Where several plants are grown together the principle remains the same but the method is enlarged, using troughs to hold several plants. The more plants that you grow in close proximity to each other in this way, the greater is their surrounding microclimate. There is a whole range of decorative plant troughs, from inexpensive plastic containers to shiny copper types, all suitable for a few orchid plants.

A constant check on the temperature is essential and one should always have a minimum/maximum thermometer close to the plants. These are easily obtainable for a small outlay from any garden shop. Read the rest of this entry »

Care and cleaning

The care of your built-in windows or orchid case is most important to the success of your plants. There are a number of jobs which should become routine, such as the daily spraying and weekly watering of the plants. Each day the plants should be lightly sprayed, and the base medium well wetted to maintain a moist humid atmosphere in the case.

It is important that whatever material is used for the base, it should be kept wet at all times to provide this all important humidity. The water level in the base tray should be maintained at half the depth of the gravel and should not be allowed to rise above this to avoid the danger of spillage onto the carpets. Your reservoir of water will slowly be evaporating and should be replaced with the surplus water from watering and spraying. Read the rest of this entry »

Water quality

The quality of domestic water supply varies tremendously from area to area and this is an important consideration when it is to be used for watering orchids. The pH is particularly important and should ideally be on the acidic side at a value of about pH 5. Very hard water is not good for orchids but beware of chemical water softeners; these introduce chemicals just as injurious to your plants as the hardness. The householder can collect rain water from the roof if this is preferred to the domestic supply, but if you live in an upstairs flat you will have no choice other than to use water from the tap. In this case, if you find that the water is hard and alkaline, a harmless method of softening is to suspend a nylon mesh bag full of peat in a bucket of the water for a few days. This will absorb much of the lime content and lower the pH. Whatever the source of the water, it should always be given to the plants at room temperature. It is always a good idea to fill the watering can the day before it is to be used, to allow the temperature to adjust and unwanted chemicals to settle. Read the rest of this entry »

Frequency and amount

There is no hard and fast rule that can be laid down for watering orchids. It depends on so many variables such as the species, size and stage of orchid, the size of pot, density of compost, humidity and temperature. A large, actively growing plant in a small pot may need soaking twice a week or more. Each plant should therefore be examined daily, lifting it to see if it feels light compared with when it was last watered. The surface of the compost may appear dry while the material underneath is still quite moist, particularly if standing in a fairly deep humidity tray. Only experience will teach you when to water by comparing wet and dry plants. A dry plant with shrivelled bulbs is a sure sign of underwatering, but a thorough soaking will soon restore the bulbs to a plump and healthy state. No growing plant should be allowed to become dry for any length of time and it should be remembered that plants growing indoors will dry out much quicker than those in a greenhouse where the humidity is high. Read the rest of this entry »