Enjoy success with orchids
Orchids are often much easier to grow than people think, especially if you keep it simple
irstly choose the right position for your orchid. Cooler growing types, such as cymbidiums, oncidiums and dendrobiums, like to be in a room which has only a little bit of heating for the winter – a drop to 10C (50F) or slightly below is ideal. If you keep these orchids too warm, especially in winter, it can encourage too much leaf growth and prevent flowering. A little-used spare bedroom or dining room is good for these cool orchids, just make sure you take the time to check on them regularly so they don’t get forgotten. For warmer types like phalaenopsis, paphiopedilums and hard-cane dendrobiums, keep at least 15C (59F) on a winter’s night so they don’t chill. A kitchen or bathroom that’s warm and humid will suit them, or even a lounge where you can sit and admire them in bloom. Choose a position that doesn’t get the bright summer sun, but is still quite light. Orchid leaves can burn in summer, but need as much light as possible in winter. Place near a south-facing window at this time of the year, and a northfacing one from May onwards. Next, create the right environment. Orchids need humidity to thrive, and your home environment may be too dry at this time of year due to central heating. Keep a water sprayer near your plants and mist the leaves and aerial roots each morning. This moisture will evaporate around the plants and create the humidity they like. Growing other houseplants with your orchids will also help with the overall atmosphere. Start misting your orchids and you’ll definitely see an improvement in their overall health.
Getting the watering regime right is something the beginner always struggles with, however it’s best to keep it simple. Always water from the top of the pot and allow the water to drain right through, don’t let it stand in water for any long period of time. Then comes the crucial part: allow the roots to dry out well before watering again. By watering too often, you run the risk of the roots rotting and that will cause many problems with the plant.
If your phalaenopsis has rotten roots you’ll see them turn brown inside its clear pot. In this instance, trim back all the dead,
brown roots, clean out the waterlogged compost and re-pot into fresh bark chippings, using any healthy roots from inside or outside the pot as a new anchor. Keep warm and humid with regular misting to encourage new root growth.
If the old roots were very bad, it may have caused the leaves to shrivel and wilt. By re-potting as previously mentioned, hopefully these leaves will plump back up to good health as well. However, in severe cases, the rot can spread completely and if all the leaves drop off, the plant is dead. Don’t despair, learn from this mistake and treat yourself to a new one.