We bought 3 orchids a while ago and would like a few operating tips to take care of them.

Our apartment doesn’t have much direct sun light (good) and has warm spots all year long. With Springtime upon us - southern hemisphere - the weather is already oppressive warm. Bottom line, warm and shadowy.

The plants are receiving a 5 seconds water drink once a week and that is all.

Our oldest plant has started to lose its flowers already - after 3 months - and the latest, that has flowers that look like a five legged spider seems like it’s next. Should we worry?
Thanks .

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Not certain what you mean by 5 second water drink…orchids typically like some humidity and indirect light.. weakly weekly is the phrase that often comes up. Water once a week with a weak fertilizer. Mist them regularly. Depending on the type, some are like air plants (hanging on trees), some like wet feet. Depends on your type. Also, some need cold weather to set a spike. 3 months of flowers is pretty dang good, btw. You must be doing something right!

I’ve had one for over a year and it hasn’t re-flowered…only water it once a week, put it near the sunlight but not directly in it…

With mine (mostly Phals at this point), they need to be set by a cool windowsill at night to set a spike. I have 1 going right now, but the rest aren’t by the windows, so they’re just hanging out, looking leafy.

Miss Orchid Girl has a couple thousand (mostly) short videos on every aspect of orchid growing.

Most epiphytic ornamental orchids intended for horticulture prefer cool, humid conditions with bright lighting. Think tropical mountain rain forest under a thin canopy. This is somewhat difficult to reproduce in typical home conditions (too hot and too dry, ideally it would never get over 65℉, and under about 90% humidity). They generally do not like to have standing water constantly around their roots, so maintaining sufficient humidity can be a challenge. In the wild, they get daily rainfalls or heavy condensation which quickly evaporates or runs away from their roots. Obviously, some varieties are more sensitive to varying conditions than others.

The roots have a skin on them that retains the moisture necessary for the plant's needs. So in watering, frequent (daily), and light enough not to saturate the media in which it is potted. Perhaps once a week, or twice a month, water with a dilute fertilizer solution. Do not expect to get a flower spike more often than once a year, but the flowers should last six weeks or so.

Were pretty much on the same page then.


Please explain “ set a spike”,

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Spike=Send up a shoot that flowers.

Been told to water them once a week and keep them away from direct sunlight.

Weather was sort of optimal until a week ago when it really got hot, 95F or so.

Will check the YT videos. Thank you very much.

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quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Please explain “ set a spike”,

Develop a flower stem. Most orchids carry their flowers on a specialized stem (spike) that arises from the bulb or roots. It looks different from the vegetative growth that carries the leaves.

Different plant varieties use varying environmental conditions to trigger flowering. For many tropical orchids, it is a succession of cooler nights. Unlike non-tropical plants, it is not usually different day lengths or dry/wet conditions.

The real key is to identify (genus, species, & variety) the plants you are trying to flower, and then research their optimal growing conditions. Most orchids sold ar retail in the US will come with a plastic marker than lists the variety. There is a tremendous amount of information available on orchids due to the many fanciers who grow them. If you have an orchid nursery near you, asking them would not be the worst way to start, the flower/plant shop where you bought them may be able to steer you to a nursery.