How to care for orchids
Orchids are beautiful exotic plants and are one of the easiest house plants to grow. This article shows you how to care for orchids.
Orchids bloom for several weeks making them invaluable for home decoration while compared to cut flowers that last for less time.
They are tropical plants so you need to understand and provide four things to them:
In this article
1. Warm temperature
Tropical plants don’t like cold temperatures. Fortunately inside a home we can provide them a temperature between 18ºC and 25ºC (65ºF-80ºF) which is perfect for orchids.
2. Moisture
There is high humidity in tropical rainforest. Orchids dislike dry conditions so you need to water them about once a week, depending on the temperature and plant positioning.
A well hydrated orchid will have thick fleshy leaves and firm white roots.
Be sure to water orchids around the base of the plant and avoid to let them overwatered. Make sure the water drains well from the bottom of the pot.
Orchid flowers detail
3. Partial light
Most orchids grow under tree canopies in tropical rainforests. In your home they will do best in a north or east facing window. The light from a south or west window may be too strong and burn the leaves.
To lower the level of light you can simply pull the curtains, avoid direct sunlight through the window glass as it will burn the leaves.
4. Occasional fertilizer
The great majority of plants get all their nutrients from the soil through the roots.
But you will notice orchids are planted in a mix of tree bark and mosses. This is the way they live in the nature, they stick to tree trunks and branches and rocks. The growing soil in the pot is really just to support them, there aren’t any nutrients so you need to feed your orchids.
You can use a water-soluble fertilizer, there are specific fertilizers for orchids, but a regular one is ok.
Just mix it up, shake it up and then spray it onto your plant (read the instructions in the fertilizer bottle). Don’t overfeed, you only need to do this occasionally, about once a month.
If you are successfully providing this four things, you will get a lot of pleasure from healthy Orchids.
