How To Care for Your New Orchid

Orchids are a luxurious, exotic ornamental plant that are a delight to have around. They have been known to represent love, beauty and fertility. If you are gifted with a new orchid, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get many years of enjoyment from it in your home or office. Orchids are not as difficult to care for as you may think.

In today’s post, we will share some expert tips on how to care for your new orchid to ensure it has a long and happy life.

While there are many varieties of orchid, not all are widely available. Phalaenopsis, otherwise known as the Moth Orchid, is one of the easiest orchids to care for in a modern home and it’s a lot prettier than it sounds. Phalaenopsis makes a good choice for someone new to growing and caring for orchids.

As you may be aware, in the wild, orchids grow on the side of trees, in warm, humid conditions, with plenty of light, but are sheltered from direct sunlight from the overhead leaves. These are the optimal growing conditions and, therefore, what you should aim to replicate when you want to care for a new orchid at home.

The key care ingredients for a healthy orchid are:

·      Water,

·      Food,

·      Light

·      Humidity,

·      Temperature,

·      Growing Medium.

Water

Perhaps the area where most owners fall down in their orchid care is watering. Orchids can easily get water-locked and drown if they are over-watered. However, it can be as bad to under-water them, so how do you know what to do?

If in doubt, put your finger into the pot and feel the bark. If it’s wet, you don’t need to water your orchid, if it’s dry then you should. Don’t rush in with the watering can too early as it’s best to water an orchid when it’s completely dry.

Speaking of watering cans, if you can, try to use a precision method of delivering the water to the plant. Large droplets of water that splash onto the leaves and flowers can cause them to burn in the sunlight. Concentrate the water around the roots and don’t forget to address any roots standing out of the pot, too.

To water the plant, simply pour the water into the pot until it comes out the far side. This means that it has permeated the plant’s root system. Some orchids don’t like to be submerged in water, so unless you’re sure that your particular variety can withstand a good dunk, avoid doing this.

Watering should only be necessary once per week but do keep an eye on your orchid and if it is still wet after a week, hold off for a bit and vice versa.

You can also use ice cubes to water your orchid. Placing 3 ice cubes into the pot once a week allows the plant to access a set amount of water in a slow and controlled manner.

Food

Again, different orchid types will have varying feeding requirements. Phalaenopsis likes regular feedings throughout the spring and summer months. During these fine weather months, a specialist orchid food can be mixed with the water on three out of every four waters. When winter comes, and the growing season has ended, reverse the feeding schedule, so that three out of every four waters have no feed, and just one does.

Light

Like all plants, your new orchid will need to get the right amount of light to help it grow properly. Most orchids like indirect sunlight, which means that they should be placed in a sunny room, but not in the windowsill where the light can scorch the leaves or make them overly dry.

If your orchid gets too much light it will suffer, but it will also suffer if it is in a room that is too dark. Phalaenopsis is classed as an orchid that likes low light, another reason why it can grow so well in Ireland. Generally, it is thought that in the northern hemisphere, an east-facing window will provide the right amount of light for orchids.

You can tell if your orchid has got too much sun by the appearance of brown or black sun scorch marks on the leaves. The leaves will become greener when there isn’t enough lighting. Again, monitoring your orchid regularly will help you to care for your new orchid and determine if it’s getting the right amount of light.

Humidity

As we mentioned earlier, most orchids come from humid climates and so like humidity when on display in our homes. As Ireland is usually quite a damp climate, humidity tends to be on the higher side of the scale. However, the use of double and triple glazing and central heating in our homes can reduce it. Orchids like a humidity level of about 70% which is higher than most homes.

If your orchid shows wrinkled leaves then your room may be too dry. You can increase the humidity for your orchid by spritzing the leaves (not the flowers) with some water. Or, alternatively, set up a gravel tray under your pot. All you need to do is cover the gravel with water, making sure that the plant isn’t sitting directly in the water. As the water evaporates, it will increase the humidity level around the plant.

Temperature

While we do have a damp climate in Ireland, we certainly don’t have a warm one. However, don’t let that put you off from choosing an orchid. The optimal temperature for our home and work environment is said to be approx. 21 degrees, and while many places will vary from time to time, most Irish homes and offices will fall somewhere within a couple of degrees of this.

While some orchids like warmer temperatures, there are those which prefer cooler temperatures, such as Cymbidium, which likes to be maintained at a temperature of between 10 – 14 degrees. However, phalaenopsis is a middle of the road orchid when it comes to temperature and appreciates temperatures of between 19 – 30 degrees during the day making it an ideal choice for most home and office spaces in Ireland.

In the wild, orchids are exposed to a drop in temperature at night time. This is easy to achieve in your Irish home or office, once you turn your central heating off, night time temperatures are generally around this level. If your home stays particularly warm at night, find a cool room to move your orchid to.

Growing Medium

This is the mix that the orchid grows in. When you buy or receive your orchid plant it will come in a pot usually with tree bark in it for it to grow in. This is because orchids cannot grow in regular soil, as the roots need access to air. You usually won’t need to worry about the growing medium for a few years until your orchid is well established and needs to be repotted. You can either just obtain some tree bark or buy a potting mix created especially for orchids.

Apart from these most important elements, there are another few things that will help you get the most enjoyment from your orchid. The flowers on an orchid are stunningly beautiful and so you will want to get the most out of them. Once they have wilted, nip them off carefully to allow your plant to redirect its energy into the other flowers.

You can also encourage your orchid to flower more often by using sterilised pruning shears to clip back the plant at the nodes after flowering has finished. This should help your plant to stay healthy and bloom regularly. Finally, when the plant is about to bloom and the buds have formed, don’t change display location. This is because the buds grow towards the light and if you move it to another location or angle the buds can twist causing the flower to open at an awkward angle.

We hope you have enjoyed this brief guide on how to care for your new orchid. We have a number of orchid plants and orchid arrangements available in Scarecrow Flower’s online shop. If you’re looking for an elegant plant for your own home, office or for a gift, we wholeheartedly recommend an orchid.

If we can help with any of your personal or corporate flower needs, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Fionnuala at Scarecrow Flowers.