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Orchids often symbolize beauty and love in our homes. Although they grow easily, they need slightly different fertilizing and watering techniques to maintain their exquisiteness.
In this guide, we shall explore various tips on how to care for orchids. We shall also illustrate how to choose the best lawn sprinklers for orchids.
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| Orchids |
1. Water Your Orchids Correctly
Overwatering is a practice that often kills orchids. The frequency with which you should water your orchids depends on multiple conditions, most importantly wind, humidity, light, the amount of moisture in the medium they’re growing in. It may not be possible to track all these conditions accurately, and thus you may want to go the traditional way. Take a sample of the planting medium and feel it in your fingers. If you notice that the moisture within the medium is too little, it’s probably time to water your orchids.
Ensure that you water the orchids just before the planting medium goes dry. In the end, you’ll develop a sense of when the soil is about to go dry — this may be in a few days or weeks, depending on the weather. Some suppliers sell clear orchid planting pots. When there’s moisture in the planting medium, you’ll notice some condensed moisture inside the pot. When there’s none, you won’t see the condensed water droplets, and you’ll know that it’s time to water your flowers.
Some orchid pots come with no drainage, making it difficult for you to water your flowers properly. If yours have no means of drainage, consider drilling some holes at the bottom of the pots or replace the pots. This way, you’ll create a way for the excess water to escape during watering.
2. Pot Your Orchids in the Right Media
Two media are commonly used in potting orchids — bark and moss. Both materials are perfect, but they also need a bit of care. Moss, which is sponge-like, takes a long time to dry. Therefore, when using moss as your planting medium, it’s advisable to water your flowers less frequently. Bark, on the other hand, holds a little amount of water, and thus the orchids need frequent watering. Remember, whatever planting medium you choose, the rule of thumb when watering your orchids is — water just before the medium runs totally dry.
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| Orchids |
3. Choose the Best Lawn Sprinklers for Your Orchids
When searching for a lawn sprinkler, it’s essential that you go for one with the following qualities:
- Hand-held to enable you to control the amount of water sprayed on your flowers
- Good inlet and outlet that minimizes uncontrolled water spillage
- Adjustable sprinkler head to control the intensity with which the water is sprayed
One sprinkler that has such qualities is Calunce Spray Kettle. You can easily find this sprinkler and others of its kind on Amazon.
4. Feed Your Orchids
It’s recommended that you feed your orchids with fertilizers once per month. Consider using fertilizers that contain phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, and trace minerals like iron. When new shoots are coming out, use fertilizers that have high nitrogen content; you may use fertilizers with high potassium and phosphorus content later on. Remember, overfeeding orchids damages them. Also, water your orchids properly before feeding them.
If you’re using bark as your planting medium, utilize fertilizers with considerably higher nitrogen content as compared to the other elements. This is because bacteria in the bark consume a lot of nitrogen, and thus you’ll need a way to recover it.
5. Maintain the Blooms
Blooming reaches its peak during late winter, around March normally, and usually lasts for one to three months. Once the bloom fades, cut the spike half an inch above the point from whence it projects. Also remove the dead leave and tissues, including old leaves, old flower stems, and dead roots.
In case a fungal disease has affected the flowers, cut off the infected tissue (a little past the affected parts); this will help stop the infection’s progression.
6. Don’t prune the orchids like a shrub
When you cut the leaf of an orchid, the remaining part might die. Cutting a live pseudobulb also damages the orchid severely.
Utilize sterile equipment when trimming or cutting your orchids. This way, you’ll prevent diseases from spreading from one plant to another. Consider soaking the equipment in bleaching agents between uses or utilize disposable razor blades.
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| Cutting Orchids |
7. Replant And Repot Correctly
Be sure to replant your orchids into a vaguely larger pot or any other suitable container. Also, make sure that you use appropriate planting media such as moss and back, and remember to ensure that there is proper drainage.
You’ll need to repot occasionally, either to refresh the planting medium or on account of new growth. Spring is the best time to repot orchids.
Final Word
How do you care for your orchids? Feel free to share with us. Don’t forget to watch out for our guide on how to store tomatillos.
Author Bio:
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Hi there! I’m Lucy – founder of GardenAmbition.com and I’m a self-confessed garden fanatic. Gardening has always been a passion of mine and will always be my favorite pastime. Now that I am married and have one adorable son, I have the time to write and share my personal experiences with other garden enthusiasts like me. |
