Orchids are beautiful flowers. They come in many shapes and colors and will brighten any room they are placed in. Because of that, orchids are also a very popular gift. Now if you have recently received an orchid and are now looking for information on how to take care of it, this is the article for you. In it, you will learn pretty much all you need to know in order to make sure your orchid not only survives, but thrives in its new environment. So let’s get started.
?br>First of all, most orchids are really not that demanding. They are still considered by many to be exotic flowers and most people have heard stories about some special and very valuable orchids that can only be found in extremely small geographical areas at the precise point in time. And yes, such orchids do exist and they are extremely hard to look after. But most orchids found in our homes are not so special and most of them are quite resilient.
?br>The Temperature
?br>If you want to care for your orchids, you will need to take care that they are not too hot or too cold. Most orchids will prosper in rooms where the temperature doesn’t fall below 18C (about 64F) and doesn’t rise above 30C (about 86F). They will tolerate a couple degrees less and a couple degrees more than that, but usually not for extended periods of time.
?br>Watering
?br>Typically, orchids don’t grow in earth like most flowers do, but are planted in bark, cork, or even coconut shell. When trying to determine if the flower needs to get some water, touch whatever they’re planted in to see if it’s dry. If it is, ad some water. It is very important that you don’t leave your orchids standing in water for extended periods of time. This is a sure way to kill them. So after watering them, leave them alone for about 10-15 minutes and then drain them. That basically means that you should take them out of the decorative pot and let the water run out. And water that is still sitting on the bottom of the decorative pot must be removed. Misting orchids is also good for them. To do that, simply spray some water over the orchid’s leaves. I don’t recommend misting the flowers if your orchid is in bloom.
?br>How often you’ll need to water your orchid will depend on many factors. You’ll need to do it more often in the summer than in the winter. You’ll need to do it more often when the plant is in flower. And, of course, the higher the temperature and the dryer the climate the more often they’ll need watering.
?br>Every couple of months, you can leave your orchids to dry out a bit. I know it sounds strange, but will respond well to that. So how do you do that? Well, if you’re usually watering your orchids once every 10 days, then simply leave one watering out. So water them after 20 days.
?br>Fertilization
?br>During the resting period that usually lasts from somewhere in November to mid March, you don’t need to fertilize your orchids. In the growing period, however, adding some fertilizer will help your orchid grow and bloom. Just put some fertilizer in the water every other watering time. If you don’t know how much fertilizer to use, it’s better to use less than more.
?br>Conclusion
?br>That’s pretty much everything you need to know about how to take care for orchids. The only other thing that I should mention is that orchids always bloom from a new cane. This new cane will start growing from the bottom of the plant. Once the flowers drop off, cut the spike where the flowers used to be a little bit above the foliage. The next season, the flowers will bloom from a different cane.
This short tutorial on taking care of orchids was written by Carolyn Anderson, who is a proud owner of a large orchid collection and likes taking care of everything green. If you want to do more than just take care of your orchids then I would suggest that you find a good and detailed book that covers all aspects of orchid growing. One such book, that I think every new orchid enthusiast should read at least once, is Orchid Care Expert. It is very detailed and easy to understand and it will take you from a mere orchid aficionado to a true orchid expert.
If you are interested in growing other things besides orchids, you might also be interested in this little book. It’s called World’s Best Compost and will explain how to, well, make good compost to use for your plants. I don’t know if you’ll actually be making the world’s best compost, but it will be good enough and it does work for me.
Tags: care for orchids, Gardening, orchid care, orchids, watering orchids