If you received an orchid as a gift and have kept it until the blooms have fallen off please don't throw out.
Your orchid will Bloom over and over again for many years.
But caring for your orchid will be different than caring for other houseplants.
Orchids differ in their needs for water, light, potting media, and fertilizer just to mention a few.
Orchids however are not difficult to care for or easy to kill, so just relax and enjoy one of the most beautiful and exquisite flowering plants on our planet.
Potting Media.
One of the main differences between orchids and other houseplants is the media that you plant their roots in.
With regular houseplants you use a good grade potting soil.
However potting soil is very bad for your orchid.
Orchids in the wild grow on rocks, tree trunks, and tree branches.
Their roots soak up rainwater then slowly release it to the plant as needed.
Their roots are used to the air and drying off between rains.
This helps protect their roots from bacteria and fungus growth, that would cause their roots to rot.
Orchid potting media is course and made out of things like bark, coconut husk, charcoal, and other items.
Orchid media allows their roots to get air circulation, and hold a bit of moisture between watering.
Watering and Your Orchid.
Another difference with orchids is the amount of water that they need.
Most people will over water their first orchid.
Remember the roots need to dry out a little bit between watering.
Most orchids only need a little water once a week to 10 days, and being in a pot that drains well.
Depending on your orchid and if it is the growing season it may need watering once every 5 to 7 days.
Fertilizing.
Fertilizing an orchid is not as critical as it is with an annual.
Orchids can live for a century or more, so if you miss one month of fertilizing it's not going to hurt your orchid.
However you want to use fertilizer or plant food designed for orchids.
Many of the ordinary plant fertilizers contain urea which is not good for your orchid.
Make sure you use a water soluble fertilizer at the dilutions recommended on the label.
Re-potting.
Your orchids will probably have roots growing out over the pot edge.
This is not a sign that the orchid needs to be re-potted.
There are basically two reasons for re-potting an orchid.
First if the actual plant itself grows to the side of the pot then it would need to be re-potted, or possibly divided into two plants.
The second reason is if the potting media, the bark etc.
, starts to decay.
This would cause the roots to get smothered and start to rot.
Light.
Light is definitely one of the key elements for orchids.
If orchids don't receive enough light, this can cause them not to Bloom.
But they are also very sensitive to too much direct sunlight which can cause their leaves to get sunburned and damaged.
Your species will determine how much and how intense the light they need to thrive and produce blooms.
To read more about orchids...
Your orchid will Bloom over and over again for many years.
But caring for your orchid will be different than caring for other houseplants.
Orchids differ in their needs for water, light, potting media, and fertilizer just to mention a few.
Orchids however are not difficult to care for or easy to kill, so just relax and enjoy one of the most beautiful and exquisite flowering plants on our planet.
Potting Media.
One of the main differences between orchids and other houseplants is the media that you plant their roots in.
With regular houseplants you use a good grade potting soil.
However potting soil is very bad for your orchid.
Orchids in the wild grow on rocks, tree trunks, and tree branches.
Their roots soak up rainwater then slowly release it to the plant as needed.
Their roots are used to the air and drying off between rains.
This helps protect their roots from bacteria and fungus growth, that would cause their roots to rot.
Orchid potting media is course and made out of things like bark, coconut husk, charcoal, and other items.
Orchid media allows their roots to get air circulation, and hold a bit of moisture between watering.
Watering and Your Orchid.
Another difference with orchids is the amount of water that they need.
Most people will over water their first orchid.
Remember the roots need to dry out a little bit between watering.
Most orchids only need a little water once a week to 10 days, and being in a pot that drains well.
Depending on your orchid and if it is the growing season it may need watering once every 5 to 7 days.
Fertilizing.
Fertilizing an orchid is not as critical as it is with an annual.
Orchids can live for a century or more, so if you miss one month of fertilizing it's not going to hurt your orchid.
However you want to use fertilizer or plant food designed for orchids.
Many of the ordinary plant fertilizers contain urea which is not good for your orchid.
Make sure you use a water soluble fertilizer at the dilutions recommended on the label.
Re-potting.
Your orchids will probably have roots growing out over the pot edge.
This is not a sign that the orchid needs to be re-potted.
There are basically two reasons for re-potting an orchid.
First if the actual plant itself grows to the side of the pot then it would need to be re-potted, or possibly divided into two plants.
The second reason is if the potting media, the bark etc.
, starts to decay.
This would cause the roots to get smothered and start to rot.
Light.
Light is definitely one of the key elements for orchids.
If orchids don't receive enough light, this can cause them not to Bloom.
But they are also very sensitive to too much direct sunlight which can cause their leaves to get sunburned and damaged.
Your species will determine how much and how intense the light they need to thrive and produce blooms.
To read more about orchids...