What is the best way to grow orchids at home? Practical care methods to share

Choosing the environment

Orchids mainly grow under the shrubs of subtropical mountain forests, which has shaped their growing habit of liking half shade and half sun, and loving humid, airy conditions. As long as you understand the growth patterns of orchids, you can provide or create environmental conditions close to those of orchids.

Use of growing medium

According to cultivation experience from various places, as long as it is slightly acidic, no matter what growing medium it is, orchids can be grown well; the problem is that different growing media should be managed in different ways. For pots, it is best to use clay pots or Yixing clay pots, because orchids are aerial-root plants and breathable pots are very beneficial to orchid growth.

Reasonable watering

The water used for watering orchids must be clean and slightly acidic; never water with pathogen-laden wastewater. The watering method should vary according to the plant. Loose mountain soil holds sufficient water, and granular soil plus pumice and volcanic rock also absorbs water fairly fully, but does not become waterlogged. After different growing media have been watered once thoroughly, when the surface of the pot looks dry, about one centimeter of the growing medium turns whitish. To increase air humidity, you can spray the pot surface to increase the moisture of the upper growing medium so that the orchid grass and pseudobulbs remain somewhat moist; wait until the whole pot from top to bottom has not dried out completely, then water heavily and thoroughly.

Fertilizing

On the basis of mastering watering well, in order to promote better growth of orchid grass, fertilizing becomes even more important. Organic fertilizer, that is, farmyard manure, should be diluted and can be applied once every ten-plus days; other inorganic fertilizers should be used according to the instructions. During the growing period, orchids can be given foliar fertilizer as a top dressing. Base fertilizer is also very important. When repotting and changing soil, as long as the fertilizer does not touch the orchid roots, an appropriate amount of base fertilizer can be added. Too much fertilizer easily burns orchid roots and causes black spots. If fertilizing is done properly, it can produce strong seedlings and good flowers. The general requirement for fertilizing orchids is small amounts, clear and dilute, truly achieving light fertilizer applied frequently.

How to grow orchids

Orchids attract much attention and affection from flower lovers because of their characteristics, so many flower lovers like to grow them. As for how to grow orchids, beginners often ask. It just so happens that a flower lover often has the chance to meet some orchid farmers who grow orchids, so they also often shamelessly ask others about orchid-growing experience, and even more shamelessly wheedle a few favorite pots out of them. In short, every time after meeting the amiable old orchid farmer grandfather, they return with a full load, wahoo... he is really easy to talk to, and it feels like they bully the old man terribly. These experiences were also tried at home, and they really worked well, so they are also offered here to share with everyone:

1. It is not hard at all to grow orchids without root rot, so do not use so many fancy growing media.

When I was still a rookie at growing orchids, I also had a big headache over what growing medium to use when repotting. I flipped through many books, read quite a few forums, and even collected a series of so-called growing media, mixing all kinds and stirring all kinds... But in the end, no matter what ratio or formula, orchid roots still rotted just the same, and in the end that water, watering was wrong and not watering was also wrong. Once I went to visit a friend who did business in orchids, and he took me to meet an orchid farmer. I seized the chance and pestered him relentlessly to let me into his orchid room, really just to see what these experts actually used as growing medium?! As a result, I saw that in his orchid room, which was larger than a big warehouse, all the orchids used and only used one kind of growing medium, and I was dumbfounded - bark, he only used bark.

After returning home, I pulled out all those half-dead orchids at home, emptied out the growing medium inside, put a layer of stones at the bottom of the pots, and then planted them with large pieces of bark. A week later, green and tender new roots emerged, and from then on I gained confidence in orchids. Later I even tried, when dividing plants, disinfecting the separated new plants, wrapping them with a little sphagnum moss, then tying them to wood and placing them in a shaded orchid shed, and the roots grew like crazy.

The old orchid farmer grandfather explained why not to use so many fancy growing media. Because we rookies are all afraid the orchids do not get enough water, we water aggressively, but in fact, compared with dryness, what orchids fear more is being too wet. Although everyone knows orchids should not be watered when not dry, for beginners, what counts as dry? Presumably it is hard to grasp without several years of experience, because it is impossible every time you water to dig into the growing medium to see whether it has dried completely, and growing media dry from the outside inward. Many times when we see the outer layer of growing medium is terribly dry, the growing medium in the center is actually still moist, especially when sphagnum moss is used. Watering at this time, it would be strange if the roots inside did not rot.

So, honestly learn from the old grandfather and just use bark.

2. When orchids do not bloom, it mostly has nothing to do with fertilizer.

After growing orchids for these few years, the most troublesome was Phalaenopsis. At first it was a problem, and after solving them one by one it had no challenge at all, so now there is not a single pot of Phalaenopsis in my orchid collection at home. Many people surely, like me, first came into contact with orchids through Phalaenopsis, and surely also felt to varying degrees that Phalaenopsis is not easy to grow, because it just will not bloom and will not bloom. One habitual way of thinking is that if a plant does not bloom, it is because there is not enough fertilizer. Then comes all kinds of fertilizing, and after that all kinds of root burn, yellow leaves, and plant death. In fact, orchids are not a plant that needs heavy fertilizer. Think about their native state, on rocks, on tree branches; few orchids grow on the ground, so where would they get so much fertilizer? In fact, an important factor determining whether orchids send out flower stalks is the temperature difference. The climate of tropical rainforest areas is muggy and rainy, and the temperature difference between night and day is large; this is what prompts orchids to send out flower stalks.

Fertilizing orchids is also very particular. To be honest, I have never seen the orchid farmers here apply root fertilizer to orchids. Their fertilizer is mixed with water and then sprayed regularly in the orchid room, truly light fertilizer applied frequently. When fertilizing at home, it is best to do the same. Mix compound fertilizer for spraying on leaf surfaces with water, dilute it as much as possible; do not be afraid it is too dilute, since it is light fertilizer it cannot be concentrated. Then spray it on the leaf surfaces for the orchids to absorb, preferably in the early morning or at dusk, not at noon when the sun is strongest. Before fertilizing, water the plants first, and when the plants are no longer dripping, you can fertilize. Do not pour leftover fertilizer solution into the pots; it should be discarded to avoid burning the roots.

3. If you want orchids to grow well, do not dote on them too much.

I understand many orchid lovers' affection for their beloved orchids. I also love them terribly, so much so that at the beginning I could not put them down, touching the leaves for a while and looking at the flowers for a while, wishing I could carry them with me. The result was not good: that Phalaenopsis I once loved most was so frightened by me that it did not bloom for three years. Finally, it fell out of favor and was placed in a corner of the orchid room, almost forgotten. Then one day I suddenly walked into the orchid room, and a flower stalk had emerged from the heart of the orchid; judging by how thick and strong it was, it was sure to be a cluster of stunning large flowers, and indeed it was just as expected. So here I advise orchid fans who love orchids as much as life itself: do not keep moving orchids. Although orchids do not demand much from the environment, they are extremely sensitive to environmental changes; even a small change can make them nervous. As long as an orchid is frightened, it will very likely refuse to bloom. Think about it: even if you made a person rush all over the world every day, they could not stand it either.

4. Should it really be an orchid room or an orchid shed.

When I first started growing orchids, I did not know how to create a good environment for them, and often hung them under trees in the garden. As a result, as the sun moved west, some orchids were always sunburned to death. Finally I spent a large sum of money and made an orchid room. At first it was quite good and the flowers grew happily, but before long the nightmare began. The orchids started getting sick, with all kinds of pathogens and pests. During that period I applied medicine almost every day, but still could not turn things around. Later I went to bother the old grandfather again. As soon as he heard about my orchid room situation, he started scolding. It turned out that poor ventilation was the cause of the trouble.

In fact, knowing how to provide orchids with a good environment is right, but an environment that is too good only backfires. Although an orchid room is expensive and professional equipment for tropical orchids, for people who just grow orchids as a hobby it is really unnecessary. But without shading it also would not do. In the end I simply removed the plastic from the orchid shed and replaced it with black shade cloth. Unexpectedly, the effect was excellent: the orchids grew happily and there were rarely any diseases.

5. What orchids need is not lots of water, but moisture.

Here I want to talk about the issue of watering orchids. Many people understand the basic principle of watering orchids - do not water when not dry. But there is no absolute standard for the degree of dryness. Most people, when buying flowers, ask the seller one question: "How many days apart should I water?" Here I want to say, do not completely believe what the seller says. Sellers are just sellers; most of them are not the people who grow the flowers, and the answer they give is only a reference. Even if they are the people who grow the flowers, because the environment at home is definitely not as good as the greenhouse environment, the watering frequency is definitely different.

For newly purchased orchids, if the growing medium is still wet, do not water for now. When a new orchid enters the home, place it in a cool corner for two or three days, let it calm down, and then water. When watering, do not pour from a height so that the whole plant is soaked through; use a relatively gentle stream of water from a fairly low height to water the orchid thoroughly. So-called thorough watering does not mean watering until water leaks from the bottom of the pot. As long as the orchid's growing medium is not soil, water will quickly leak from the bottom of the pot, but this is not thorough watering. Let the orchid plant stay under the water stream for about two to three minutes. After stopping the water, let the water in the orchid pot drain dry, and when it is no longer dripping you can put it back in place. Never, for convenience, sit the orchid pot in a water tray, or the roots will definitely rot.

When you have nothing to do, you can spray water on the orchid plant several times a day; just do not spray water when the sun is strong, and try not to leave water droplets on the leaves and flowers to avoid burns, especially on white flowers, which are very prone to it.

Spraying water is to increase air humidity. In fact, compared with frequent watering, frequent humidifying is more reliable, and the orchids will be very grateful for your effort.

6. If an orchid unfortunately becomes infected with pathogens, do not be reluctant; kill it.

It is a very sad thing when a beloved orchid is infected by pathogens, because the chance of saving it is generally not great, and even if it is saved, the orchid plant will be badly weakened. What is more frightening is that pathogen infection is contagious, especially among orchids of the same genus, which are the easiest to infect.

Well, if you want to rescue it, it really takes a lot of trouble, so at this time you must wield the sword of wisdom and part with what you love. Gather the diseased plants together - burn them!

7. Do not wait until the flowers fade and bloom again.

With great difficulty, the orchid has bloomed, beautifully, truly pleasing to look at. Well, under normal circumstances, the flowering period of an orchid can last more than two weeks, but you should know that because of these few weeks of flowering, the orchid will be badly weakened, and in serious cases it may not bloom the next year. To keep the orchid plant strong, flower farmers actually cut off the flowers at the beginning of blooming. Although it is really unreasonable for us to do this, we do not have to wait until the flowers fade to cut off the withered pistils. When the flowers are at the middle stage of blooming, they can be cut off as cut flowers and placed in a bottle, equally beautiful. Just do not cut all the way down when cutting; leave a section of flower stalk for the orchid plant to slowly recover nutrients, so as not to stimulate the orchid plant.

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