Caring for Orchids
Majority of orchids surrounded by foliage shade flourish in direct sunrays or spotted sunshine. It is ideal to provide indoor plants glittering filtered light. Alternatively they could be grown at window if they are able to receive few hours of sunshine in a day.
Since epiphytes need almost ten hours of direct sunlight daily, it is recommended that during winter season when day duration is short some extra light needs to be supplied artificially to these orchids to keep them last longer. Generally speaking these plants are warmth dependents. They need warmth regularly and within a controlled limit. When it is very hot they need some shade to regularize intensity of heat whereas in colder regions they require more hours of direct sunlight.
Humidity in higher amount is needed for all sorts of orchids. oÂne should be careful to stand plants oÂn the trays of moist pebbles and damped peat and mist-spray the foliage oÂne to two time a day when the mercury is above 70 degree F. Likewise a saucer of moist pebble needs to be suspended under the hanging baskets and requires mist-spray daily.
Orchids need water but in moderate measure. A slightly excess watering might cause damage to them. So much care is needed where watering orchid is concerned. Potted orchid plants should be given average water. But watering should continue at regular intervals provided that oÂne must be sure that the mixture is fully dried before watering is undertaken. Since these plants flourish marvelously in free-draining mixture, watering is oÂnly needed rarely, may be, oÂnce a week or so. Those flowers that grow oÂn fibrous supports like osmunda fiber need watering for more than oÂnce but each watering must be at a time when mixture is dry. The easiest way to water an epiphytic orchid that grow oÂn a hanging basket, is to soak the supportive material along with the base in a bucket for some minutes and then start watering potted plants in a normal way.
During rest period when potted orchids loose the leaves or tend to dry the oÂnly rescue is to keep watering the mixture in the pots. This may help revive them and prevent them from completely dying.
Generally, if proper suitable conditions are available, orchids do not ask for any other food but if some sort of feeding is provided it is always enhancing. If orchids are extra fed they have lush and soft growth even though flowers are affected. So after every third or fourth watering provide to those of the orchids that grow actively a foliar feed. This proves beneficial and more productive.
Free-draining mixture is the foremost requisite of orchids. This consists of equal parts of fibrous loam, leaf, mold or peat moss, sphagnum moss and coarse sand. Potting mixture for epiphytic orchids come from osmunda fiber. This highly porous material is provided in many grades from very coarse to very fine. Right degree of drainage is available if this mixture is blended with other materials in proper proportion. As an alternative even shredded tree bark could be used with good results. An ideal potting mixture that can serve the purpose for orchids is a blend of two parts of osmunda fiber or shredded bark with oÂne part of sphagnum moss.
It is not recommended to repot orchids in most of the cases for more than oÂnce per annum. It is advised to repot them as soon as new root growth takes place during spring. Whenever potting or repotting is undertaken the rotten roots need to be cut with sharp knife as much as the old mixture requires to be cleared from the roots that survive. Plant with single stem should be placed in the middle of the new pot. If it is rhizomatous, rhizome needs to be so placed oÂn the mixture that its back-side touches to the edge of the pot and the front growing side toward the middle. If two years growth is expected it is advised not to use larger container rather a pot of appropriate size is to be taken.