can attach photos.
I have several plants, but only one of them blooms????
Are they all getting enough light? Are the ones that aren't blooming in the same location as the one that is blooming? Light is the most important factor. Another factor to trigger blooming are cooler nights for a few weeks in late summer/early fall. Night temperatures of 55-60F or so for several days will often help trigger moth orchids to bloom as well.
Hi Lynn,
Thank you for your post and tutorial. I just realized I neglected to water a really important orchid and am hoping I didn't kill it. It does not have any blooms at the moment. It had four really pretty healthy leaves on the bottom part of the plant and they all fell off due to lack of water. A new leaf sprouted about 8 months ago towards the top and it was very healthy but now it's droopy.
I will try and soak it overnight but since I lost the bottom leaves do you think I killed the whole plant?
Hi Darcy! If it still has a green leaf, it is not dead. With attention and care (and consistency), you can still bring it back. Try soaking it overnight once a week and monitor the progress. It should slowly start to come back. Hope this helps!
Hi, I have several orchids that I have successfully got to rebloom. Once a week I soak them in in a pail of water with some orchid food. ( very little maybe a 1/2 tsp or less.) I let then drain off in the sink before returning to their decorative pots. This year however I noticed the flowers are smaller than last time. Also I have 12 leaves on the plant..that seem very healthy. Should I cut back some of the leaves, or is the plant just getting bigger?
Hi Nora! Definitely keep the leaves as long as they are green! What kind of fertilizer are you using? You may want to try and experiment with a "bloom booster" type fertilizer next year a couple months before you anticipate blooming. This may help. Always steer toward the low end of the fertilizer amount. Less is more and orchids are not heavy feeders, so very dilute is good. Try and use a urea-free fertilizer too. Hope this helps!
What is causing my orchid leaves to curl? Thank you for your response!
Hi Jean! I'd have to see a photo to better help. When you feel the potting medium, is it really dry? Wet?
I have enjoyed having orchids for over 10 years with success but suddenly over the past several weeks I have seen the flowers drooping. I don't believe that I have changed how I care for them but wonder why the change in their appearance. Please respond.
Hi Lyndra! I'd need more information on how you're caring for them. Is it just the flowers that are drooping? Have they been open for a while? How long? Are they just old flowers perhaps?
Thank you so much for information provided. I am new to orchid growing and have successfully grown a beautiful (purple) bloom. The orchids were originally in a pot, but decided to attach to palm tree. The orchids are thriving but leaves seem to be limp. I have been spraying the roots daily, however, although the roots are mostly green, the leaves are limp. The orchids are thriving. Could it be that they are not getting enough water?? I live in Florida where it is very hot and humid. Thank you for any additional information.
Hi Lynn! When did you attach it to the palm tree? Is it securely against the trunk? It could just take some time to adjust to the new environment. Keep an eye on the roots and make sure they keep looking good. Your plant will start to recover. It sounds like you're attentive with daily spraying of the roots since they're now exposed so that's great! Are they in a shady area outside? That's the only thing I'm concerned abou, especially since it's also very hot there (but the humid part is great! 🙂 ). If the new leaves look normal, then you're doing OK.