Orchid Care Tips

The exotic orchid has symbolized beauty, sumptuousness, and love since ages. The Chinese, for instance, referred to it as ‘the plant of the king’s fragrance’, while for the Greeks it stood for virility. In the Middle Ages, the orchid was utilized in love potions, since it was thought to be an aphrodisiac.

These exotic flowers are full of fascination, and it can be an enthralling hobby to nurture them and watch them bloom so beautifully. However, orchids do need some amount of specialized care. Orchid care involves providing the plant with adequate light, fertilization, and water, along with pruning and repotting them periodically. Given below are a few orchid care tips:

Light: One of the most important orchid care tips is providing adequate light. If orchid plant gets too little light, it will prevent it from flowering, whereas too much sunlight will result in the plants burning. Hence, the best thing to do is to place the plant on a windowsill that gets direct light, but has window blinds or curtains, so that the amount of light it gets can be controlled. The color of the leaf is a good indicant about the amount of light the plant is getting. The leaves should be a healthy, bright green in color. If the leaves are red or yellowish-green, it means that there is excessive light, whereas if they are dark green, it means that there is inadequate light.

Water: Orchids need to be watered as early during the day as possible, so that by the time it is nighttime, the soil dries out. The climatic conditions of wherever you live will determine in a large part how frequently your orchid will need watering. As a rule of thumb, it is best to water your plant about once a week in the winter, and when the weather becomes dry and warm, about twice a week.

The size of the pot will also be a determining factor on how frequently to water your plant. Generally, if the container is 4 inches in size, watering will have to be done every 5-6 days, whereas if it is 6 inches in size, watering will have to be done every 7 days. Besides, the potting medium also has to be taken into consideration while determining the watering needs of your orchid. For example, sphagnum moss remains moister than bark. Basically, the potting medium should neither be too dry or too soggy, being just damp.

Soil: Being largely tropical plants, orchids do well in organic material. Orchids thrive in a mix made of peat, osumda fiber, and fir bark. The soil should be able to retain some amount of moisture while also having good drainage. There are special mixes of soil for orchids available in the market.

Nutrients: In the wild, orchids derive their nutrients from anything available, such as the droppings of animals and birds, decomposing plant material, and minerals brought by the rain. The right fertilizers will enable your orchid to grow and bloom well. Check out products that have potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, as well as trace elements like iron.

Humidity: Orchids thrive in humidity, hence the humidity in the daytime should be maintained between 50 percent and 70 percent. In the summer season, when the days become dry and warm, you can place your orchid in a shallow tray or dish with water and pebbles, making sure not to let the water touch the bottom of the pot. This is because the capillary action will result in the roots getting s surfeit of water, thus causing deterioration to them.

Temperature: In order to be healthy, the orchid produces energy as carbohydrates in the day time, when there is an increase in the temperature, and that energy is stored when the temperature drops at night. This fluctuation of temperature is required by the orchid to enable it to bloom. For optimum growth, the temperature at night should be around 60 degrees F, although it can go down to 55 degrees F without harming the plant. The temperature in the daytime should be around 70-80 degrees F. However, if there is adequate ventilation and humidity, the temperature can go up to 95 degrees F without causing harm to the plant.

Orchids, being slow-growing plants, need to be repotted every second year in a slightly larger pot each time, without it being too large. Also, they will need to be pruned periodically all through the year to get rid of dead material as well as to sculpt the plant.