gardens
Orchid Garden
How to care for newly bought orchid
1. Check to see if the planting material is right. If there are only large coarse tree barks, add small amount of fine tree barks or peat moss to the pot.
2. Only water the orchid when it is dry. Usually water it every 4 to 7 days.
3. Most orchids cannot take full sun. The best sunlight for orchids is before 10am or after 3pm.
4. Orchids can be fertilized every 2 weeks with diluted liquid fertilizer, quarter strength to half strength. There are specialized fertilizers for orchids. It is good to follow their instructions for flowering and healthy growth.
Most of the orchids which we buy from supermarkets or nurseries are cultivated in greenhouses. They grow in a tightly controlled environment. Once we bring them home, we need to help them to adapt to our house. (Some nurseries do prep their orchids for home growth before selling, but the others don't.)
The first thing we need to check is the planting materials inside the pot. If it is just large coarse tree bark or with perlite, we need to add some fine tree bark or some peat moss to the pot to increase water retention. If the planting materials show sign of old age or rotten, we may consider re-potting it once it is done with the flowering.
Most of the orchids are natives of rain forest or tropical area. They grow on tree top on tree barks. Their roots have evolved into specialized structure. They can absorb water from rain and from moist air and the root systems store water. However, bury the roots in soil can make them rot.
Most of us do not have a greenhouse. We also cannot shower them like in rain forest every day, so we create the pot similar to their native environment with just a little bit more moist condition, still with a lot of air and empty space inside the pot. We only need to water it once in 3 to 7 days, depending on the dryness of the house and the pot condition. The best way to tell if it needs water is to lift it up and feel the weight. Water it when it is light and dry. Orchids can tolerate short period of dryness, but it cannot tolerate constant wetness. It seems constant wet mediums promote fungi and bacteria growth, which can hurt orchids' root and cause rot.
There is a simple way to retain some moisture around an orchid. Put the whole pot into another empty one to two size bigger pot. The bigger pot can keep the water moisture around the orchid a little bit longer when the water is evaporating from the original pot.
Most of the orchids cannot tolerate full sun. Their leaves could be burnt in just an hour in noon sun. The burnt marks will show up in a few days later.