Orchid Care: Learn How to Care For and Grow the Most Beautiful and Healthy Orchids

The Most Practical and Modern Guide You Will Find For Orchid Care

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Hydroponics and Orchids

By Nigel Howell

Growing and caring for orchids is a very pleasurable experience for any enthusiast. There is however an alternative to growing orchids the traditional way and that is with hydroponics. Hydroponics allows you to grow crops and plants without soil or compost as the roots of the plants are placed in a mineral nutrient solution.

The Babylonians and Aztecs cultures grew plants without soil so technically they were using a form of hydroponics. Our technology and scientific knowledge has improved dramatically since the times of the Babylonians and Aztecs as well as our understanding of the benefits

In their natural environment, plants absorb mineral nutrients from soil when these nutrients dissolve in water. The level of our understanding of the required nutrients has enabled us to artificially introduce them into the plants water supply and as a result the soil is no longer required.

Please be aware that there is a difference between hydroponics and a soilless culture. Hydroponics is a type of soilless culture but other soilless cultures include sand and gravel.

There are many advantages using hydroponics which can be applied to the care of orchids.

• No soil – It should be obvious that you don’t need to purchase any soil. No soil means that soil borne diseases are no longer an issue which reduces the need for pesticides.
• No weeding required
• Watering – It is very difficult to under water an orchid but over watering is a very common problem. Hydroponics removes this headache and at the same time saves water.
• Space – Less space is required with hydroponics.
• Light – More of the plant is exposed to sunlight. Also, as more of the plant is exposed it is possible to see the roots so identification on any problems is easier.
• It’s easy – The system is very easy to set up and once set up it requires very little maintenance.
• Growth – The orchid is given the correct nutrients in the correct quantities which means more beautiful and healthy orchids can be grown.
  

There are obviously many advantages which hydroponics provides. It won’t however solve all the problems faced by the orchid enthusiast. Greater flower yield isn’t always guaranteed and the costs can sometimes be higher than when grown in soil.

Orchid enthusiasts should make an effort to at grow at least a few orchids using this method. They will be surprised at the ease of using hydroponics and it will only increase their knowledge and experience in the care of orchids.

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Orchid Care – Feed, Humidity & Re-potting

By Nigel Howell

The world of orchids is a challenging one, but it is this challenge which captures the imagination of many growers. You have to keep an eye out for bugs when caring for your orchids but perhaps the biggest one is the one you may catch yourself, the orchid bug, you will be an enthusiast for life!

Feed

As with humans, plants can do with extra nutrients than they find naturally. If you do decide to use feed, aim for a specialist orchid feed which will contain all the necessary nutrients in the correct proportions. General fertilizers can be used as long as they are not too strong, ask somebody at the place you purchase if the fertilizer is suitable for orchids.

Humidity

Orchids like humidity. It is sometimes difficult in the summer months to maintain the required humidity as greenhouses develop a dry atmosphere. It is perhaps worth investing in a hygrometer as this device will tell you exactly what the humidity of the air is. A cheap but effect way of introducing humidity is by using a hand sprayer. You can spray your orchids a few times each day but be careful not to spray too much each time. Avoid spraying on open flowers as they may develop brown spots. A more experienced orchid grower may consider introducing fogger jets. Fogger jets are extremely effective and work by breaking the water up into fine fog.

Re-potting

Orchids may need re-potting for a number of reasons. The compost may begin lose its nutritional content, it may begin to decompose, it may have been over watered and therefore become waterlogged or may have outgrown their surroundings.

Ideally re-potting should happen around spring time but if your orchid requires re-potting, the period of the year shouldn’t prevent you from doing so. Look out for re-potting every 2 to 3 years.

When it is time to re-pot you need to decide which compost to use. There many different types of compost you can choose. Choose compost which drains easily as one of the common reasons some orchids die is because of over watering.

You need to choose a pot which is the correct size and provides plenty of drainage. You should only consider increasing the size of the pot if that was the reason for re-potting in the first place.

Once you have re-potted the plant put it in a shady place for 1 to 2 weeks. Give it about a week until its first watering session but careful not to over water.

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Orchid Care – Positioning, Temperature & Watering

By Nigel Howell

Growing a breathtakingly beautiful orchid can be a very rewarding experience as well as a challenging one. There are many enthusiasts out there trying to grow the perfect orchid, however, many an enthusiast has been let frustrated in trying to achieve such an objective.

If you haven’t already bought your orchid, the best place to do so is at a nursery which specialises in orchids. You will find that the staff at these specialist nurseries will have many year’s of experience and plenty of enthusiasm. They will be able to point you in the right direction of where you need to start. If you do find a knowledgeable member of staff be sure to remember their name so you can get some advice if you need it in the future.

Orchid care is much more an art than a science so there are no strict rules that you should follow. There is, however, advice that you can use to assist you until you become more experienced.

Positioning

The best site to place the orchid is in a well lit position as good levels of light are required. Avoiding direct sunlight is also necessary as too much light can lead to leaf scorch. If the leaves begin to go a reddish color then this is a sign of too much light and you should try and introduce some shade to bring the leaf temperature down.

Temperature

Orchids generally like a warm position with temperatures of more than 50°F. For orchids sold in general garden centers, temperatures usually range from 50°F to 60°F. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous then do some research and grow an orchid which requires temperatures of 65°F throughout the year.

Watering

The correct amount of watering required is hard to judge. As there is a tendency to provide too much light for your orchid, it is also common for the orchid to be over watered. Orchids require much less water than most people imagine. You will be required to water more in the summer than you need to in the winter. You should use rainwater where possible as this is more desirable than tap water. Consider introducing a rainharvesting system into your garden so that you always have a sufficient supply of rainwater. If you aren’t sure whether your plant requires watering it is probably best if you hold off and wait as orchids can survive mild drought like conditions.

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Background and History of Orchids (Orchidaceae family)

By Nigel Howell

The orchid family is not only the largest but also one of the most diverse plant flowering families in the world. The orchid was one of the first plants to evolve on earth, it was around in the time of the dinosaur, over 120 million years ago. Given the length of time they have been around it shouldn’t be surprising that there are over 35,000 species with hundreds of thousands of hybrids.

The most famous orchid in the world is the vanilla orchid (planifolia). Coca Cola is the largest customer of vanilla as they use the seed for flavouring. Madagascar is the world’s largest producer. Orchids are very beautiful plants and that is why so much time and care is put into growing them. Vanilla on the other hand is grown for its commercial value rather than for its appearance but it is labour intensive. The vanilla crop is the main source of income for many independent farmers in less developed countries.

Reproduction

One of the ways in which the orchid is so diverse is its ability to reproduce. Some orchids rely on flying insects, others rely on crawling insects and finally there are orchids that rely on the wind for pollination.

The Bee Orchid attracts bees to its flower by its appearance. It looks like a receptive bee which entices the male bee towards its pollinia. Other orchids have long stems which look as they are butterflies when dancing in the wind.

Some orchids have evolved so that they act as a good platform which attracts a weary insect to land. The nectar brought by the visiting insect brushes against the pollinia. Orchids sometimes have very slippery flowers which often results in the visiting insect falling into the interior of the flower leaving only one exit point. This escape route forces the welcome intruder into brushing nectar against the pollina.

Darwin

Charles Darwin wrote about orchids when demonstrating his theory of evolution by natural selection. He made a prediction about the pollination method of one particular orchid, the Angreacum Sesquipidales. He predicted that given this particular species emitted a strong scent at night and was white, the insect that pollinated it would be a moth. Darwin was proved right and it is in fact a moth that pollinates the Angreacum Sesquipidales.

Popularity of Orchids

Orchids have become immensely popular recently but they have been written about and cultivated for a very long time. Orchids were first written about in 700 B.C. by the Chinese and Japanese. They weren’t, however, first cultivated until around 300 years ago when seeds were bought by traders from around the globe. It was only the wealthy that could cultivate them initially but luckily this pleasure is available to many more people these days. Even with our 300 year cultivating experience, many a gardener has been frustrated by the care needed to grow beautiful orchids but this only adds to their popularity.

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