How to look after orchids?

+17 votes
asked Sep 11, 2018 in Home & Garden by Terri16Z895 (290 points)
edited May 10, 2019
I bought a vase of orchids early this month. Unfortunately, it died within one week under my care. I really love their flowers so I want to try again, but not before I learn to properly care for them. Any advice here?

3 Answers

+21 votes
answered Jun 13, 2019 by DerrickMalla (370 points)
edited Aug 11, 2019
Even though orchids is relatively easy to take care of, one important thing to keep in mind next time you try your luck growing orchids is that these delicate, beautiful plants are tropical flowers. This simply means that they are naturally accustomed to growing in warm places. And just how warm is that? Experienced orchids growers suggest that temperature where orchids are grown remain around 20 Celsius to allow them to grow and produce flower. Anything colder than that will have negative effects on their health.

Maintaining the right temperature will be hard if you are living in an area that experiences severe winters. Your only resort in this case is to put the orchids in a room where the temperature is carefully controlled to give your beloved plant a chance to survive.
+10 votes
answered Dec 17, 2018 by GeoffreyNogg (370 points)
edited Jan 12, 2019
I have a few orchids at home and they are all flowering beautifully. I am not a professional grower but I am proud to say that not a single plant has died under my care.

My secret? Paying close attention to my plants.

I personally water them one by one weekly. But my care doesn’t stop there. I also regularly trim their stem and remove rotting stems and leaves so they won’t spread to other parts. Trimming the stems of your orchids is very important if you want plenty of flowers. You should also do it after all the flowers have naturally fallen off to encourage new nodes (that small bud where the flower emerge) to grow. Oh, and trimming also stimulate the plant to grow new stems.
0 votes
answered Jan 6, 2019 by AlexandriaCa (170 points)
edited Aug 13, 2019
I find your experience kind of strange, because orchids are hardy little plants that don’t need a lot of care. There is even this popular line from a professional horticulturist that speaks a lot about the ability of orchids to grow even with just little care:”It’s very hard to kill an orchid!”

The only thing that orchids need from you is water. And they don’t even need that much or that often. An average sized orchid will only need a few spoonfuls of water. And no, you don’t have to drench your plant every day. You only need to do it once a week and your plant will be fine.
commented Nov 10, 2015 by OtiliaGrimsh (180 points)
If this is true, then why did he ask how to look after orchids here?
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