Keeping your orchids healthy is easier than people think. Weekly attention to your orchids is required. You will want to get some basic knowledge under your belt if this is your first attempt at growing orchids by looking at online resources, magazines, or joining an orchid club.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways to guarantee your orchids will be healthy.
- You need to provide enough light. Orchids should get on average ten hours of medium light every day. If growing in your home, a window open to the south is an superb choice. Windows facing north usually do not give or receive enough sun and those to the east or west have too few hours of good light. In the summer, you may need to use curtains to defuse light that is too bright.
- No sudden temperature changes. Orchids don’t have very much flexibility at all for temperatures which have sudden fluctuations. If you are growing your orchids outside in the garden, temperature is going to be critical to whether you have healthy flowering orchids or not. If a front should come through and raise or drop the temperatures by ten degrees, the orchids may not survive. This sudden temperature change can disrupt their growth cycle, allow diseases like rot, and cause anemia. Make sure you only buy orchids which can do well in your location and that you grow them inside if there is often quickly changing weather.
- Select orchids which do best in the temperatures you can provide. Do some homework before purchasing orchids. Different species of orchids have very exact temperature ranges. Don’t try to grow an orchid that needs 80 to 90 degree day temperatures if you do not have that temperature range each day where you live. Orchids grow everywhere from the tropics to snow-covered peaks. Know in advance the requirements of the orchid you purchase and stick to these, whether inside or outdoors.
- Keep your orchids clean. If you are one of those people who goes weeks without cleaning your house, you may not have the right personality for growing orchids. In order to be healthy and thriving, orchids need to be clean. In their natural environment, which in most cases is tropical, orchids are cleaned daily by rain showers which get rid of dust and insects. You should wipe the dust and dirt off your orchids at least once a week. from time to time, you should mix in several drops of vegetable oil emulsion insecticide (not mineral oil) with a pint of lukewarm water and sponge it onto the orchid foliage. It will give the plant a polished look and protect it from pest damage .
- Fertilize orchids appropriately. Manures are the most dangerous orchid fertilizers to use and often the most used. If you are a beginner, you might want to try other fertilizers first. Overall, the best fertilizers to use are liquid: manure water, commercial concentrates, and nutrient solutions. Manure water is made by putting two cups of ground manure into a gallon jug and then letting it sit for a week or so. Then you should dilute it even more by pouring one-fourth cup from the jug into a quart of water. Pour the solution carefully at the edge of the pot, and do not let it touch the pseudo bulbs, rhizomes, or foliage. There are many synthetic fertilizers you can buy for orchids and you can also make nutrient mixes, the recipes of which have been handed down from gardener to gardener through the years.
- Do not over-water orchids. An over-watered orchid is going to become sick and die. On the other hand, occasionally forgetting to water an orchid will rarely result in sickness or death. When an orchid’s roots are healthy and dry, they will be white. Check frequently to make sure your orchids do not have green roots, as that is an indication of over-watering. Other indications of over-watering are growing scum, moss or weeds.
- Repot your orchids when necessary. This is the scariest step of all for most new orchid gardeners. But orchids do need to be repotted if the plants are too large for the pot or if the compost is worn out or too alkaline. Leaving an orchid in old compost is worse for it than distressing the roots . Repot with care and your orchids should suffer no harm . Get some help the first time by reading about it, watching videos of how to do it, or by getting someone more advanced in orchid care to help.
