Orchids never cease to be very popular. These are beautiful and attractive plants that delight their owners with unique and long flowering. To achieve active growth and healthy flowering, you need to know how to care for orchids in a particular period of the year. Proper care involves maintaining the required level of humidity, choosing the right soil, installing lighting and timely watering.
Adaptation of the flower after purchase in the store
The first thing to learn about how to care for an orchid is the adaptation of the flower after purchasing it. For this, the flower is quarantined for several weeks. Plants are set in a separate place away from other flowers. The place of installation can serve as a bedside table and a window sill. An important condition is the absence of direct sunlight on the flower.
During this period, it is necessary to exclude the addition of fertilizers to the soil. During the dormant period, watering should also be avoided. It is simply necessary to observe the flower in order to timely identify and destroy pests. At the end of several weeks, orchids should be gradually removed from quarantine by accustoming them to sunlight and gradually watering them. After the plants stand dry during the quarantine, it independently adapts to room conditions. An orchid can grow in an acquired substrate for several years. Therefore, a flower transplant is not needed. The only exception is when it is planted in sphagnum moss.
Orchid care during flowering
During the flowering period, orchid care comes down to the following rules:
- When the orchid blooms for it, you need to install abundant watering. The flower loves warm water, and therefore it is worth watering the flower under the shower, the water of which will be 35 degrees. Excess moisture is removed so that the plant does not rot.
- During the flowering period, you need to use top dressing. The stores sell special fertilizers for orchids. You need to bring them into the ground in a certain amount so that there are not too many of them.
- At the time of flowering, plants cannot be transplanted, as it will shed all the flowers and buds.
- For a long flowering orchid, try to leave it in one place.
These simple rules will allow you to extend the flowering period of the plant and enjoy this process to the maximum.
How to care for an orchid after flowering
A sign that the orchid has faded is a dried and blackened peduncle. It needs to be cut off at the base. During this period, care for the plant comes down to reducing watering. The flower can be both watered and sprayed from above. If there is a need to transplant a flower, then after planting in a new pot, it must be installed in a new place. Only in this way can the orchid bloom again. Even if a flower is not repotted after flowering, it may lose its ability to bloom again. Symptoms of this can be yellowed or wilted leaves, as well as the absence of a peduncle. In this case, the orchid also needs to be installed in a new place.
Each time after flowering, the orchid pot must be cleaned in a cool place where the temperature does not exceed 18 degrees. After flowering, the moment comes for the orchid to rest for 7-8 weeks. During this period, you can gently loosen the soil so that there is more oxygen available to the roots. In this case, it is necessary to loosen the soil without touching the roots. During this period, top dressing is excluded. During the dormant period, the flower will again form buds and the plant will be ready for a new stage of flowering.
Flower care in winter
In winter, watering orchids becomes less intense. It is necessary to water the flower once every one and a half weeks. People who have only recently purchased orchids often make the mistake of putting the pot back on the saucer immediately after watering. First you need to let the flower stand so that excess moisture leaves through the drainage hole.
As a rule, most window sills are a cool place, so excess moisture will have a low temperature and the roots will constantly soak in cold water, which will lead to hypothermia as a result. It can also cause fungal or bacterial diseases. In winter, indoor air humidity often drops to 40% or even lower. Therefore, during this period, it is better to install a humidifier near the orchid. In winter, avoid watering through spraying.
For orchids that are in a shady area or that love sunlight, you need to install additional lighting. This should be done starting in October, when the days are getting shorter. The lighting system can be 60W fluorescent lamps. The distance between the plants and the lamp should be within 20-30 cm. The comfortable temperature for the orchid in winter is between 15-23 degrees. If you want to speed up the flowering period, you can arrange a temperature difference for the flower in the range of 5-7 degrees. In winter, this is easier to achieve, and this mode leads to the rapid appearance of flowering buds.
Plant support in summer
It is important to know how to water an orchid in the summer, because on hot days the flower can quickly dry out and die. Therefore, do not bring the state of the soil to dryness. As soon as the soil is dry, the leaves will begin to lose their elasticity, the roots will become dry, and the buds will begin to fall off.
Watering plants in the summer is better by immersing the pot in a bowl of water for several hours. Natural lighting in the summer is quite enough for the plant. The air temperature on hot days should not exceed 27 degrees, so during this period you need to choose a cooler place for the orchid. The higher the temperature in the room, the more it needs to be ventilated to provide the flower with fresh air.
In summer, it is necessary to continue to feed the flower so that it gains the necessary strength for flowering. This period is favorable for the spider mite, and therefore it is necessary to carefully monitor its possible appearance on the flower.
Flower transplant tips
When transplanting an orchid, you must use the following recommendations:
- When choosing a pot, make sure that it is no more than 5 cm in diameter from the diameter of the root system.
- Before pulling the plants out of the old soil, it must be watered.
- Before planting in new soil, the roots must be cleaned of dirt and moss residues.
- Before planting in a new place, you also need to immerse the orchid in warm water for half an hour.
- During the transplant period, dried out rotten roots are removed.
- Buying soil for orchids is in a specialized store.
- Drainage should be placed at the bottom of the pot.
After transplanting, the flower is best kept in the shade, spraying the leaves with water. The first watering must be done 5 days after planting. It is worth fertilizing the soil after 1 month has passed since the transplant.
Where to put an orchid?
Each type of orchid has specific lighting requirements. Therefore, the flower must be installed taking into account its sensitivity to light. The sunny side is not always suitable, as orchid leaves can get burned. To avoid this, the window can be covered with a curtain or blinds installed. Lighting for orchids plays an important role. If you put the flower in the wrong place, then the lack of light can lead to a deterioration in the condition of the plant. Symptoms that the plant does not have enough light are narrow, pale and elongated leaves that are on top. With a lack of light, they will lean towards the window. You can put an orchid in a place convenient for you, the main thing is not to violate the regime of lighting, moisture and temperature.
How to properly water an orchid
In general, orchids do not like too much when water stagnates in the ground. However, it must be borne in mind that different types of orchids require their own approach to watering. Some of them prefer to grow in drier soil and require watering only when it is completely dry. Basically, all orchids withstand drying out better than waterlogged soil. Abundant watering for a flower is necessary during the period:
- ejection of peduncles;
- bloom;
- active growth.
The plant immediately shows a lack of water. This can be seen from the leaves that wrinkle. When there is an excess of moisture in the soil, the leaves will soak and turn yellow, and the roots will quickly rot. In winter, you need to water the orchid once every one and a half weeks. Reduce watering is also necessary during dormancy and after flowering. Soft water can be used for irrigation. Place the flower after watering back into the pot only after all the water has come out of it.
Plant lighting
Light is one of the defining requirements for orchid care. In summer, it is best to shade the flower and avoid direct sunlight on the leaves. It is best to plant the plant under diffused light. The flower should be under the light for at least 12 hours. If daylight hours are greatly reduced, then you need to install additional artificial lighting. In autumn, the flower is at rest. At this time, shade the plants is not worth it. It should be at rest, as new shoots are laid.
If you want to buy orchids in the LoraShen floristic salon, our specialists will definitely give you practical advice on caring for the type of orchid that you choose.
