BloomprintHow often should you water an orchid?
Plant care · Updated August 5, 2026 · 2 min read
Short answer
The usual interval is 7–10 days, or 10–14 in winter. But orchids give you something better than a calendar: root colour. Bright green roots mean there is still water; silvery grey means it is time.
On this page
Most orchids sold as houseplants are Phalaenopsis. In the wild they grip tree bark; rain soaks their roots and then the air dries them. Care at home is an attempt to reproduce that cycle.
Intervals
| Condition | Interval |
|---|---|
| Spring–summer, bright indirect light | 7–10 days |
| Winter, cool room | 10–14 days |
| Very dry, heated room | 5–7 days |
| In sphagnum moss rather than bark | 10–14 days |
Use these as a starting point and let the roots decide.
Root colour: the reliable indicator
This is why clear pots became standard — an orchid pot is not decoration, it is a measuring instrument.
- Bright green roots → water still present, do not water.
- Silvery, pale grey roots → water used up, time to water.
- Droplets on the inside of the pot → still damp, wait.
- Brown, soft roots → rot; this is not a watering question.
If your pot is not clear, judge by weight, or push a wooden skewer into the medium.
How to water: the soak method
- Lift the inner pot out of the decorative one.
- Stand it in lukewarm water for 10–15 minutes, keeping the water below the top of the medium.
- Lift it out and let it drain until it stops dripping.
- Check the outer pot is dry before putting it back.
Top watering works too, but bark absorbs slowly and may not wet through in one pass; soaking is more even.
What not to do
- Letting water sit in the crown. Water pooling where the leaves meet causes crown rot, which moves faster than root rot and is usually fatal. Blot it out if you splash.
- Ice cubes. Popular because they standardise the dose, but cold water stresses a tropical root and never wets the whole medium, so some roots get nothing. Soaking is safer.
- Leaving water in the cachepot. Orchid roots cannot stand in water.
- Fixing it to a calendar. The same orchid wants 7 days in summer and 14 in winter.
Three things besides water
- Light: bright but indirect. An east window is ideal. Very dark green leaves mean too little light; reddish-yellow means too much.
- Medium: bark-based, refreshed every one to two years after flowering.
- Feed: during growth, with orchid fertiliser at a quarter to half the labelled dose, every fourth watering. "Weakly, weekly" is the rule of thumb.
Frequently asked questions
Does watering change while it is in flower?
The interval stays the same, though water use rises slightly; check the roots a little more often. Do not repot a plant in flower.
Roots are growing out of the pot. Is that a problem?
No — the opposite. Aerial roots are normal for Phalaenopsis and indicate a healthy plant. Do not cut them or force them into the pot.
The leaves are wrinkled. Should I water more?
Wrinkled leaves mean water is not getting in, but thirst is not always why. If the roots are brown and soft, the cause is the reverse: rotted roots cannot move water. Check the roots first.
What do I do after the flowers drop?
If the flower spike is still green, cut it about 1 cm above the highest sound node; it may branch again. If the spike has yellowed completely, cut it at the base. Care otherwise stays the same.