AWE-INSPIRING ORCHIDS
ds d orchids is worth almost €500m.
If you would like to introduce some exotic e floral beauty to your living spaces, here are a few tips on how to m maintain them.
One of the most important factors for your orchid’s health will be where you place it. They like good light but to be away from d direct sunlight.
A north or east-facing win windowsill is usually a com comfortable place for them all-yea all-year round.
A humid environment is best d drench it through and let the compost dry out a bit between waterings.
If you can’t re remember when you last wat watered it, just pick up the pot – if it’s very light, it needs a good soak. so
If you prefer, you can stand the pot in a tub of water and let it drink from the bottom for an hour or so, but be sure to allow the water to drain away.
It’s better to water this way rather than a little dribble every other day.
As with most houseplants, you can cut back quite a bit on the watering in winter.
For optimum care, in hard-water areas use rainwater instead, and a tepid water temperature is best.
You can feed your orchid fortnightly when it’s in active growth, for example, when it’s pushing up a new flower stem, developing buds or putting out new aerial roots (which shouldn’t be pruned). There are specialist orchid feeds available, or just diluted regular houseplant food is fine too.
When the orchid blooms go brown you can clip the stem back – just above a node is best. You may strike it lucky and get a secondary bloom this way, or you might have to wait longer for the plant to throw up a new flower shoot.
Orchids need repotting every two years as the bark they grow in decomposes. So get some fresh orchid compost and repot – the same-size pot is fine for a moth orchid – and let the aerial roots stick out.