Martha My Dear
Martha My Dear is the newest addition to the rescue, joining the collection on July 19, 2026. She came from Sam’s Club—or, as it sometimes feels, the Sam’s orchid warehouse—where she was marked down to $10. I had not planned on bringing home another orchid, but a healthy pink Phalaenopsis in full bloom for ten dollars made a convincing argument.
Unlike several of my earlier rescues, Martha arrived in pretty good condition. Her leaves were firm, her visible roots were plump and healthy, and she still had a full display of pink flowers. She did naturally shed her oldest bottom leaf soon after arriving, but the leaf dried and released on its own without any signs of rot or disease. Her remaining leaves and crown have continued to look healthy.
Martha is still in her original nursery pot and bark. Everything visible looks reasonably good, but experience has taught me not to trust what I cannot see in the center of a grocery-store orchid. There is a good chance a compact nursery plug is hidden inside the root ball, holding more moisture than the surrounding bark.
For now, I am leaving her alone and enjoying the flowers. Once the remaining blooms have faded, I will repot her, inspect the roots properly, remove any nursery plug I find, and replace the old media with fresh orchid bark.
Martha My Dear may not need the same kind of rehabilitation as some of the other orchids in the collection. This rescue may be less about bringing a struggling plant back from the edge and more about making sure a healthy one stays that way.
Observations and updates
Newest first. Observations on the same date retain their original order.
2026-08-30 — Weekly Update
Photos
Observations
REQUIRED: Martha continues to look very healthy. Her leaves remain firm and green with no further yellowing, and remarkably she’s still holding four blooms about six weeks after you brought her home. The flowers are showing some age now, but the plant itself looks nicely established.
Care
watered
2026-08-23 — Weekly Update
Photos
Observations
Martha continues to look healthy and established. Her remaining leaves are firm and green, and she’s still holding four good-looking blooms more than a month after coming home.
Care
Watered.
2026-08-18 — Weekly Update
Photos
Observations
Martha has settled in well after dropping two older basal leaves; her remaining foliage is firm and green, the roots are plump and healthy, and she’s still holding several blooms a month after coming home.
Care
Watered
2026-08-09 — Weekly Update
Photos
Observations
Martha dropped a yellow leaf mid-week. Her bloom display is winding down, but several flowers remain, and the rest of her leaves are firm and healthy.
Care
Fertilized.
2026-08-01 — Weekly Update
Photos
Observations
Martha continues to settle in nicely after coming home from Sam’s Club. She naturally dropped her oldest bottom leaf this week, but the rest of the plant remains healthy with firm green leaves and several blooms still putting on a good show. The flowers are beginning to wind down, and once the bloom cycle finishes I’ll repot her and see if there’s a nursery plug hiding in the center. For now, she’s been an easy addition to the collection and hasn’t needed much beyond normal watering.
Care
Watered
2026-07-26 — Settling In
Photos
Observations
One week after coming home, Martha’s remaining leaves were still firm and healthy. Some flowers had begun to fade, but the plant itself continued to look strong.
2026-07-26 — First Soak
Photos
Observations
With the bark dry and the visible roots mostly silver, Martha received her first thorough soak. The plan remains to leave her undisturbed until flowering is finished, then repot and check for a hidden nursery plug.
2026-07-19 — Rescue Day
Photos
Observations
Martha My Dear on her first day home from Sam’s Club. She arrived in full bloom with firm leaves, a healthy crown, and no obvious signs of dehydration or damage.
2026-07-19 — Oldest Leaf Aging
Photos
Observations
Martha’s oldest bottom leaf was yellowing and drying while the remaining leaves stayed firm. The dry tissue and healthy crown suggested normal leaf aging rather than rot.
2026-07-19 — Root Check
Photos
Observations
The clear nursery pot showed plenty of plump, healthy-looking roots and coarse bark. Everything visible looked good, although the center of the root ball will remain a mystery until she is repotted.
2026-07-19 — Oldest Leaf Shed
Photos
Observations
Martha naturally dropped her oldest bottom leaf shortly after arriving. The dry, papery base and lack of soft tissue suggested normal leaf aging rather than rot.