Starbuck: Water Culture Day 1

On September 28, 2025, I purchased a beautiful Phalaenopsis Queen Beer orchid to use in this series about transitioning an orchid to water culture. She has two spikes full of pink, star-shaped flowers, so I named her Starbuck. As a bonus, she has a basal keiki, which is basically a baby orchid that is a clone of the mother plant. She is absolutely beautiful and my goal is to get her through her transition to water without over-stressing her, and maybe without causing her to lose any of her blooms.

When purchasing an orchid, these are the things I do before the orchid goes into my shopping cart:

• Does the orchid appear to be in good health?
• Look for signs pests.
  • Is there pest damage to the leaves?
  • Look for fine webbing on leaf backs.
  • Are there actual bugs on the plant? Be sure to check the leaves, front and back, the stem, the roots, the flowers.
• If possible, pull the plant out of the pot to check the roots.
  • Do the visible roots look firm and green?
  • Does the media smell good? It should have a pleasant, earthy smell.
  • Are there any pests visible in the soil?
• Do unopened buds look healthy? They should not be hard and dry.

Once home, I take care of anything that might cause problems while she’s acclimating to my house. For this orchid, the inner pot was not vented, so I put her in a slightly larger orchid pot and added orchid bark around the roots. Orchid pots have vent holes on the sides to let air get to the roots.