Archive for the ‘Orchid care’ Category
Orchid Care – Growing Orchids That Are Guaranteed To Thrive
Species By Species Guide To Orchid Care:
Cattleya Orchid Care
Cattleya thrives on 1500 to 2000 foot candles bright filtered light, with no direct sunlight. The leaves should be light green in color, leathery and stiff in texture. They like a warm environment, preferably temperatures between 85 to 90 F daytime and dropping to between 55 and 60 F at night time.
Allow the soil and plants to dry out between watering then give a thorough watering.
Cymbidium Orchid Care
This orchid requires higher strength foot candles between 2000-4000. They can be grown outdoors in areas where there is no heavy frost. They require filtered sunlight with good air movement and plenty of light for flowering. Color of foliage is yellow/green. They can withstand night temperatures between 45-50 F during fall and winter in order for them to flower. Day temperatures should be at least 20 to 30 deg higher.
Water when almost dry and protect them from heavy rains. They don’t like to stand in water. Fertilize at the same ratio as the Cattleya Orchid.
Dendrobium Orchid Care
These orchids thrive indoors with foot candle lights of 1500 to 3000 with no direct sunlight. Day time temps should be between 75 to 85 F and night temps approximately 60 F.
Masdevallia Orchid Care
These require 1500 foot candles, bright filtered light and no direct sun. The color of the leaves should be medium green in colour. This plant needs a cooler environment, good air circulation, and daytime temperatures of between 70 to 75 degrees F and night time about 50 degrees F. Masdevallia orchids should be kept moist at all times, but not swamped with water.
Oncidium Orchid Care
The Oncidium requires 1500 foot candles, bright filtered light and no direct sun. The leaves should remain light green in colour. The Oncidium Orchid can tolerate a vast range of temperatures. Daytime temps should be between 75 to 85 degrees F and night temps should be no lower than 55 F. Oncidium Orchids must be allowed to dry out between each watering. During active growing season you can increase the watering period.
Odontoglossum Orchid Care
This plant requires bright filtered light and no direct sun. Leaves should be a medium green colour with a slight pinkish tinge. They like a cool environment and good air circulation. Daytime temps must be 70 to 75 F. Night temps must be 50 to 55 F. Water when plants are almost dry. Don’t let them dry completely.
Paphipoedilum Orchid Care
These require lower foot candles between 600 to 2000 candles with bright filtered light and no direct sun. They have a mottled leaf. Preferred daytime temp is 75-80 F and night temperatures approximately 50 to 60 F.
Phalaaenopsis Orchid Care
This plant will require modest 1000 foot candles of bright filtered light and no direct sun. The leaves should be a glossy medium green in color and each leaf should increase in size. It needs warmth with plenty of good air movement, and temps of 75 to 95 F daytimes.
Vanda Orchid Care
2000 to 4000 foot candles with bright light are required and no direct sun. The leaves are light green in colour. Day time temperatures should be warm 75 to 85 F. At night it must not drop below 60 F. For fertilization follow instructions on package for each species. Repotting is required every 2 years.
Photographs by Greg Steenberg
Orchid Care -The Orchid and Its Care
The orchid is known to be one of the most difficult flowers to grow on your own without the advantage of a greenhouse. The orchid is a delicately beautiful flowering plant that comes in a variety of colours, which include pink, purple, yellow, orange and white. Caring for orchids takes time and patient. Orchid care involves just the right soil, lighting and temperature.
For correct orchid care you need to establish an area that is pretty humid. You may have to purchase a humidity tray or make you own if you do not own or have access to a greenhouse. To make your own humidity tray you will need to fill a tray with some rocks and some water. You can also mist your plant with a misting spray bottle periodically. Watering your orchid should be done with filtered water for best results. To see if it requires water you can check the orchid’s roots. For optimal growth of your orchid plant it is best to keep the plant indoors.
Fertilizing your orchid is a necessity for strong blooms. You can get fertilizer that is especially for orchids from your local garden centre. You will need to water the plant after the application about three times. After taking your garden centres advice, you will probably have to fertilize a second time, and after the second fertilization, you would repeat the watering process three times again. Neglecting to do this will result in unabsorbed fertilizer. This in turn will affect the orchid’s well being. It is best to put the plant in a pot that leaves some room around the roots so that they have room to grow. Change the pot every couple of years for best results or if the roots are protruding out of the soil, then you know its time to repot.
Caring for orchids indoors does require adequate lighting, but not too much along with adequate ventilation. The best lighting for your orchid care would be on or near a window sill for approximately four or five hours each day, try not to leave the bloom in direct sunlight, a window some form or light curtain would be ideal. You will know if your orchid is getting too much light as the leaves will change from being an medium olive green to a dark green and possible start to wilt. To ventilate the room properly the windows open slightly to allow fresh air to reach your plants. If it’s very hot, a fan circulating cooler air would be ideal.
If your orchid attracts pests you can help to rid them naturally by putting your orchid in another pot. You can then mix water and a small bit of liquid dish soap together. You can then add a very tiny bit of bleach to this and put it in a spray bottle. You would then spray this on your plant sparingly, but please don’t leave your orchid dripping wet, always dry the joint of the leaves to the stem. Also as this is a delicate part of the plant, use a cotton bud to soak up any excess moisture. This is one of the only times I would recommend spraying your orchid.
Since there are many different types of orchids, orchid care means that you will have to customize your care according to the particular species of the plant. Different orchids do well with less water than others and vice versa. Fertilization, humidity, temperature and lighting issues will all be determined based on its type. This general overview of orchid care may vary, depending upon the particular species of orchid that your have.
Cymbidium Orchid Care Made Easy
Cymbidium Orchids can be easy to care for if you know the steps. This tutorial on Cymbidium Orchids should help you very much with care for this Orchid variety. My homepage: http://www.imagine123.com/orchidtips
Duration : 0:1:6
Art of Buying Perfect Men’s Cologne
The impact of the pleasant and sweet smell is always long lasting as compared to the face identification of the person. Some people think that the use of fragrance is associated with the rich people only. But today this is not true as all types of people use fragrance to develop a positive impact of personality before others. Today the use of men’s cologne is increasing in men as the choice of the perfect men’s cologne is associated with the ruggedness of the man.
Men‘s cologne throws a great impact on the personality of the man. These perfumes and fragrance conceal the tedious odor and elates the fresh and pleasant look of the man even in the hot seasons. But you need to use the perfect men’s cologne in accordance with the season’s conditions. Many firms are manufacturing high quality of man’s cologne to beat their competitors in the market.
These firms also sell these perfumes in affordable price to increase the ratio of their customers. All these factors are helpful for the common man to buy perfect men’s cologne at affordable prices. Because of these reasons, the use of perfumes and man’s cologne are increasing among men. There are different types of the men’s cologne available in the market such as wood, powder, spice, fruit, citrus, leather and floral those are designed in accordance with the needs of different men.
Men’s cologne is composed of three layers named as heart notes, head notes and base notes. Top or head notes are used to create a light impression while heart notes produce the impact of the heavier citrus. Lastly, base notes are responsible to throw a lingering impression with the use of long lasting leather. People should have clear perception about the manufacturing of the quality and perfect men’s cologne.
But you need to take care in choice of the men’s cologne as some perfumes can inflict the problem of skin irritation if you possess sensitive type of skin. Men‘s cologne is made up with the combination of the fragrance oil, jasmine, alcohol and orchid texture. Some of these men’s cologne are available at high prices that out of the reach of the low income people. But you do not need to get frustrated, you can also get a perfect men’s cologne through the online discount schemers where many websites offer high quality men’s cologne at discount prices for the convenience of their customers.
Chin Yuan
http://www.articlesbase.com/cosmetics-articles/art-of-buying-perfect-mens-cologne-681847.html
Orchid Care: Plant Structures and Development : Learn How an Orchid Grows
Understand the lifecycle of an orchid, including its bulbs and structures. Learn more in this free educational video series.
Expert: William Hutchinson
Bio: Bill has been working with orchids since 1951 but is the first to admit that he is still learning.
Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso
Duration : 0:1:24
Orchid Care – Cutting Spikes on a Phalaenopsis
One in a series of orchid care videos sponsored and presented by rePotme.com Orchid Supplies. This video shows how to cut off the bloom spike on a Phalaenopsis orchid. Three examples of plants are shown with discussion of the approach for cutting the spike in each instance.
Duration : 0:5:26
Orchid Care: Plant Structures and Development : Understand the Various Stages of a Growing Orchid
Learn the roots, velamen and root tips of orchids in order to understand its growth stages. Learn more in this free educational video series.
Expert: William Hutchinson
Bio: Bill has been working with orchids since 1951 but is the first to admit that he is still learning.
Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso
Duration : 0:1:14
Things Orchid Farmers Should Know
If you are an aspirant orchid farmer than you know how scenic these plants are and how rewarding it is to grow them in your own home. Many people are doubtful to try to grow these exotic beauties as they think that too much specialized utensils is required and the novice farmer just truly doesn’t have a chance to be successful. This genuinely couldn’t be expanded from the sincerity and, in actuality, it is not that hard successfully to grow orchids given that you give them with the 4 necessities listed below.
Being tropical plants, orchids to entail a lot of wetness and any successful orchid grower will tell you that this is key to have good plants. Since orchids want at least 50% damp you will have to set your mounting interval up to supply for that. One way to do this is too set down a tray packed with shingle and filled out with water. Then with some character of us post, set your orchid pots in the tray on top of the situate so that the bottoms of the pots are not actually in the water. Misting can also give you orchid’s moisture but you penury to be vigilant that the foliage can thoroughly dry and therefore you would hardship good air circulation before may throb them.
Like all upward plants, orchids should water, but a public blooper that many growers make is to think that because they want high dampness that they must be watered continually, this is easily not authentic and overwatering is a surely way to eradicate an orchid. You should one of them when the soil becomes dry which is commonly about once a week. Water pending the soil is damp but take care not to overwater. If the soil in your orchid pot ashes wet for more than a day than you over watered it. You can add some water soluble fertilizer formulated expressly for orchids but only during the upward season.
Of course orchids necessity plethora of light to grow properly especially during the summer. During the iciness months they can get by on about four hours. Different types of orchids demand different amounts of light so you’ll necessary to know the details for your conceal. If you cannot afford enough native sunlight and grow light will work just penalize.
just like any other workshop, orchids hardship nutrients and good soil to rise. Luckily you can buy potting soil formulated specifically for orchids. You may be able to find this at your regional garden stow or you can even buy it from the orchid grower themselves. You will find that most organ mixes confine some rank of fir bark or osmunda twine.
Becoming a successful orchid grower is truly no different from mounting any other mode of works. You cleanly need to know what the right factors are for dazzling booming plants and arrests as a problem of just putting these key elements into action.
Jules Sims
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/things-orchid-farmers-should-know-754830.html
Phalaenopsis Orchid Care
One in a series of orchid care videos sponsored and presented by rePotme.com Orchid Supplies. Learn about the growth and bloom habits of the Phalaenopsis (moth) orchid and how to care for this plant in a home. Find additional orchid care information and buy orchid supplies at www.repotme.com.
Duration : 0:7:15
The Orchid Basics
Orchid is a fantastic plant because of its beautiful flower. However, orchid needs special cares and attention from growers in case they woud like it to grow up well and flower. Here are the basics to plant the lovely orchid.
Watering:
The single biggest reason for orchid problems is over watering. To prevent this, you must adjust your watering to the plant’s environment. The environment includes temperature, humidity, light, the type of pot and the type of media. For example, an orchid potted in peat/perlite mix in Florida requires much less water than one potted in straight bark in Arizona. Do not set a fixed watering schedule. Rather, remove the plant label from the pot and feel for moistness. If it does not feel almost completely dry, hold off your watering. Try to water only in the morning so that the plant has time to dry somewhat before dark. When you do water, you should give the plant at least the equivalent of 1/3 the volume of the pot. More is fine. Problems come not from the amount of water you give a plant, but with the frequency of watering. The orchid must get a chance to almost dry completely out before more water is added. With a few exceptions, such as with vandas in slat baskets, it is not a good idea to mist your orchid except in the early morning hours.
Drainage:
Proper watering can only take place if you have proper drainage to go with it. Do not let the orchid stay in a pot that does not allow water to freely flow out. Otherwise, the roots will never dry and rot will result. Look for a container with lots of holes in the bottom.
Fertilizing:
You can fertilize with your watering. A balanced formula works fine. Many others will work well too. If your fertilizer has a 20 as its first number, you can then mix it with a ratio of 1 teaspoon to a gallon of water. If the first number is a 10, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons to a gallon. If the first number is a 30 mix only a 1/2 teaspoon to a gallon of water to adjust for the difference in nitrogen. At least once a month, flush the plant from the top with plain water to rinse away the salt buildups. This is particularly necessary if the plant is potted in clay.
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Temperature:
A good rule of thumb is this, if you are comfortable, so is the plant. Day temperatures in the seventy’s and eighty’s are generally ideal. However, each variety has its own ideal range, check the guidelines in this site or the Grower Ron Orchid Growing Kit for details about the specific orchid you are interested in. The warmer the temperature, the more water your plant will need. Generally temperatures under 50 will do damage to your orchid. Some, like Cymbidiums without flower spikes, can accept temperatures into the 30’s.
Light:
Orchids generally like as much indirect light as you can give them. Do not expose them to direct light. One good way to test whether an orchid is getting the right light is to feel the leaves. If they are hot, move the plant to a shadier spot. Another way is to look at leaf color. If the plant is a rich dark green, it is probably not getting enough light. Orchid leaves should be a light green color if they are getting enough light. Remember, the more heat and light, the more often you will need to water the plant, and the more air movement the plant will require.
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Pots:
See references to watering above. The key is drainage. If you wish to use a decorative pot, let the orchid grow in a pot with good drainage, and only place the plant in the decorative pot when it will be shown. When guests leave, take it back out of the decorative pot. Note, a clay pot dries out faster than a plastic one. Orchids in clay should be watered more often. Moreover, clay has a tendency to promote the buildup of salts because of more evaporation. To compensate, flush the plant with plain water more often than in a plastic pot.
Potting Media:
There almost as many potting medias as there are varieties of orchids. Many will work well if you adjust your watering to match the media used. Some of the most common medias are bark, peat, sphagnum, and lava rock. Each has its own requirements. Pure bark and lava rock will dry out quickly, you might have to water as often as every other day if you are in an area of high temperature and low humidity. Peat and sphagnum will hold water much longer. Watering must be much less frequent. It is easier to over water plants in these medias. However, in a peat media, it is just as important not to let the media dry out completely. Once this happens, it becomes very difficult for water to penetrate the media and get to the roots. Grower Ron uses a custom blend of Western fir bark along with some peat and perlite. The bark allows for good drainage. The small amount of peat compensates for the quick drying of bark. He has found that this is one of the most forgiving medias, and is most adaptable to different climates.
Potting:
When your plant arrives from Worldwide Orchids, it does not need to be immediately repotted. Plants need repotting for two main reasons. Either the media has begun to break down, or the plant has grown too big for the pot. With phalaenopsis, the plant should probably be repotted no more than once a year. With cattleyas, it may be once every 2 to 3 years. Pot after blooming, when growing stage is active. Make sure you do not use too large a pot. Orchids prefer to be under potted rather than over potted. With monopodial plants like phalaenopsis, the plant should be centered in the pot. With sympodial plants like Cattleya or Oncidiums, the oldest growth should be placed along the edge of the pot with the newest growth toward the center of the pot. Trim off all brown dead roots before repotting. Remove the dried paper like covering from pseudobulbs where applicable because insects like to hide under this material. Moisten the media before potting. Do not tamp down the media too hard. You want to maintain drainage.
Flowering:
Each variety of orchid has its own flowering frequency and time. Different varieties have different flowering triggers. Some orchids, like phalaenopsis, are primarily triggered by temperature. They will naturally initiate spikes (given enough light) when the nights start to get cooler. Other varieties, like Cattleya, are primarily triggered by light. With plants like these, it is important not to locate them where there will be artificial light on at night, as it will confuse the plant and prevent flowering. Some varieties have internal blooming clocks, and will only bloom on their own schedule.
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Leaf Care:
Periodically, wipe down the top and bottom of the plant leaves with warm, dish type, soapy water. Wipe with the grain of the leaf. This will keep the plant looking good, and will also help remove any insects that may be hiding on the plant. Try to avoid leaf shine. It closes the pores on the leaves.
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Cactuslover
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/the-orchid-basics-140899.html