A Guide To Properly Caring For An Orchid

I am a massive fan of orchids. Ever since watching Hilary Duff in ‘The Perfect Man,’ I have thought that orchids are the perfect flower. They are elegant and beautiful, and each one is unique.

However, I have managed to kill every single orchid that I have ever owned and broken my own heart. I needed something to help me look after my orchids so that they would last longer than a couple of weeks at a time.

If you’re like me and you have no idea what you’re doing wrong with your orchids, read this article to help you through.

Humidity

Orchids tend to thrive in humidity and need to have it to grow and stay alive for longer. You need to find a humid room or space in your house where the orchid can live and thrive.

The bathroom is a good place to keep an orchid because it tends to be humid in bathrooms due to the steam from the baths or showers. Ensure that you will remember the rest of the care instructions when it is in the bathroom, though.

Fertilize

Like any other plant, orchids need to be fertilized. You can buy fertilizer or make it yourself, but you must ensure that you have an orchid fertilizer on hand. If you do not, your orchid will likely wilt much faster.

You can either use a spout and pour fertilizer onto the base of the orchid, or you can add the fertilizer to some ice cubes and use those to both water and feed the orchid at the same time. You need to give your orchid fertilizer once weekly.

Re-pot

As your orchid grows, you will need to re-pot it because the roots will need more space to grow. However, repotting is a very delicate process. You will need to find clear orchid pots to use to re-pot the plants.

Once you have bought the pots you want to repot your plants into, you can find a prettier planter that will be more aesthetically pleasing. Monitor the growth of the roots in your home so that you ensure that your orchid stays alive after repotting.

Ice Cubes

Orchids tend not to need much water, but humans will overcare for an orchid by watering it as often as they water any other plant. There is a simple way to stop yourself from doing this, though.

All you need to do is place two to three ice cubes onto the roots of the orchid so that they can dissolve and water the plant. This will provide the perfect amount of moisture for the plant without drowning the roots.

Mist

Another way that you can ensure you don’t overwater the plant is to mist it. You can get a spray bottle and fill it with water, and then simply mist the leaves and stem of the plant so that they get enough moisture.

However, you should ensure that you never add fertilizer to your mister because misting the leaves and stem of the plant might burn them and cause the orchid to wilt or die. Misting will also be an excellent source of humidity for the plant.

Sunlight

As with any other plant, orchids have specific lighting requirements. Orchids tend to enjoy indirect sunlight and will not thrive if they are in very bright, direct sunlight. However, if they are in too low a light, they will not thrive either.

You should opt to place your orchid in a place where the sunlight bounces off another surface and can easily get to the orchid. This will mean that the sunlight will hit the orchid in the exact right places.