Taking Care of Orchids
So you’ve decided to purchase an orchid. You’ve brought your beautiful plant home, and carefully unwrapped it, so now what? What do you need to know for taking care of orchids?
The beauty of an orchid is that the majority of varieties are fairly simple to maintain. With just a few tricks of the trade and a little bit of patience, you can have beautiful orchids flourishing throughout your household.
The leaves tell it all:
The leaves of your orchids tell a story, so pay close attention to any changes that you see on their leaves. The normal colour of an orchid leaf should be a light, bright green. If there is any variance in this colour, it could be that the light, temperature or amount of water is not meeting the needs of your plant.
Avoid Root rot:
You can just as easily kill your plants with love as you would with neglect. Wait for your orchid to dry out before watering it, and observe the plant to see if it’s getting enough water. Ideally, you want the roots to be fleshy and firm, not dry and stringy nor mushy.
The medium used for orchids quickly absorbs waters and then dries out. However, just because the medium appears dry, does not mean it is time to water the plant. A quick way of seeing if a plant needs watering is to place a pencil at least one inch into the planting medium. If the pencil comes out dry, the plant needs to be water. If there is any moisture at all, avoid watering. Always water on the side of caution, its better too little then too much.
Decrease the amount of Water if the Orchid is:
- not receiving direct sunlight, or during cloudier time periods
- Planted in a plastic pot
- During periods of high humidity
Increase the Amount of Water if the Orchid is:
- Planted in a clay pot
- Dry environments
- Bright, hot environments
- Thin, leaves or growth
Light up your Orchid’s Life:
The majority of orchids like bright, distilled light. If your plant appears to be flourishing but it isn’t blooming, there is probably insufficient light. If your natural environment does not give enough light for your plant, supplement with artificial lighting. High Density discharge lights are one of the better sources of artificial lighting for orchids. Although this type of lighting can be fairly expensive, it is well worth the investment for the avid orchid grower.
Purchasing the Perfect Pot:
When selecting your orchid pot, you will need to consider the type of maintenance you will be able to provide for your plant. Are you one to shower your plants with love? Or are you the type of individual who tends to forget to water your plant for weeks at a time?
If you are the over indulgent grower, stick to materials such as clay or a mesh container with lots of air for the roots to grow and breathe. These containers will allow the plant to dry out quickly, and can easily compensate for the occasional over watering. Another trick to avoid over watering is to select pots in dark colours. The dark colours will absorb the sunlight and dry out the medium even faster.
However, whenever taking care of orchids if you tend to forget to water your plant, then the plastic pot is the perfect pot for you. Plastic pots, particularly those in light colours, will retain water and are ideal containers for the neglectful gardener.
Fertilizer
The natural environment does not provide enough nutrients for an orchid to flourish. To guarantee beautiful blooms and continual growth, you will want to supplement your orchid with fertilizer.
When selecting a fertilizer, the options can be overwhelming. Most fertilizers are a composition of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium; and depending on the variety, additional nutrients such as Calcium, Magnesium or Iron may have been added. Fertilizers high in nitrogen encourage leaf growth, those high in phosphorus will help prepare the plant for flowering.
Taking care of orchids should be an enjoyable experience. By selecting the right environment, pot and fertilizer, you will be well on your way to enjoy a lifetime of beautiful blooms.
