Care Of Orchids - Your Online Source for Information on Orchids
The Care of Orchids isn’t as Hard as Many People Think
Many people love orchids but do not try to grow them because they think the care of orchids is just too hard. They believe they could never successfully grow an orchid so there’s no point in trying. The truth is some orchids are very difficult to grow but many are not difficult at all, and if you learn a few facts about the care of orchids you will be surprised at how hardy they are.
Orchids are divided according to their temperature requirements, so in order to choose the right one for you, you must decide which temperatures you will be able to support day and night. Orchids are tropical plants that originated in the rainforest so they like warm temperatures and humidity. There are, however, varieties that live well as far north as the Artic Circle and growing orchids indoors is always a possibility.
The orchids that require lots of care are the ones that need temperatures to be in the 80s during the day and 60 to 70 degrees at night. Most people have the least trouble taking care of orchids that like temperatures during the day to be 70 to 75 degrees. The coolest environment for orchids is actually the hardest to maintain with temperatures below 70 degrees during the day and 50 to 55 degrees at night.
The care of orchids requires good lighting and air circulation. Lights need to be turned from time to time so that the whole plant receives light, If a plant is healthy and green but never flowers, the most common reason is not enough light. Orchids growing in a greenhouse on the other hand, often suffer from too much light. If you have this situation, you may need to get blinds or cover up some of the glass. Orchids also grow well under artificial light. Older plants sometimes take as much as a couple years to adjust to artificial light but when they do they tend to bloom more frequently. A mix of incandescent and fluorescent light is usually the best option. Many orchid growers use timers so that the lights for the orchids are on 14 hours each day.
Care of orchids means proper watering. As different types of orchids need different amounts of water, there is no one rule that can be applied. Take into account the size of the pot, what kind of mixture you used to plant the orchid and the condition of the plant itself. When watering, make sure your water is between 60 and 70 degrees. The soil must have good drainage. Check the soil frequently. The fact that the plant is dry on the surface does not mean it is not wet down below. An orchid also need a humidity level of 40 to 60 percent.
Orchids that live outside face all sorts of trauma, such as storms and hurricanes, periods of drought and wetness, and most have an uncanny ability to survive such ups and downs. So, when caring for orchids, don’t go overboard making sure everything is just so. An orchid is much hardier than many people realize.