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Orchid – a pretty yet unpredictable plant that requires special care. It can repay you in a special way: it can bloom for up to six months, delighting many a houseplant grower.
For an orchid to develop properly, a certain combination of necessary conditions is required: good soil, sufficient amount of water, acceptable air humidity, adequate lighting, fertilizers.
How to water an orchid?
This flower does not like “standing” in water. It’s enough to water it once a week during warm periods and once every two weeks in cold periods. Its leaves will tell you whether the plant has enough water. With insufficient watering the leaves begin to shrivel and wilt, especially in cases of excessive light. If your orchid turns yellow, it means it has an excess of unnecessary water. The water for watering must be filtered, boiled and warm – approximately 25 ° C.
Orchid and lighting
The plants love bright surrounding light. It’s best to place it on a windowsill that faces south; under no circumstances should it be placed far from the window in some dark spot. If the lighting is insufficient, the orchid’s leaves will be darker and the flowering buds will drop.
Humidity and air temperature
The natural environment of orchids is the tropics, where air humidity reaches 50-80%. To create such conditions in an apartment, you must use a humidifier. In summer try to spray it with water every day, preferably in the morning so that the water evaporates before sunset.
Fertilization
These plants do not grow in ordinary black soil but in pine bark. It is sold in garden centers along with components necessary for the plant’s nutrition, such as moss, charcoal, peat, fern root. In such a substrate the plant needs to be repotted every six months. After repotting, due to the presence of new nutrients in the fresh substrate, the orchid usually blooms even faster.
We also suggest that you learn from the experience of Alexej Gorobei, who grows amazing orchids at home. He uses only a transparent pot so that light reaches the roots and he has the opportunity to check their condition. The roots are the first parts of the plant to react to bad conditions. The sooner you notice it, the higher the chance that you will be able to save the orchid.
Alexej waters the plant as soon as the moisture evaporates from the walls of the pot. If the pot is transparent, you will notice this moment almost immediately. And he knows how to properly remove the dead parts of the plant.
