Orchid Preferences:

Humidity: Orchids prefer about 60% humidity. This is best achieved by either purchasing a humidity tray at your local orchid store or filling saucers or a tray with rocks and water underneath and around the orchid. This is very important, unless you will be growing your orchid in a greenhouse.

Light and Air: Indoor orchids prefer anywhere from no direct light to most of the day - choose an orchid with the links from this page about different orchids to choose the one that's right for you. Ventilation is also very important - either open a window or turn a fan on - this makes the orchid happier and decreases your chance of getting bugs or bacteria.

Watering: Lift your orchid to tell when to water. If it is light, bring it to the sink or bring your watering can over and water. Filtered water is good but not necessary. Fertilize with a very weak solution often. Make sure every 3-4 waterings to water without fertilizer or you may get fertilizer buildup, resulting in health problems for the plant.

Temperature: This is a biggie! Some like it warmer than others. Some like it cooler. If your orchids get too hot during the day, water and mist them.

Potting: Pot or repot every 1-2 years. One good way to tell when to reopt is that the mix the plant is in is very old.

Pests: It is possible to go either the natural route for pests or the unnatural route. Getting a bottle of some kind of spray you look up after identifying what pest you have. The natural route it to clean and repot the plant, use dish soap mixed in with a lot of water and spray it, or a light amount of bleach. There are lots of home remedies. The best id circulation, and not bringing your plant outdoors then indoors.

Cymbidiums are different: Cymbidiums are a bit different - they're big, the flowers last about 2-3 months and they can be often grown outside. They prefer to be potted in fine bark. There are two types of Cymbidiums - mini ( flower diameter is 1-3 inches) and standard Cymbidiums (flower diameter is 3-5 inches).

Books we recommend are listed below and links are provided to Amazon where we found you excellent discounted prices. We will get a commission of 2-5% from Amazon of any book below clicked on and then purchased, and we use these commissions to pay for hosting on this Website, so please purchase from the links below rather than going directly to Amazon.com on your own. You'll get the same excellent discount whether you buy after clicking on a link below or go to Amazon on your own.

Orchids Magazine - Great magazine, yearly subscription. This magazine is full of great articles, resources, information, photos and more.
Our Favorite Orchid care book, "Orchids" - Our favorite for the beginner! Very basic.
Taylor's Guide to Orchids - Very good book. Our choice for the beginner with need for an additional book other than Orchids (the book just above).
Orchid Growing for Wimps - Very good book for the beginner and this book is the most basic we recommend. Excellent!
The Orchid: From the Archives of the Royal Horticultural Society - Great resource book. Wow.


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