How to grow white orchids? A detailed guide to the latest care methods

The white orchid (Michelia alba) has a rich fragrance and a long flowering period, blooming from June to October. Place a single flower in your pocket, or set a few in a room, and the fragrance can last more than ten days without fading; even after the flowers have dried, shriveled and turned brown, brewing them as tea is still wonderfully fragrant. To grow white orchids at home, you need a fairly large balcony and courtyard, along with plenty of sunlight, because it is a sun-loving flowering plant; otherwise it will not grow well.

How to grow white orchids?

1. White orchids are neither drought-tolerant nor moisture-tolerant. In summer and autumn the weather is hot and evaporation is fast, so water demand is high and watering must be timely. Keep the potting soil slightly moist. Its roots are thick and fleshy, and it fears waterlogging above all, so the potting soil should be a free-draining humus soil. Do not let it get rained on during the plum rain season; if the potting soil stays wet and never dries, the roots will rot, causing the leaves to turn yellow and drop off and the plant to die, and it is very hard to save. This is especially important for white orchids brought indoors to overwinter and go dormant, because large white orchids grown in glazed ceramic tubs have non-breathable glazed walls, and at this time the plant's transpiration is low; the surface soil in the tub dries easily while the soil at the center dries with difficulty. If you water as soon as the surface looks pale, the potting soil will stay constantly wet and the plant will die. Most white orchids that people kill die from this mistake. Therefore, in winter the potting soil should be kept rather dry; as long as the soil at the center of the tub has not dried, you must absolutely not water.

2. White orchids like fertilizer but dislike strong fertilizer. Besides applying a generous base fertilizer when repotting every 2-3 years, generally after the plant begins flowering, water it once every 7-10 days with fermented soybean cake water or fishy water. Follow the principles of dilute application, frequent application, and application in the evening. Stop fertilizing after the cool autumn arrives.

3. White orchids fear cold and love sun, and should receive more than 10 hours of sunlight per day. Even when brought indoors to go dormant in winter, they must not be kept in long-term shade, or flowering the following year will be affected. They fear cold even more than jasmine. Bring them indoors to overwinter in early November, and they cannot be brought back out for care until mid-April of the following year.

4. White orchids are not tolerant of pollution. Besides not growing them in pots in factory areas, when caring for them at home do not place them in the kitchen to overwinter, so as to avoid cooking fume pollution.

Notes on growing white orchids in pots

1. White orchids have fleshy roots and fear waterlogging above all. The potting soil must be a well-drained acidic soil, and the bottom of the pot should be lined with 3-4 cm of granular furnace ash or broken tile pieces as a drainage layer.

2. In midsummer the sunlight is intense, so provide appropriate shade around midday, or move the plant under tree shade from June to August. During the peak growing season (May-September), apply liquid fertilizer once every 1-2 weeks, and at the same time keep the potting soil moist at all times. In summer also frequently spray and wash the leaf surfaces and sprinkle water on the ground to keep the environment humid.

3. In winter it is best kept indoors for care, with the daytime room temperature maintained at around 12°C and the nighttime minimum no lower than 5°C. Just after bringing it indoors, do not water too little. Around the winter solstice the white orchid enters dormancy, so watering must be controlled, fertilizing stopped, and appropriate ventilation provided.

4. During cultivation, if yellow leaves are found, promptly spray a 0.2% ferrous sulfate solution 2-3 times, which will gradually turn the leaves from yellow back to green. Avoid strong fertilizer when fertilizing. When repotting every 2-3 years, apply sufficient base fertilizer; after flowering, apply a thin, well-rotted soybean cake water and fishy water once every 10 days in the evening; stop fertilizing after the weather turns cool in autumn. It needs more than 10 hours of light per day, and even during winter dormancy it should be placed in a spot indoors with weak or diffused light, avoiding cooking fume pollution. When overwintering in winter, never move the white orchid into the kitchen. Yellow leaves on white orchids arise from two situations — iron-deficiency chlorosis and root rot from excess water.

① Chlorosis: mainly caused by potting soil that is too alkaline.

② Symptoms of root rot: the root system turns black and rots, and the leaves wither, yellow and drop off, causing the death of the whole plant. Therefore, normally wait until the surface of the potting soil turns pale before watering, and loosen the soil frequently.

5. Spring care and management. When the flowers fade, promptly cut back to about 3-4 leaf nodes below the spent flowers, and at the same time thin out some old stems and overly dense nodes to improve ventilation and adapt to the home balcony environment. After flowering in March there is a short dormant period, during which fertilizing and watering should be stopped.

6. Summer care: crab claw cactus (Schlumbergera) can grow slowly at 15°C, and grows faster at around 25°C when the air is also fairly humid; when the temperature exceeds 30°C, keep it in a shaded environment.

7. Autumn and winter care: in early autumn the temperature is still high, so spraying the leaf surfaces and sprinkling water in the environment should continue. From September onward, the crab claw cactus gradually resumes growth; in mid-to-late September, as the temperature drops, it can see sunlight morning and evening. In mid-to-late October it should receive full sun to promote flower bud differentiation and produce more buds. By early-to-mid November, as the weather turns cold, the crab claw cactus must be brought indoors to overwinter, and indoors it should also be placed in a spot with ample sunlight. However, during the flowering period it should be kept out of direct sunlight to prolong the flowering period. In autumn, watering should be moderate, and the potting soil should still be kept moist, neither dry nor waterlogged; excessive dryness, excessive moisture, a sudden drop in temperature, or too great a day-night temperature difference can all cause flowers and buds to drop.

8. In winter the temperature is low, and the evaporation of the crab claw cactus is correspondingly reduced, so watering must be watched carefully; it often dies from root rot caused by overwatering in winter. Autumn and winter are the period when the crab claw cactus forms buds and blooms, so apply a phosphorus-rich top dressing once every 7-10 days, and stop fertilizing during the flowering period. Winter temperatures change easily, so do a good job of keeping it warm and ventilated. When the room temperature drops to 5°C, protect it from freezing. Growing crab claw cacti is common in some households in Jiangnan; when the room temperature cannot be kept at around 15°C, even a pot full of buds will have difficulty opening.