How to successfully cultivate with satisfaction your orchids at home!

Orchids always represent the element that characterizes a classy environment. As with all flowering plants, orchids also need special care to prevent it from drying out. Without forgetting that curing the orchids in the house becomes more complicated: they undergo strong temperature excursions especially in winter, because of the radiators. Before you try to buy an orchid plant is good to know that if you have a house exposed to the north, then poorly lit, it is better to desist, the orchid in fact needs to be exposed, at least partially, in the sunlight throughout the year. Below we will illustrate how to treat the orchids in the house following some important indications.

How to treat orchids in the home, preliminary indications

Place the orchid plant in a sunny, south-facing room, taking care to avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
Be careful not to expose them to direct heat sources, as they may dry out the roots, which are generally exposed to air.
Do not water the plant too much, you have to water them little and often otherwise the roots could rot with ease: to know the amount of water that is needed, just touch the ground and see if it is moist, if it already is, as often happens in winter, do not need Inn Affiarla
Do not use the Annaffiatorio but sprinkle water with a diffuser around the jar; The ideal would be to use rain water: The chlorine contained in tap water is the worst enemy of orchids. To irrigate the orchid you cannot use a hard water (with limestone, like that of the tap), you must use a neutral water (PH 7 reaction) or a slightly acidic water.
Make sure that the plant is not attacked by parasites: to keep the situation under control, carefully clean the leaves every day: the dust obstructs the leaves slowing photosynthesis and exposes the orchid to a large number of diseases.

Orchid in the House, diseases of the leaves

If you notice yellowed orchid leaves placed on the side of the window, it means that the orchid receives too strong a solar radiation, so move them.
If the yellowed orchid leaves grow everywhere, irrigate it using calcareous water, then start using "sweet" water and administer iron-based fertilizers.
If the orchid leaves are shrivel and sprouts are not formed, it means that the light is too little.
If stains appear on the leaves of orchids (often the stains also appear on the flowers), it means that the plant is suffering because of the low temperatures, move the plant to a warmer area. The orchid phalenopsis, the most cultivated in the house, does not thrive well with temperatures below 20 °c.

Orchids in the House, golden rules for the cultivation of potted orchid

It is true, to cultivate the orchid it is possible to use any vase, from terracotta to synthetic materials... However, using a transparent vase facilitates the development of the root system. The roots of the orchids cultivated in the house need light because the same as the leaves carry out photosynthesis. A transparent vase will also allow you to observe the root system and notice any rotten or dry roots.

If the flowers wilt, you do not have to sever: the withered flowers leave themselves on the same plant until they fall spontaneously.

Fertilizer for orchids in the house in the vegetative phase, when the potted orchid shows first the leaves and then the flowers, help the plant with a specific liquid nourishment, better if in vial because easier to manage. Simply cut off the cap and insert a vial with the tip covered in the ground. The fertilizer in ready-to-use vials is ideal for orchids grown in domestic environments.

Among the various products on the market we recommend the liquid manure for orchids drop by drop for its excellent quality/price/duration: each vial releases all the elements needed for the plant for 15 days, a package contains 12 vials. At Amazon This product is proposed at the price of about 16 dollars for two packs (24 vials that will provide nourishment to your orchids at home for one year).

Cultivation of orchids in the house: propagation and repotting

At the time of the repotting of the orchid it is possible to proceed with the division of the Tufts, in practice from the old orchid plant that you are cultivating in the house you can get two or three!

The first thing to do is to irrigate the substrate abundantly and extract the plant from the jar lifting gently.

Remove the old basal leaves from the brown coloration.

For the division, use a sterile knife with a wide blade with which you are going to divide the root apparatus at the point chosen for the division of the aerial part.

Eliminate part of the old loam, any dry roots and prepare a new vase.

For transplantation, fill the bottom of the jar with gravel (drainage layer) and fill the remaining depth with a specially fertilized soil.

Enter the plants obtained in the new pots taking care to cover the roots to the collar. To cover the roots, use a mixture of Sfangno (MOSS) and Osmunto (Fern roots), alternatively you can use pine or fir barks. Do not put the loam yet because during the following days the level will tend to go down and you will have to refill over and over again.

Carefully arrange the roots of the orchid in pots, the new vase must give 5 cm more diameter than the previous container. With a repotting performed carefully, you will have to wait to transplant the orchid again for another 4 or 5 years.

The temperature

The orchids are divided into three large groups according to the needs of temperature: orchids from cold, temperate and warm greenhouse. 

Plants that are native to low altitudes, that is to say from sea level to about 800 meters and living in a warm and humid atmosphere will have to be cultivated during the winter in a heated environment: greenhouse, veranda or apartment; the cultivation room must also ensure a good degree of humidity with the winter night temperatures of about 17-18 °.

The species that live from 800 to 1500 meters are the most numerous; they will benefit from intermediate temperatures and adapt very well to the cultivation in the apartment if we give them a temperature difference between the day to the night of at least 4-5 degrees. A temperature too stable night and day does not allow them to have an adequate induction to flower and the vegetation will continue all year without an adequate period of rest, the winter night temperature recommended for these species is about 14-16 °.

The species of cold regions and those that live in altitude require cooler temperatures. A slightly heated room will allow us to have the ideal temperature of about 10-14 °.

Temperature changes between night and day are essential for a good induction to flower.

Some practical advice for your plants to better withstand high summer temperatures:

- if you can put them outside in the shade under a tree or with a shading cloth at 50% and ensure good ventilation;
- water them profusely in the morning and water them slightly several times a day, even with an automatic system;
- use a fan in the hottest hours of the day and keep wet, if possible, the floor, evaporation contributes to the lowering of the temperature;
- do not forget that hybrids have the same needs as their parents even if they are generally a little more tolerant.

The Light

All plants need light to ensure photosynthesis. The orchids in cultivation must receive much light, but never the direct sun, especially ever sun through the glasses. A plant with herbaceous leaves, thin or very watery could be damaged by the direct sun, with a sunny window it will be necessary to foresee a curtain that exhists the sun rays, also on the burns of the leaves could be installed of mushrooms Pathogenic. An orchid with thick leaves and leathery in general is a plant that lives in regions with a strong luminosity, this will bear the sun in winter, in a veranda or a greenhouse should be placed at the top near the glass and slightly shaded in summer. If the leaves are of a dark green color it is certainly a plant that in nature lives in shaded areas so a window to the North will be ideal. The hours of light are also very important. If we do not have sufficient natural light we will have to set up a system to increase the hours of light available, however we do not have to leave the lights on continuously, even in nature there is the alternation of night and day.

Watering the most frequent question that I am asked by those who start to grow orchids is: how many days do I have to wet my orchid? It is impossible to say how often you have to water a plant, there are very many factors that determine the frequency of watering; the recommendation, in general, is to wet well only when the mixture is dry. The frequency and abundance of watering are not the same for terrestrial orchids and for epiphytes, the latter do not have the reserve of waters that have available the orchids grown in pots for which they will be watered much more frequently. We have to know always from our suppliers of the needs of the plants purchased, in some cases these love to have the roots to Bath!!! A good system to determine when it is time to water an orchid is to weigh the jar: when this is heavy we must not give further water because this is already present in the substrate, when the vase is light, it means that all the water has evaporated and therefore It's time to water, if we are not sure of the weight of the vase we wait one more day is better not to overdo the water.

The quality of the water

Very important is the quality of the water we use to vaporize and water the orchids. Rainwater that seeps into the subsoil is enriched with calcium carbonate (CACO3). Calcium (Ca) is essential for human and plant organisms. Calcium is present in the walls of the orchid cells, it promotes the rigidity of the stems and intervenes in the ripening of the fruits and the seeds. A water rich in limestone is defined as hard while the poor limestone is called sweet. The water too hard or too sweet is harmful for the cultivation of orchids. The excess of limestone (CACO3) causes an unsightly whitish deposit on the leaves of the plants and prevents the perspiration and the absorption of water by the leaves also damages the velamen of the roots. A water too sweet causes the yellowing of the ends of the leaves and the appearance of black spots on the edges of them.

If we use for watering rainwater or reverse osmosis water it is good to always add a small amount of fertilizer. Be very careful if you use a domestic water softener that does not give sodium to water because it is very damaging.
Another very important parameter is the PH of the water. The PH indicates the acidity or alkalinity of the water, measured on a scale from 0 to 14; a value of 7 indicates a neutral water, above indicates a calcareous water while below an acid water, of course the more we approach the extremes of the scale the more the alkalinity or acidity increases. The ideal pH for the cultivation of orchids is around 6 or 6.5.
If you collect rainwater you have to avoid collecting the first rain after a long period of drought, this will surely be full of pollutants and very acidic. Store also in a dark container otherwise proliferating algae and other unwanted organisms.

During the visit to our greenhouses, if you bring us a sample of your water, we can check for free for you the PH and salinity of the same (prior appointment).

Environmental humidity

Environmental humidity means the amount of water, in the form of steam, contained in the atmosphere, the ideal humidity for our plants is around 60% for potted plants, while those grown on a raft will benefit from a moisture of About 70%. Keep in mind that the humidity is in relation to the temperature, the higher the higher the amount of water vapor that can be contained in the atmosphere. An air too dry stresses the plants, the end of the roots dries, the leaves wither and in the long run beyond that to compromise the flowering can also lead to the death of the plant.

Ventilation

Plants must not live in an environment where the air is confined, open the windows of your local culture when the temperature allows and always provide a fan that guarantees a good recirculation of air, even if our plants to hand a moist environment the air must not be stagnant, good air circulation avoids diseases and rottenness.