How do I care for an orchid?
January 12, 2024 3:13 PM Subscribe
A while ago, someone gave me a lovely orchid plant with lots of blooms, like this one. I've always heard they're impossible to care for for the average person. How do I take care of it?
Ideally, I would love to see it bloom again. It's currently in a small plastic pot with orchid bark and some kind of stringy stuff on top of the soil, and that was kept in a ceramic pot. I read something recently that said putting them in a pot without access to air is the worst thing you can do, so I've taken it out of the ceramic pot and just set it on the table. The only instructions with it were literally just "Drip dry once a week with a small amount of water." So helpful.
I'm not exactly a green thumb, though I'm not a definite indoor plant killer, either. But I haven't taken care of indoor plants for decades, and I'm mobility impaired with my hands right now. I don't have a lot of places to put it either, so if it needs a specific kind of light, that could be a problem. A couple leaves had turned brown and fallen off, which is why I decided to ask here, because I would hate to kill it through ignorance.
Ideally, I would love to see it bloom again. It's currently in a small plastic pot with orchid bark and some kind of stringy stuff on top of the soil, and that was kept in a ceramic pot. I read something recently that said putting them in a pot without access to air is the worst thing you can do, so I've taken it out of the ceramic pot and just set it on the table. The only instructions with it were literally just "Drip dry once a week with a small amount of water." So helpful.
I'm not exactly a green thumb, though I'm not a definite indoor plant killer, either. But I haven't taken care of indoor plants for decades, and I'm mobility impaired with my hands right now. I don't have a lot of places to put it either, so if it needs a specific kind of light, that could be a problem. A couple leaves had turned brown and fallen off, which is why I decided to ask here, because I would hate to kill it through ignorance.
They likei
Misting, and a moist atmosphere. I keep mine on a plate with pebbles in it
I fill the plate with water so it evaporated on the plant. Keep out of sunlight They grow in forests with a canopy cover and rarely recieve direct direct sunlight.
posted by Czjewel at 3:47 PM on January 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
Misting, and a moist atmosphere. I keep mine on a plate with pebbles in it
I fill the plate with water so it evaporated on the plant. Keep out of sunlight They grow in forests with a canopy cover and rarely recieve direct direct sunlight.
posted by Czjewel at 3:47 PM on January 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
That looks like a phalaenopsis. They are pretty easy to take care of. Give the potting medium a thorough soaking with cool water once a week, but make sure water doesn't collect in the spot between the leaves. If you fertilize them, dilute the fertilizer to half the concentration recommended on the label.
They like bright indirect light (like a north or east facing window.) If the light is too bright the leaves may burn.
Here is more information on how to care for them.
posted by Lycaste at 4:36 PM on January 12, 2024
They like bright indirect light (like a north or east facing window.) If the light is too bright the leaves may burn.
Here is more information on how to care for them.
posted by Lycaste at 4:36 PM on January 12, 2024
I've had a grocery phalaenopsis reblooming for years now and the pierced plastic pot lives inside a watertight ceramic one. I water it about every seven to ten days by soaking it in the ceramic (but not getting water between the leaves) and then taking the plastic pot out and letting it drip-dry for, oh, half an hour?
In summer it shares a crowded east window and in winter it's in a south window and under a lot of plant lights. I'm in Seattle. Our heat rarely gets up to 68F in winter and the house air is correspondingly not very dry, and I strongly suspect that this is the secret of my success -- they're from high equatorial mountains IIRC, temperate and misty. Every two years, year-and-a-half, I shake out the orchid bark -- which will eventually get rotten and mushy and weak -- clip out any dead looking roots and tuck new bark into the roots.
posted by clew at 5:06 PM on January 12, 2024
In summer it shares a crowded east window and in winter it's in a south window and under a lot of plant lights. I'm in Seattle. Our heat rarely gets up to 68F in winter and the house air is correspondingly not very dry, and I strongly suspect that this is the secret of my success -- they're from high equatorial mountains IIRC, temperate and misty. Every two years, year-and-a-half, I shake out the orchid bark -- which will eventually get rotten and mushy and weak -- clip out any dead looking roots and tuck new bark into the roots.
posted by clew at 5:06 PM on January 12, 2024
I have three orchids that have bloomed several times. I make my own potting mix that’s half bark and half sphagnum moss. They need a specific orchid pot that’s breathable, something like this. I water every seven to ten days. I ONLY water once the soil is completely dry. If they are overwatered they die easily so I err on the side of caution and dehydrate them. Every week when I water I check the roots to identify problems early. If too many roots look like paper I know something has gone wrong, typically a watering problem, and make adjustments as needed.
Every week when I water them I spray them with this fertilizer. It is common and cheap and I can get it from the grocery store. I never spray the blooms.
I repot as needed, typically once a year, with freshly made soil. This is when I trim off previously inspected dead roots. Always sanitize your clippers before trimming.
I leave them in a window with bright, direct sunlight.
And… that’s it. It sounds like a lot but it is simple, fast, and day to day I do almost nothing. The blooms are gorgeous and well worth the effort I put in.
Good luck!
posted by Amy93 at 6:45 PM on January 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
Every week when I water them I spray them with this fertilizer. It is common and cheap and I can get it from the grocery store. I never spray the blooms.
I repot as needed, typically once a year, with freshly made soil. This is when I trim off previously inspected dead roots. Always sanitize your clippers before trimming.
I leave them in a window with bright, direct sunlight.
And… that’s it. It sounds like a lot but it is simple, fast, and day to day I do almost nothing. The blooms are gorgeous and well worth the effort I put in.
Good luck!
posted by Amy93 at 6:45 PM on January 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
During the pandemic, a friend who won orchid championships in Dallas for years told my daughter how to care for orchids. It’s pretty much exactly how Amy93 describes except my girl soaks her plants once a month for several hours in the kitchen sink, barely warm water, to mimic the tropical climate they love. They are slow and it takes a while for the new blooms to start but once they do, they go crazy. We probably have 10 plants that are covered in blooms at any one time. Seconding a very bright spot, they need lots of indirect sun. Basically our routine is be sure they are in a proper, vented orchid pot with the proper mix, soak once a month, put in a sunny spot and leave them alone. She has even rehabilitated several that we rescued out of garbage bins from the big box store and with patience, they come back. They are very happy and we benefit from their being happy.
posted by pearlybob at 1:58 AM on January 13, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by pearlybob at 1:58 AM on January 13, 2024 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Mine seem to thrive on benign neglect, I've always been mystified by their difficult reputation. I basically -
Occasionally run the tap over them to give them a good soak (but don't leave them sitting in water).
Then - and this is the only thing where they're demanding - put them somewhere that they can really drain well - don't put them on a flat surface but find a way of raising the bottom of the pot slightly so it has air underneath it. The slightest bit of moisture sitting at the bottom of the pot and leaves start to go yellow. I kind of prop mine on the edge of the uneven sink trim overnight to let them dry out well underneath.
That's it!
I've had mine many years with many rounds of flowering and still going strong.
posted by penguin pie at 4:21 AM on January 13, 2024 [1 favorite]
Occasionally run the tap over them to give them a good soak (but don't leave them sitting in water).
Then - and this is the only thing where they're demanding - put them somewhere that they can really drain well - don't put them on a flat surface but find a way of raising the bottom of the pot slightly so it has air underneath it. The slightest bit of moisture sitting at the bottom of the pot and leaves start to go yellow. I kind of prop mine on the edge of the uneven sink trim overnight to let them dry out well underneath.
That's it!
I've had mine many years with many rounds of flowering and still going strong.
posted by penguin pie at 4:21 AM on January 13, 2024 [1 favorite]
If they are overwatered they die easily so I err on the side of caution and dehydrate them.
Here to report, from repeated unintentional personal experience, that a phalaenopsis in a medium-humidity environment not exposed to bright sun can deal fine with not being watered for a month, or two, or even three. (I too do the soaking thing described above.)
Also, just because your orchid isn't blooming and hasn't bloomed for, say, years, doesn't mean it won't one day suddenly surprise you.
posted by trig at 4:37 AM on January 13, 2024
Here to report, from repeated unintentional personal experience, that a phalaenopsis in a medium-humidity environment not exposed to bright sun can deal fine with not being watered for a month, or two, or even three. (I too do the soaking thing described above.)
Also, just because your orchid isn't blooming and hasn't bloomed for, say, years, doesn't mean it won't one day suddenly surprise you.
posted by trig at 4:37 AM on January 13, 2024
Nthing that they're really not as difficult as their reputation suggests. Mine always were happy to be ignored. They seem to bloom about once a year, but the blooms will last for quite a while. I had mine in eastern sun, and watered them every week or two, very little water. I am a bad plant mom and don't fertilize them either.
posted by hydra77 at 8:31 AM on January 13, 2024
posted by hydra77 at 8:31 AM on January 13, 2024
Response by poster: Oooohhh boy, I messed this up a lot, though hopefully, some of the answers still work. I appreciate the help. I kept looking at the responses and going "between the leaves"?? What does that mean, the leaves are on the bamboo-like stalks?? And after searching and searching, I finally found pictures of a dendrobium orchid, which is apparently what I have. (In a green opaque plastic plant pot.)
I thought those flowers on the phalaenopsis were what I'd had, but this picture is similar to the color and shape and they've been gone for long enough I couldn't remember things perfectly. So I don't know if/how much that changes the care instructions, but at least now I have a few places to try. I'm wondering if one should prune the stalks--there's one stalk that is starting to flop over because the stakes don't support its top-heavy number of leaves.
I'm also in Seattle, and right now I have it on a dining table in an east-and-north-facing corner window. It hasn't received any direct sunlight, though in summer I had to move it around a bit because that's the only place to put an air conditioner, and it would have blown on it too much. But otherwise it's a somewhat average temperature in that corner (except right now, when we're well below freezing for a change).
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:41 PM on January 13, 2024
I thought those flowers on the phalaenopsis were what I'd had, but this picture is similar to the color and shape and they've been gone for long enough I couldn't remember things perfectly. So I don't know if/how much that changes the care instructions, but at least now I have a few places to try. I'm wondering if one should prune the stalks--there's one stalk that is starting to flop over because the stakes don't support its top-heavy number of leaves.
I'm also in Seattle, and right now I have it on a dining table in an east-and-north-facing corner window. It hasn't received any direct sunlight, though in summer I had to move it around a bit because that's the only place to put an air conditioner, and it would have blown on it too much. But otherwise it's a somewhat average temperature in that corner (except right now, when we're well below freezing for a change).
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:41 PM on January 13, 2024
Best answer: I'm wondering if one should prune the stalks--there's one stalk that is starting to flop over because the stakes don't support its top-heavy number of leaves
No, there's no reason to do this unless the cane dies. Get some bamboo stakes and stake it- if you cut off the cane you're just needlessly making the plant smaller and removing sources of nutrition (leaves and green canes) and sources of blooms (nodes).
Here is the care sheet for Dendrobiums from the American Orchid Society.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:15 PM on January 13, 2024
No, there's no reason to do this unless the cane dies. Get some bamboo stakes and stake it- if you cut off the cane you're just needlessly making the plant smaller and removing sources of nutrition (leaves and green canes) and sources of blooms (nodes).
Here is the care sheet for Dendrobiums from the American Orchid Society.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:15 PM on January 13, 2024
This thread is closed to new comments.
When the roots start to look brown and withered (ideally, before this point, but you'll get to know its patterns over time), give it a good soak for 15 minutes or more. I've left orchids in a soak overnight before. Just not more than a day, probably. And indirect light is fine--a windowsill in a non-Southern-facing window, something like that.
posted by knotty knots at 3:23 PM on January 12, 2024