Taking Care of Orchids

Thursday, 4.26.18

Spring Garden Show 2018

At 5 pm, I checked out a seminar on Orchids. It was noted that Santa Barbara and San Diego are great places for growing Orchids. There are over 30,000 types of orchids. When shopping for an orchid, it is important to get the real name of the particular orchid, its requirements, plant family, and then inspect it thoroughly. Bulbs should be plump. Check for bugs and holes on leaves. When you arrive home, place it in a location with proper lighting. There should also be air-circulation, humid temperature, stability, and keep the plant separate from other plants.

Epiphytes are air plants, and they live on bark of trees. They are not parasites. The leaves and roots get air circulation and dry fast. They get little nutrients in native habitat.

The successful flow involves watering, light, temperature, and re-potting. Frequency depends on the media, moisture, container type, container size, and environmental conditions.

Don’t put roots stagnant in water. You should irrigate, leach monthly, especially if you are using city water.

During seasonal weather changes, you should water less when it is cold and water more when the weather is hot. Do not use sodium soft water container because it dries differently. Water early in the day, and make sure it is room temperature. Do not put ice cubes in the water.

Wicking is used when you aren’t able to water your plant on a regular basis.

It is always better to fertilizer too little because when fertilizing too much, the plant dies.

Give vitamins. Use 20-20-20 with city water. Use 15-5-15 calcium magnesium with pure water, as well as potassium and nitrogen combination.

Orchids need enough light. If it gets too much light, you will see many flowers as well as yellowed leaves. If it doesn’t get enough light, then the leaves are dark green. Different orchid families will need a different level of light and temperature. Lower the light when in bud so the plant will grow taller and flower.  When the light and temperature increases, also increase the water, air, and nutrients to create balance. Place plants at different levels to create microclimates in your backyard. Indoor plants need over 12 hours of light.

Repot into a new and clean pot when it shows new growth, new roots that are longer than an inch, if media breaks, if plant has bugs, or plant just looks ill. Don’t break roots or flower stem. Don’t overpot. Stabilize plant with moisture. Glazed pot has lead and chemicals in the glaze. The pot needs drainage.

Use tree fern, lava rock, aliflo, sphagnum moss, osmunda, rock wool, and fir bark in center. Place small seedling bark with little bit of Perlite and orchid moss. Other ways include mounting cymbidium, creating a terrarium, growing orchid with fish, or mounting the orchid on a log or slab of wood.