Have you often looked at a blooming Orchid and wished that you could grow them? But you have never tried because they are so fragile and hard to grow, I know that I could never grow Orchids”. This is but one of the many misconception about growing orchids. The Orchids that I grow are the kind that you can grow in the living area of your home and with reasonable care they can be doing well for 10, 15 or 20 years. These are the type of plants that people who collect Orchids look for, but are also the type of plants that will serve a beginner very well. The following are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Orchids.
Not at all. They require about the same amount of care as African
Violets.
But as with all plants to be successful in growing them, indoors
or outside you have to provide care that is somewhat similar to conditions in
which they evolved .There are dozens and dozens of kinds of Orchids that
will grow and bloom in the average home’s living area.
There are over 800 Genera of Orchids that have been found through the world, more than the next two kinds of plants combine. Of course a few are fragile but not the kind that the average person grows.
Both temperature and humidity are important but depending on the kind of Orchids and where they evolved, for most Orchids both conditions are easily met. Orchids that come from a hot area do very well in Florida with hot days and warm nights, but they will not do well on the North Coast of the Olympic Peninsula of the State of Washington where a hot day in August is 80 degrees and the nights get down into the 40’s. With a little bit of care in selecting your Orchid you will be able grow it in your living area. A local area of higher humidity can be provided by putting a pan with a bed of rocks under the plant and keep water in the pan.
Again there is a lot of variance but the Orchids that most people grow will last from a week to several weeks. It has a lot to do with the types of blooms. Some Orchids have a single flower; others have two or more flowers that open at about the same time. These will not last long as those that are successive bloomers. These have stems that continue to grow with new buds that open as the older flowers fade and can have flowers for several months.
With reasonable care an Orchid that was grown normally will last for years. They have to be repotted every year or two and divided when needed to keep the plant well shaped. It is not unusual to have Orchids live for 15 to 20 years or longer.
Very, very few Orchids grow in dirt. Several materials can be used for potting Orchids. What ever is used it must be course so that the roots do not remain wet all the time. The most common is tree bark that has been ground into chucks about one quarter to one half inch in size. Fir bark is most common with sponge rock or course perlite added at a ratio of 4 bark to 1 perlite. Other barks including coconut husks are often used, even porous rocks including some kinds of basalt. The potting material seldom provides the plant with nutrients, which come from the fertilizer that you use. The chunky potting material anchors the roots that hold the plant and yet provides small spaces around the roots so that the roots do not stay wet all the time.
About once a week, but this depends on several things. In general Orchids need their roots too nearly dry out before being watered again. The once a week schedule does this, provided the temperature is not to high and/or the air isn’t very dry in which case more frequent watering maybe necessary. When watering the water should run through the potting material and the excess must drain out the bottom of the pot. This means that the pots must have good holes in the bottom. Another good practice is once every month or two to water with plain water to flush out excess salts that always builds up in all potted plants if they aren’t occasionally flushed out. There are exceptions to the rule that excess water must drain off and one is the Phragmipediums, the Slipper Orchids from Central and South America. Many growers grow these Orchids standing in water. But these are the exception not the rule.
Orchids like all houseplants require a well-balanced fertilizer with all the necessary microelements; i.e., iron, zinc, copper, etc. A good 20-20-20 fertilizer does very well BUT use it at one quarter the strength that the manufacture recommends and use it every time that you water the plants. Another good practice is once every month or two to water with plain water to flush out excess salts that always builds up in all potted plants if they aren’t occasionally flushed out.
Yes is the answer to all of those areas. Just keep the plant out of direct sunlight, except early morning sun. Orchids need to be in an area that has good air circulation, but not in front or above any heating outlet. Orchids do not like to get hot or cold so with a little experimenting you can find just the right place.
Yes under certain conditions. Here again it depends where you live and the kind of Orchids. In areas that are warm to hot all year around, some types of Orchids can do well outside year around. In other areas where the winters are very cold and the ground is frozen some of the time, some Orchids do well. But in general the answer is no.
Orchids as most other plants require red and blue light. These lights or more correctly the frequency of light of these colors provides the energy that leaves of the plant need in their photosynthesis process to produce the sugars, starches, proteins etc, that the plant needs to live, grow and bloom. Whatever light you use be sure that it has these colors. I use florescence lighting with one tube of deluxe cool white (it gives the blue) and one of WS or wide spectrum (it looks pink when operating and provides the red).
Not really. Unless your water has a very high amount of minerals in it the regular domestic water supply will work well.