ORCHID CARE

SEASONAL HOUSE PLANTS (Christmas edition) – THE ORCHID

At this time of year certain houseplants come on to the market ready for (dare I mention the C word)… Christmas. There are the usual poinsettias and cyclamen to choose from but if you want something a bit different try going for an orchid. For many years most people considered orchids to be a plant that only grew in heated greenhouses. Some varieties may be difficult to grow, but chances are you wouldn’t see them for sale in the garden centres; you would need to go to a specialist for that. My mother received an orchid a couple of months ago and it has proved to be a trouble free plant, infact from my experience they seem to thrive on neglect. I remember a couple of years ago I was nosying around the reduced to sell section in B+Q in Derry and picked up a couple of orchids that were reduced from ₤8 sterling to₤1 sterling, a bargain I thought.

This plant is still with me. After it flowered in the first year I put it in a cold room and forgot about it over winter for six months, then threw it outside the back door where the kids took it out of it’s pot and used it as a sword, then it was dumped into a pot and put in the tunnel. There it is now looking green and healthy and in full flower. I wouldn’t recommend my method of looking after orchids so here are some more accepted ideas should you receive one as a present.

LOOKING AFTER THE PLANTS
Most orchids suited for the home are known as epiphytic (epif-tik) jungle plants (in nature they grow perched high in trees, clinging to branches or in hollows in the trunk). They get their food from the air, rain and decaying vegetation around the roots. Many orchids don’t really need high temperatures, in fact they do better in cool daytime temperatures of 60-70 degrees and lowering to 55 at night. The plants thrive on about four hours of sunlight a day in the winter months so leave them in the brightest place you can.

HUMIDITY
The lack of humidity will be the worst thing for an orchid, if you think how high the humidity is in a rainforest duplicating this will be difficult. They need at least 50% humidity which means that you may have to put the plant on a tray with pebbles and water in it, stand the plant so that it isn’t sat in water as good drainage is important. Misting the leaves will help, but do it early in the day so the water doesn’t sit on the leaves at night.

WATERING
In the growing season orchids can be watered about once a week when the soil becomes dry, don’t allow them to get too wet for long though as this will rot the roots. Use rainwater if you can, as it is softer and more natural. Water very sparingly in winter and leave in a cool room.

COMPOST

Orchids don’t use compost as such, as you can imagine they grow on the bark of trees so that is the ideal medium to put them in if you need to repot the plant. There are special potting mixes that you can get from the garden centres that contain fern fibre and ground bark, which doesn’t cost a lot, the plant that I have growing now has lived quite happily for two years on the tiniest bit of bark, but I would recommend a fortnightly feed of plant food in the growing season if you want a glorious flower display.

Horticultural.