Do you own an orchid, but struggle caring for it?
Do you want bigger and better blooms every year from your orchid?
Or did you make your first orchid purchase and want to learn EASY & PROVEN caring tips
Caring for Orchids may seem like a time-consuming and challenging process. But learning how to care and grow orchids is easy.
They just require different care than a traditional potted plant.
If you follow these 10 EASY & PROVEN tips, you will find caring for the ten most popular orchids is easier, quicker, and more enjoyable.
Most importantly, you will have bigger, better, and longer blooms!
7 Main Orchid Care Requirements
The orchid plant is the most commonly grown house plant in the world. And after seeing orchids bloom, you know why!
Also, it is one of the most popular gifts to buy parents and grandparents for birthdays and holidays!
And while most gardeners feel they are challenging to grow and care for, they are not. They just require different caring.
No matter which of the ten most popular orchids you purchase, if you follow the main orchid care requirements below you’ll find your orchids will live decades and bloom more.
- Water no more than once a week
- Place your orchid in windows that face east to west
- Fertilize weekly
- Provide a humid environment
- Provide at least 6 hours of daily light
- Prune as needed
- Repot in the orchid mix when it stops blooming
8 EASY & PROVEN Caring Tips
Orchids are unlike any traditional potted plant you’ll ever see.
And learning how to care for Orchids is an art and a science.
Certain orchids called epiphytes do not grow in dirt, but rather hang by trees.
Other orchids called lithophytes do not grow in dirt, but rather on rocks.
And finally, semi-terrestrial orchids do not grow in dirt, but rather in a loamy soil.
And because there are so many types and species of orchids you cannot apply a general rule of caring to all of them.
As you review the below 8 EASY & PROVEN orchid caring tips, I am providing what specifically needs to be done for each of the 10 most popular orchids.
Following these tips will allow you to have more success more often when learning how to care for orchids.
Tip #1: Use the Right Orchid Mix
One of the easiest ways you can care for your orchid is by planting it into the right soil mix.
Orchid mix is much different than traditional potting mix because it does not contain soil.
Instead, orchid mix contains special media that promote healthy drainage and good airflow.
Typically, orchid mix will contain redwood or fire bark, sphagnum peat moss, rocks, sand, or even perlite.
It should be noted that each orchid will need a very specific type of orchid mix.
Most popular orchids will either need a well, draining potting orchid mix, a coarse, medium-grade fir bark, or a peat moss/perlite mix.
Tip #2: Use THIS Pot
One of my favorite tips when learning how to care for orchids I provide everyone who wants to make caring for orchids easy is to buy the correct type of pot.
For PROVEN success, I recommend purchasing a clear pot.
The reason you want to buy a clear pot is so that you can inspect your orchid roots. Orchid root growth is the best way to determine the health of your orchid.
Also, clear pots will help you easier determine when to water your plants.
Best of all is that clear pots are easy to clean, disinfect, and reuse.
If you prefer a more decorative pot then ONLY use ceramic pots.
And when it comes to size you want to purchase the smallest pot possible that the roots can fit in. For most orchids, you buy this will be approximately 6 inches.
Tip #3. Orchids LOVE Humidity
If you want more orchid blooms then you need to have humidity.
For the ten most popular orchids, you will need to have humidity between 50% and 70%.
If you want to control the humidity for your orchids then I recommend purchasing a humidity tray.
Humidity trays allow for water to collect in the base while the plant is suspended above it, taking advantage of extra moisture.
If you want to increase humidity, I also recommend planting orchids in groups.
And finally, misting (instead of watering) will increase the humidity in the air.
If you find that you need to increase the airflow of the humidity in your house then all you need is to turn on a fan!
So how do you know if your orchids need more humidity?
Orchids need more humidity if it begins to wilt, has brown leaf edges, flower buds fall off, or flowers quickly shrivel before bloom.
Tip #4: Do NOT Overwater
Orchids’ roots like humidity, but do not like to be wet.
Orchids also do not like dry air because it will quickly wilt the roots.
And watering your orchid is the hardest part of caring for it.
What makes watering such a hard task is that each orchids’ needs vary based on its type, environment, and season.
So what is the best practice when watering your orchid?
For all of the ten most popular orchids, you will want to water your orchid once a week.
You want to water your orchid until water begins draining through the pot holes. Once this happens then stop watering.
You will know your orchid needs watered by how it looks and feels.
If your orchid is dry to the touch and has a light brown color it needs to be watered. If your orchid is moist to the touch and has a dark brown color it does not need to be watered.
Tip #5: Orchids like it hot & cold
If you want to properly care for your orchids then you want to provide it with both hot and cold temperatures.
Like the orchid mix, the temperature will vary depending on the type and species.
In general, most orchids will require temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. And others will need cool fall air around 50 degrees Fahrenheit to bloom.
For best results, keep your orchid plant on the south and east-facing windows. And if it gets too much light do not move it, put up a curtain instead.
Tip #6: Use Orchid Specific Fertilizer
Fertilizing orchids is unlike fertilizing any other houseplant.
Using your average fertilizer off the shelf will not help. Neither will fertilizer that contains urea. Orchids do not absorb urea or plant fertilizer as well as other plants because they don’t live in the soil.
Because of the above factors, you will need to purchase a fertilizer that is specific for orchids.
The best orchid fertilizer was created by Michigan State Unversity and is the best application for a majority of the ten most popular orchids.
Tip #7: Have just enough Light!
Most houseplants require quite a bit of light to grow and bloom.
Orchids is not one of them. Too much light and they won’t bloom. Too little light and they won’t bloom either.
Orchid Plants can be described as either high light and low light.
High light orchids do not require lots of light, while low light orchids require some light. Typically, all orchids will require at least 6 hours of light though.
Unlike other plants, orchids are receiving enough light if they have yellow-green foliage and stands upright.
I recommend placing your orchid by your south window. You will not want to place the orchid by the north window because it will receive too little sunlight.
And if your orchid is receiving too much sunlight during the summer you can move your plant from the inside south window into a shaded area outside.
Even if you follow these steps for the light it does not guarantee you will have success. Sometimes you need help from a grows light with fluorescent bulbs.
Tip #8: Repotting is critical for growth
Repotting is a critical component of caring for all plants, but is even more important for orchid growth and bloom.
How do you know when to repot your orchid?
There are two very simple ways to determine if your orchid is ready to be repotted.
You should repot your orchid when the root system begins growing through the bottom of the pot.
Never look at foliage growth though when determining if your orchid needs repotted. This can be misleading and can stunt growth or even kill your orchid.
Another great way to determine if your orchid needs repotted is in your soil mix breaks down and it looks like your pot needs more soil.