How to Care Orchids as Your Houseplant

Who doesn’t like the beauty of orchids? Everyone does. It’s just that the terms of orchid flower care, it is arguably difficult for beginners if they don’t follow the correct treatment methods. The beautiful Orchids are included in the Orchidaceae family. There are ± 30,000 species of orchids spread in the world.The characteristic of orchids is that they have labellum.

Labellum is what distinguishes the various species of orchids that exist. In addition, orchids also have a pseudobulb which is a thickening or swelling of the stem (pseudo tuber) and functions to store water and food reserves. Orchids have roots that are useful for attaching to the substrate, absorbing water and food, and photosynthesis at the root of the orchid there is a double epidermis, named velamen, white in color, which functions as a place for symbiosis with mycorrhizae. When observing orchids in the yard or even when we visit the nursery, we observe that orchids have the difference direction of stem growth, namely the orchid simpodial and monopodial.

Sympodial orchids have the characteristics of generally growing in clumps, the tips of the stems have limited growth, the stems stop growing after the flowers emerge, and when they mature, they flower and die, new tillers will be followed. Examples of sympodial orchids are orchids from the genus Dendrobium, Cymbidium, Grammatophyllum, Eria, and others. While orchids which are monopodial orchids have characteristics, namely unlimited stem growth, after flowering the stems continue to grow elongated, and tillers are often found appearing on the stem. Examples of orchids included in monopodial orchids are the genus Vanda, Phalaenopsis, Arachnis, Ascocentrum, and others.

The moth orchid or phalaenopsis is one of the most popular types of orchids. It blooms one to two times a year and the flowers last from two to three months. And dendrobium and oncidium is other popular types of orchids, which bloom one to two times a year and have flowers that last a little over a month.
Besides its beautiful and long-last of blooming mostly people buy them as a gift for close friend, colleague, family and so on. And you can buy this gorgeous flower at FTD as trusted seller flower delivery. Orchids also have a high value and being a target for flower lovers. Well, for those of you who want to plant orchids to decorate your house, you can follow these following methods.

Orchids care easily steps

1. Good planting media

The planting medium for orchids consists of two parts. One third of lower is filled with pieces of bricks, and then uses ferns. Place the plant in a pot which made of clay that has many holes to speed up the process for plants to have flower.

2. Light

Ideal bright for orchids you can get from an eastern or southern window. Eventhough these plants thrive in strong light, but direct sunlight can burn orchids. The sunlight being one of factor that will make orchids grow better because it is main useful energy source in the photosynthesis process, especially of leaves, flowers, and seeds of these plants. It has function as well to repair damaged plant parts and store food reserves. Therefore, first of all you need to pay attention to whether our house is well exposed to the sun or not, in order to ascertain the age of the orchid plant and its growth. You can keep in mind that leaf of color can be a good indicator of the amount of light an orchid is getting. Bright green leaves indicate a healthy plant

3. Air circulation of Orchids

Orchids need good air circulation, which is soft. This air circulation has functions to change the air on the surface of the leaves and roots of plants. If the orchid is placed in the area with too strong air circulation, the plant will get dehydration due to the water on the leaves and roots brought by gust.

4. Watering

Avoid overwatering and keep them moist all the times. Orchids need adequate air intake, especially during hot weather. Water the plants twice in a day, each in the morning (around 7am to 9am) and afternoon (3pm-5pm) depends on the weather. Ensure the soil is not wet to avoid root rot.

5. Humidity

Check out the humidity around the location where we plant the orchid. Humidity levels are good for orchids in the range of 60 to 80 percent. If the humidity level is around 50 percent, orchids will still grow normally, but the results are not as good as orchids planted in a place with the recommended humidity level.

6. Fertilizer

Apart from fertilizers that contain of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. ZPT or hormones also make orchids flower frequently. Another way, we can use coconut water. Mix coconut water into a spray solution, with a coconut air concentration of 15 percent or 150 ml in 1 liter of solution.

7. Prune

The stem should be pruned once a flower has dried. It is rare for an orchid to rebloom on the same stem so you can cut the old flower spike near the base of the stem.

8. Common pest

Based on research there are variety of possible orchid pests. Some of more are:

• Aphids
• Black rot
• Botrytis
• Bud blast
• Caterpillar
• Cold damage
• Fertilizer burn

The most common pest is aphids and to keep them away just wash them or else use a strong stream of water to blast aphids of your plant.

Usually in fall orchid’s lifecycle consists of an initial bloom, a dormant period and a rebloom. If it is in the orchid care stage, then it must repeat the dormant stage and rebloom every next few months.

Well, the text above is an explanation about how to care Orchids. Now, we are sure that you are able to care your beautiful orchids. Only by requiring a little knowledge, then you will find that orchids are easy to care for and it is possible to keep orchids alive for a very long period of time, maybe even decades, of course with proper care. This plant is a beautifful addition to any indoor plant display. Also, they are an adorable plant to start with if you are new to growing plants.