Hi! and welcome to a new world. A world of orchids. If your new to this world, like me, you need not be afraid! Orchids have a reputation of being really hard to grow but are actually very easy if you take some time to learn what they need. Click HERE for the most common orchid questions.
Orchids have also been known to be expensive but based on the fact that with good care an orchid can be in bloom for several months a year and can live indefinitely, they are an excellent value as far as blooming plants go.
Orchids are not like other potted plants. Orchid care is not difficult, it is just different. They are epiphytes which means that they do not grow in dirt. Most of them grow by hanging or clinging onto the bark of trees in nature.
Caring for an orchid is not hard if you have the right tools and hopefully this site will help you to be successful! I have found very useful information on orchids that you can look through. I collected it from all over the internet and from local growers.
I hope this helps,
Hannah
Please feel free to leave questions or comments!!
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Hi! I am new to orchid growing and have 3 Phals. One is a mini and was in bloom when I received it, but has since gone out of bloom. Thanks to your site I managed to repot it without too much anxiety. The other two are full sized. One has aerial roots, while the other has a flower spike. I have started keeping a journal about how they are doing and hope to get more orchids soon! Thank you so much for the great tips on your site!
That’s wonderful!! Best of luck,
Hannah
Hi there i have 22 orchids (11x phals, 6x cymbidium, 1x miltonia, 1x Cambria, and 3x dendrobium) and they are looking good, my phals are looking great and they bloom for about 6 months, and new flower spike usually flower 1 month after the last flower has fallen.
Roots are beautiful and the plant looks very healthy, but usually the flower spike have only 3 large flowers, I want to know what could i do to promote more flowers at the time?
I use only a basic orchid feed once a month, and once a week i take it to the shower and i allow the water to rum through it for 5 min, never wetting the flowers.
They are placed in a sunny window, but the sun in Uk is very light, and they absolutely love that spot, they all have wet trays, and well ventilated pots, no drafts.
Many Thanks :).
Hi Bruna,
I fertilize my orchids with Feed Me from http://www.repotme.com every 3 waterings and on the 4th watering I use just water to flush out mineral buildup. I increase fertilization in the summer and use less in the winter.
I only water my orchids when they are completely dry and have them on humidity trays. Is this what your meant by a wet tray?
I have them in a big bay window with indirect light. My orchids bloom with multiple blooms but sometimes it takes a while if they were traumatized before I got them.
I also cut their bloom spikes down to the base when they are done blooming to conserve energy for next years blooms.
Hannah
Really a great achievement on your part, there is a sense of satisfaction when you can save even one ( which I feel) and here you are saving so many. Also your website is immensely helpful to first-time growers. Yeah! I think I am getting addicted to Orchids and I talk to them every now and then. I wish your website lots of success and I know how much hard work you have put into it. I want my orchids to bloom throughout the year and am currently concentrating on Phals, though I have my eyes on Vanda (blue) too.
Thanks Hannah for your prompt response, sorry forgot to mention, I live in Ontario, Canada and it is about 29 degree centigrade today, very unusual for a May weather. My AC is on and my home temperature ranges from 18 – 24. Also we had a mild winter this year. My other four orchids bought after the rescue are blooming crazy and one is even giving out new buds and has made a very beautiful arch. Does not look like they want to rest yet :=).I will keep you posted on the spike or root thingy! It is pointed upwards, it is not silvery at the base like other new roots with green tips and it is definitely not round, it has a purple-y-geen base with purple-y-green flat hand like structure. I am excited more so because this is my first rescue and also my first one when I knew nothing about orchids.
Sounds like a spike to me:) congrats!! I l love saving orchids. That’s how I got my start, everyone kept giving me their sad orchids and now I have 21 … Not counting the ones I have given away after saving them…which is like another 15!!!! I am running out of room!!
Hannah
Hi Hannah,
Your website is beautiful and your flowers are gorgeous. I like the way you have detailed out everything since September 2011 and I accidentally tumbled on your website. My first love for orchids came with a rescue ( Feb 25, 2012) which I have named SnowAngel. It was getting thrown into garbage when I picked it up and long story short I repotted it just watching internet videos and it is three months old now when it is growin two new leafs, a bunch of new roots and am surprised it is shooting someting like a new flower spike which has the mitten shape. It does in no way look like the other roots which are rounded and silvery in shape. This one has purple base and green hand like structure. My question is do orchids shoot spike in May? I think my plant is now happy and it is growing not one by two leaves and numerous new roots, I feed it orchid food and it is potted in moss. Many thanks in advance.
Hi:) and welcome to my site! The funny thing about orchids is…they don’t follow all the rules! Depending on where you live and your environment, they can shoot new spikes and bloom all times per year. If your orchid is shooting a spike that is facing upward … It is… A spike not a root. Your will need to get some stakes to spike it on. I have a blog post on that! If you want you can send me a pic of it and I can tell you for sure :)
Hope that helps and feel free to email me in regards to any questions you have:)
Hannah