|
|
- Be sure to save the name of the orchid- so you can more easily find out what type of care to give it. It is much easier to identify the plant when the blooms are on still on the plant. With some orchids we have difficulty identifying the plant when there are NO blooms.
- Since I do my growing in a greenhouse, I am not an expert on growing them in the house; however, I have read in many places of people being very successful in doing this. Some just use existing windows, while others use artificial and/or supplemental lighting.
- Get one or more good books that have sections on growing orchids in the home to help you with lighting and other requirements. I think humidity, especially in the winter, is a concern that must be addressed. Also, the air needs to be moving for orchids. Other than that you can easily learn how to water and fertilize.
- Many people are successful at keeping an orchid alive; however, it won't bloom for them. Again, being no expert at growing orchids in the home, I am just relaying what I know is necessary in a greenhouse.
- The most likely culprit is not enough light- assuming you water and fertilize regularly and correctly.
- As I said before, some orchids need a temperature drop at night for quite a while before being able to bloom. Check your books for those that need the drop.
- According to most books I have read, orchids need to be re-potted every one to two years. It does depend upon the medium, the pot, and how healthy the plant is. As an orchidsitter I learned that I need to look at all roots of phalaenopses each time they come to me even if the plant looks healthy. Most phals have significant root loss due to overwatering, especially when the medium is moss; therefore I need to remove the bad roots, treat the good ones, and pot in a good medium. Other types of orchids give "signals" that they need re-potting. Since I don't know how recently the plant was repotted, I use my judgment when I look at the plant and at the medium.
- If you are caring for your own orchids you can keep a record of the dates of re-potting. (I keep this info on each orchid I babysit.)
- First Rays Orchids at www.firstrays.com is a very nice site. The section on useful information is especially good. Then the pictures are great.
- I suggest that any of my customers who are having problems overwatering should get a watermeter.
- You can purchase a water meter online at Yardlover.com for from $10 to about $16 including shipping. Some of the local chain garden centers as well as smaller ones have water meters also.
- I searched on "plant moisture meter" and found this hit at "Next tag Comparison Shopping"-- but there are plenty more!
- The American Orchid Society has pages where you can find out all about orchids. The link is shown on my "Some Good Stuff" page.
- The BEST description I have found for you to learn how to pot an orchid is on the website of Jim's Orchid Supplies at http://www.jimssupplies.com. With their permission I have provided a link directly to their potting pages. To go directly to the pages that describe how to pot a cattleya, click HERE.
|