Orchid Care

Orchids are,without any doubt, one of the most beautiful existing flowers, perhaps even the most beautiful. That way, it is not strange that orchid plants are becoming more and more popular among people to decorate and brighten up our homes.

We have been told that orchids are very fine and delicate flowers and that they request very special care. Well, yes and no, I should say… Let me explain. There are more than 20.000 different orchid species and the large number of hybrid species increases fourfold that amount. Bearing this great variety of orchid specimens in mind, it will be easy to understand that whereas many species demand very special care and attention, many others do not. In fact, caring for orchids belonging to some kind or species is no more demanding than caring for any other more common garden or house flower or plant. Moreover, most of the orchid species belong to this group.

Although it is very important to know what species your orchids belong to in order to care for them according to their need, I will be enumerating some tips and guides that can be taken as common requirements for (almost) any orchid (although maybe with some rare exception).

Temperature: It is important to keep the orchids between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s their favorite temperature!

Light: Orchids thrive in light very much… but moderately! In other words, it is recommended to avoid the direct afternoon sunlight to your orchid flower. Nevertheless, a good deal of dappled light during daytime is very convenient and also necessary for yourorchid plant. If you have your orchids indoors, you will want to place it sitting near the eastern window of your home. If natural daylight were not possible for some reason, you could also substitute it by a fluorescent light placed more or less a foot above the orchid plant, but that, only during daylight time.

Water: Orchids do not require a great deal of water. The most important thing is not to over water the root of the plant since that could kill the blooms. Nevertheless, it is usually necessary for the flowers to stay moist (again with some particular species).

Fertilizer: A good practice is to fertilize your orchid plant before the blooming season. Then, if it blooms according to the expectations, fertilizing can be not needed until the next blooming season (there may be some exceptions but the mere look of the plant can tell us whether it needs fertilizer or not). On the other hand, it is better to apply the fertilizer to our orchids in a moderate form. Lastly, we should avoid fertilizers that contain the compound called urea.

As you are surely interested in other tips and tricks to keep your orchid healthy, you can visit Jordi’s site to know more about Orchid Care. Visit also http://phalaenopsis-orchidcare.com.