Orchid 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.