How to avoid tip burn in orchids? A detailed guide to prevention methods

Orchids can be called the undisputed model of elegance in the floral world, yet tip burn often occurs during cultivation, so how do you avoid tip burn in orchids?

Causes of orchid tip burn and solutions:

1. Excessive fertilisation

If too much fertiliser is applied, the excess nutrients in the orchid's system gather at the tips of the leaves, causing tip burn.

Solution: Do not use highly concentrated fertiliser, and do not spray any either; the nutrients supplied by your everyday watering are already enough to support normal growth.

If you feel your orchid needs feeding, you can apply a little weak fertiliser or use a slow-release fertiliser.

2. Insufficient humidity

Besides insufficient watering and soil in the pot that is too dry, tip burn is also closely related to air humidity that is too low. When the water supply and demand inside the orchid's leaves fall out of balance, tip burn easily occurs.

Solution: If you grow orchids indoors, this situation is unlikely to happen, but if you grow them outdoors, the outdoor air humidity is hard to control, so the orchids are very likely to develop tip burn.

In this case you need to immediately cut off the burnt leaf tips, then spray some clean water into the air around the orchid to raise the air humidity.

3. Improper lighting

If you do not provide proper shade in summer, the orchid receives light that is too intense, causing the leaf tips to burn.

Correspondingly, if an orchid is kept in too shady a place for a long time, its leaves become thin and weak, and at that point any exposure to sunlight is likely to scorch the leaves immediately.

Solution: Be sure to give the orchid appropriate sunlight; too much or too little is bad for its normal growth. You can keep it in a spot with diffused light, provide proper shade in summer, and in spring and autumn, when the sunlight is not strong, you can place it in the sun for care.