Your orchid is not for beginners. But give it a try. No choice. But be nice to yourself if it does not work. The video is a good idea. Also join a local orchid society. They will have the best local advice and that matters. Frequently speakers will bring plants for sale that the big box store won't have. The fastest and easiest way to learn orchids is join locally.

I like the Ortho Orchid books for a good introduction to orchids. I like having a paper book to read and refer to. Not sure if you can get a kindle edition.

Agree with Harvey. This is a difficult orchid to grow even for experienced growers.

Look online for your local orchid society. You can go as a guest and bring the plant with you. You'll get lots of advice.

American Orchid Society

AOS

Thank you guys so much. I watched a few of Miss Orchid Girl's videos and found them very clear and informational! I compared the orchid with some of hers from a few of her care videos and found that the orchid shipped to us packaged horribly. It came with completely soaked sphagnum moss that didn't look new or fresh at all. The roots don't look to have a fighting chance but I'll try my best and hope for a miracle. Thanks for the tips and resources!

Here's an update for anyone interested. I finally potted it properly after getting an idea of what to do. It originally came in that sloshy moss mess and I took that off to wrap wet paper towel loosely around the roots until I could pot it. I took a closer look at the roots this time and saw a few of them showed signs of new growth at the root tip but some others I couldn't tell if was on its way to rotting or not. It's now in bark chips and a bit of chunky perlite. Another funny thing to note is that the orchid label it came with does not say "amethystoglossum" but "Jonathan's Glory 'Dark Joy.'" So I guess if it does bounce back into good health, we might not be enjoying any orchid tea

Photo?

I forgot to take pictures of the roots when I was potting it but here's the end result of what I did

The roots are exposed because the whole thing was originally grown slanted. I wasn't sure if I should grow it with all the roots equally covered but with slanted canes or to pot it up straight and keep the smaller canes just right but expose the tall canes a bit. The smaller canes look more plump and healthy so I went with the latter. The leaves don't look that bad, they still feel firm and fleshy. Maybe I'm not used to the way standard orchid roots look.

What State do you live?

I can't tell from your photo, but it looks like you did a good job repotting. This orchid does lose its leaves so the smaller pbulbs are older bulbs. You need to see where the new growths are coming from. My guess its the two largest canes with leaves.

That's okay, you can leave it till spring and watch for new growths. You might need to repot to give more room for the new canes.

Do you plan to grow inside or outside?

If inside, give a good sunny window. Keep the media moist for a few weeks or so, then cut back on watering over the winter months. Keep it watered, just let it dry out in between waterings.

Lots of light, cooler winter temps, and you should see signs of growth in spring.

You did a good job repotting!

Jane

Here's a link to previous discussion concerning this orchid. May not be as difficult as thought, although I can't bloom a kingianum to save my life :(

dendrobium jonathans glory discussion

Bob

It looks like you potted it in a glass jar. If so, no good. A future problem. The pot needs side and bottom holes for drainage. Are you considering joining an orchid group?

Thank you for your encouraging words Jane! Learning to grow fruit trees in containers gave me some practice with potting :) I didn't think to check which cane had the new root growth but I will the next to I repot it. It has a very small root ball, about half an inch of extra space around the roots in that container. And that container is actually from a water bottle! It will grow indoors since it is technically my dads orchid. Is it okay to keep it by the window during winter then? My windows get cold from air drafts during winter but I don't know the cold limit for orchids yet.

I'll take a look at the thread for growing advice on this orchid. Thanks for linking it for me westoh!

The container should be ok Harvey. It's actually the bottom of a plastic water bottle with holes in the bottom and along the sides. I'm starting to develop an interest in buying orchids for myself so I may join an orchid group in the future. For now I will look through this forum for orchid growing. I know there are probably many experienced growers here that have imparted tons of information over the years.

For anyone interested, I finally took a photo update on the progress of this Dendrobium.

This potted Dendrobium sat on an open screened windowsill but we had large rainstorms up north when the hurricanes were moving in south. The Dendrobium was soaked by the storm and stayed wet for too long. What little roots it had left all died. I did a poor job of pruning its roots. I only have the clunky curved pruners.

But! Thanks to tommyr_gw linking me to that orchid channel a long time ago I learned there was way to save it. The other half of the older canes seemed a bit soft and I didn't want to risk rot so I cut them off. Two of the current canes have at least one leaf on each. A few weeks ago it finally started pushing out a new growth on the middle cane. It was a tiny little bump that looked promising but I didn't want to get my hopes up at the time. I can finally confirm that it is definitely going for a new cane! On the left and right cane, there are new growths beginning to push out too! I haven't been able to save some of my dying mini phals but it seems I do a better job saving a sympodial orchid. I don't consider this orchid saved until it can grow happy with new canes and new roots in a pot though! Until then, it's currently on its way to salvation as long as I can keep this up. I hope this gives some hope to other newbie orchid growers out there! It's possible to save an orchid even one without roots as long as it's not too far gone with rot.