Tips on Planting orchids
Orchids are one of the most exquisite plants on this planet. Flowers blooming from orchids would surely take your breath away. That is why is you want to grow your orchids well, you need to know every feature of planting orchids. One of them is the soil used.Thoughtful me gave my friend an orchid plant as a gift. She was very crazy about orchids but really didn’t have the adequate knowledge needed to successfully care and grow one. She was knowledgeable with most plants but not orchids. What she did was plant her orchid in rich potting soil, only to watch it die. She had to learn thru this that soil requirement for orchid is different form other plants. Orchids aren’t really that different from houseplants. Well, there is the difference with their growing needs, of course.
Orchids of the Wild
Airplants or “epiphytes” are one of the most common orchids that people like to grow. Epiphytes grow in tree branches and tree trunks. A lot of rainwater is stored in the epiphytes absorbent roots. The outside of the roots dry off between watering/s. Rotting prevention is made possible by this survival mechanism. The thing with regular soil is that it does not allow orchid roots to dry as it is highly absorbent.
Medium
The purpose of the medium is to provide upright support to the orchid plant and to provide a bit of moisture in between watering/s. There are many potting materials for you to choose from when it comes to planting orchids. You may use one of the popular choices, namely, coconut husk, chips, charcoal, cork and tree barks. Cork slabs are particularly helpful in mounting orchids. The best material to use for orchids that needs moist is moss. Always check with an expert for the best materials to use with your kind of orchid.
Orchid Repotting
When an orchid is newly acquired, give I time to adjust to the factors in its new environment-light, humidity, temperature. Give it 5 to 7 days. If the pot that it came along with has good drainage it should be ok for a year or two. Repotting is important because organic materials rot and this will rot your orchid roots as well. After a considerable time period (a year or two given that your orchid’s pot has good drainage) the old medium will start to break down and become somewhat like soil, suffocating the roots and not letting them dry out which will cause the start of rotting. Planting orchids should be an easy task as long as you are armed with knowledge. Just remember patience and perseverance will take to a deeper understanding of the orchid species.
