How To Plant Orchid Flowers
Where To Plant Orchid Flowers?
Most orchid genera should be installed indoors in non-tropical areas. Only Vandas, Cymbidiums and some others can be outdoors when weather conditions allow it.
At home, look for a place near a window to provide sufficient light but without direct sunlight. Better in spaces where there is a certain relative humidity (sometimes the bathrooms if they have enough natural light can be a suitable place, also the interior terraces or greenhouses that are sheltered from the external temperatures).
If you want to locate it in a more visible area of the house try as far as possible, place your orchid next to other plants (thus we ensure a microclimate with a higher level of humidity compared to other areas). If your orchid is alone in a slightly damp place, try to provide environmental humidity by regular sprays (without wetting flowers and avoiding puddles at the bases of the leaves or the central stem). You can also place it on a plate or container with gravel or ceramic balls where we will pour a little water but without touching the roots of the base of the container containing the orchid. In this way the water will evaporate little by little and create a little moisture around the plant.
Avoid dark places and / or extreme temperatures. Also avoid the proximity of air conditioners or heating radiators working.
Finally, orchids prefer sites without air currents but that can be ventilated (renewal of air) with some frequency. They do not tolerate closed environments, contaminated or with excess fumes or organic gases.
Surely in your house there is a suitable place to keep one or several orchids.
Planting Epiphyte Orchids
First, wash and sterilize the containers or pots you are going to use. They should be well prepared for drainage, so place a good layer of drainage material on the base. Use pieces of broken pots and place the large ones over the drainage holes and the smaller ones on top. In small pots this layer should measure at least 1.5 cm in height and, in large pots (more than 15 cm in diameter), 2.5 cm.
1. Remove any grass, bract or dead leaves before removing the plant in its pot. Remove the Orchid from its container, gently removing the old compost until a large part of the roots is visible; submerge the base in water. Remove it and let it drain for half an hour and then carefully remove the compost that has been stuck to the roots. Do it with extreme care since many Orchids have very weak roots, which break easily. Cut the pieces of root you see in poor condition; It is normal to find one or two dead roots. In addition, you can cut the roots a bit so that the transplant is easier.
2. Place a layer of compost on the drainage material and support the plant so that the base of the plant is at the height of the edge of the pot. Carefully try to put some compost between the roots, before planting it.
3. Next, add compost around the plant and on the root mass, reaffirming it well with the fingers between them.
Gently tap the flowerpot a couple of times to make sure it is even and slightly reaffirm it. Position the plant in such a way that the oldest part (the first posterior bulb) is near the edge of the pot, with the newer parts – the young pseudobulbs – in the center of the pot. This allows space to grow.
4. The pseudobulbs should be at the height of the compost surface, with the upper half of the rhizome exposed and the lower half buried. Do not forget to leave space in the upper part (from 13 to 19 mm) for watering.
5. If the container -special for this type of plant- is made of clay or plastic , place pieces of broken pots in the bottom (explained above); then wrap with coconut fiber as a base
chosen for support; Put a thin layer of sphagnum moss as a wet base for the plant, pressing it gently. Distribute the roots to plant or fix then the plant with traces of tree bark or tied (with strips of nylon stockings passed through the rhizome and without damaging the buds) to a piece of tree stem that covers the radius of the matero already conditioned , so that it is firm and does not move.
LOCATION ALONG WITH OTHER PLANTS
– Along with bromeliads, the key is “together but not scrambled”: bromeliads usually occupy much more space than orchids, in addition to being larger.
– along with coquettes: it is not uncommon for them to grow by themselves with orchids, but be careful not to grow too much, because they take away space and access to the sun.
– along with ferns: the same as with coquettes, with the aggravating situation of being a refuge for worms and cockroaches, as are bromeliads. A too dense foliage will not let the culture medium dry.
– along with other orchids: it is not uncommon to see “monsters” grow next to “dwarfs”, the former will surely overshadow the latter. It is preferable that they are close but not in the same pot or container.
– Under trees:
a) Rinse the top of the tree when it gives an excess of shade. A very dense shade can not only be excessive for your plants, but it will also encourage excess moisture, which is a common rot factor in roots and flowers. This problem is avoidable if you choose a tree that does not tend to excess leafiness, and depends on the orchid you choose.
c) Placing orchids under palm trees or “sticking” to them is not always a good idea, especially if the leaves of your palm are heavy, because falling can damage your plants.
d) If you use a tree as a “tutor” to house orchids, place them at your fingertips. Possibly consider that this is not necessarily very aesthetic, but it is the most practical to take care of them. Also, if you place them directly on the bark, fix them with strips of nylon stockings that you no longer use, firmly but without disturbing the buds that will be the new bulbs and putting, between the bark and the plant, a piece of fiber of coconut because it is more resistant to deterioration over time and the proliferation of harmful fungi.
e) Type of bark: some are more susceptible to good anchoring than others.
f) Deciduous trees: some trees lose their leaves in dry season or immediately before flowering and fruiting, which will naturally leave their orchids unprotected from the sun’s rays. This is not necessarily harmful, in fact some orchids will benefit from this “extra” light, as long as the loss of the leaves of the tree occurs during the months of the shortest and coldest days of the year. Among the orchids that benefit we have all those that in nature face the same situation.
g) Finally, if you have trees that provide good conditions for the orchid planting, use them.
I am Don Burke, one of the authors at My Garden Guide. I am a horticulturist that cultivates, grows, and cares for plants, ranging from shrubs and fruits to flowers. I do it in my own garden and in my nursery. I show you how to take care of your garden and how to perform garden landscaping in an easy way, step by step.I am originally from Sydney and I wrote in local magazines. Later on, I have decided, more than two decades ago, to create my own blog. My area of specialization is related to orchid care, succulent care, and the study of the substrate and the soil. Therefore, you will see many articles dedicated to these disciplines. I also provide advice about how to improve the landscape design of your garden.
