Some Helpful Orchid Care Tips

Many people see the orchid as a difficult plant to grow, when they usually aren't, with some exceptions. Orchid gardening has often been done by nurseries, where they grow them for florists and collectors of the breed. In recent years, more beginners to orchid care have taken to growing the plant. And professional growers produce enough hardy orchids that new gardeners can successfully grow at home.

Many garden centers and nurseries carry orchids more commonly, for the home grower. The orchid plant really shows off during its season of blooming. Some breeds have different growing seasons, so read up on this or ask your nursery specialist.

Orchid gardening can be fun and rewarding. The hardier orchids are very well-suited to your home's conditions as they stand now. The range in colors of blooms of hardy orchids includes yellow, lavender, pink and white, and some also have spots or stripes. New patterns show up all the time, as professional growers cross-breed the sturdiest plants. Some orchids bloom for up to three months, and the flowers open in sequence, at two to five day intervals.

Orchid care in your home includes ensuring that your plants get plenty of light, but not a great deal of direct sunlight. Late afternoon and early morning sun are the best for most plants. If you have windows facing east or west, these will do well. You might also use a southern window if the sunlight you get in your windows is subtle or dappled.

If your home doesn't offer the right light in windows, you can add a grow light placed about a foot above your orchids. Turn your lights on in the day and off at night, and try to keep the lighting to twelve hours a day only. If you are planting in a greenhouse at your home, shade the orchids from the brightest daytime sun with shade cloths.

Most orchids do best with temperatures between fifty-five and eighty degrees. Your orchid plants will appreciate a temperature of no lower than sixty degrees at night, and temperatures between seventy and eighty degrees in the daytime hours. Lower night-time or higher daytime temperatures can result in you losing buds, and causing your orchids to grow more slowly.

Each orchid plant is individual in its precise water, temperature, humidity and light levels. Most do not like to be all the way dry between waterings, but a few breeds do. Water them in a thorough manner, and then do not water them again unless their soil is almost dry. The frequency of watering depends on your type of soil and the orchids' growing environment. Watering once a week to once every ten days usually works well. Never leave your orchid in standing water - this will cause rot.

In the winter, your furnace will keep the humidity in your home at a lower level than your orchid plant might prefer. You can solve this problem by watering a bit more often, or by putting a pan of watered pebbles under your pots. When you water your orchid, be sure that you don't get water ON the flower, as this will cause them to die more quickly.

A slow-release fertilizer is another aspect of proper orchid care. You can use plant food in liquid form too, but don't use too much. Use it every other time you water. Don't use fertilizer at all, of any type, when your plant is blooming with flowers.

You can also prune your orchids back after the blooms fall off, so that they will experience a second blooming. This will make your home more beautiful for a longer period of time.

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