Orchid naturally bloom in the most beautiful colors! Which is why injecting orchids, or any other plant, with dye may be one of the worst crimes to plants EVER! I don’t understand why anyone (mostly florist and orchid sellers) would take an already gorgeous plant and dye it? What makes me so frustrated is that as orchid consumers (and mostly beginners) we are buying these orchids without knowing they are dyed. We see a pretty orchid and buy it for someone or ourselves and then are left with the consequences of some experienced grower that is knowingly selling them. If you own one and stumble upon this post – I want you to know that this is not your fault!!
The most common color orchids are dyed is blue. There are naturally blooming blue orchids… but they are really hard to find. Below is an example of a DYED blue orchid.
The reason I am posting this at all, is that I had a really sweet girl email me, on my blog, the following question;
“I got a died blue orchid and all the leaves fell off and now it’s seeping liquid out of all the nodes. It is still in bloom but what do I do?”
Below our pictures she sent me of her dyed blue orchid…
Pic of beautiful orchid leaves that fell off
Pic of the dye on the bottom of orchid leaf… Can you see it – at the bottom?
Pic of dyed liquid seeping out of orchid nodes
To be honest….I had no idea what was going on with this orchid. I am normally pretty good and answering questions from viewers (based on all the helpful advice I have gotten) but this one stumped me. First, I did not understand how every leaf could fall of an orchid and it could still be alive! Second, I have NEVER seen liquid seeping out of orchid nodes!
So I asked my orchid guru at Garden Heights Nursery, Barb Giblin. The following is what she said in a nut shell –
This is a technique some of the growers have come up with to make the plants sell better because they look so different. We haven’t seen evidence that it hurts the plants (until NOW), but the reality is that the blue color will not reappear in future blooms. The flowers will return to their natural white color in the future. No special care is needed, but try to avoid getting the dye on you! It is hard to wash off apparently (which is a strange thought because if it’s hard to wash off, then how is it good for an orchid?).
She said whatever they dyed it with, they either used too much or it was toxic. This is probably the cause of the leaves falling off (leaves typically fall off if an orchid if it is over watered and/or if water pools at the top of leaves and it rotted) and the reason it’s seeping liquid. The plant is literally expelling extra toxic dye in an attempt to save itself!!
She said there is hope for these plant if you want it to try to revive it.
Do this;
I hope this post helps if you are in a similar predicament and if not maybe it will discourage you from buying dyed plants in the future. If you want a blue plant then buy a naturally blooming blue plant (like a Hydrangea) please don’t knowingly buy one that has been basically poisoned!
Please feel free to leave comments or questions.
Hannah