Orchids are considered princesses among flowers. They are gentle and beautiful, but, like true aristocrats, they are extremely capricious. Novice indoor plant lovers are afraid to breed them. However, growing an orchid in a pot is not that difficult. First you need to overcome fear, because all experienced growers were once beginners.
The well-being of any plant depends on several factors. These are soil, lighting, irrigation and spraying regime, top dressing, etc. You should start by choosing a pot and soil. The pot should be such that it can hold the epiphytum orchid upright and maintain proper moisture around the roots. Ceramic pots are not very suitable. The ideal option would be nets with a small mesh, plastic containers and other similar containers. The main thing is that the soil does not spill out of them.
As for the soil for the orchid, it is very specific. Ordinary garden land is not good. In stores, you can look for a special substrate for orchids, but it is rarely found on sale unless there is a large garden center or nursery nearby. Ground for phalaenopsis is suitable for epiphytums, for terrestrial orchids for cymbidium. If only the first soil is on sale, and you have an earth orchid, add a little dry moss to the soil mixture.
You can also make a mixture yourself from approximately the same parts of wood fibers, coal, clay, coarse river sand, moss. Add some vermiculite. Clay is better to take granular, you can buy it at a store that sells goods for gardeners. There you will also find vermiculite, which is successfully replaced by perlite. All components need to be crushed, mixed, placed in a container and added dry leaves. This soil is suitable for both epiphytes and terrestrial orchids.
It is important to ensure a normal light regime. Unfortunately, illumination often has to be determined empirically. A healthy orchid has light green, bright green, or reddish leaves. The appearance of yellowness indicates an excess of light, darkening - a lack.
Different orchids require different watering regimes. For example, phalaenopsis, popular with gardeners, loves moist soil, but does not tolerate drying out or waterlogging. The same applies to cymbidium and odontoglossum, but oncidium and some other orchids periodically require drying out.
Orchids need high humidity and can tolerate drying out of the air. It will be useful to install trays of water next to the flowers. This will provide the necessary moisture. Make sure that the trays do not come into contact with the pots in which the orchids are growing. Sometimes plants need to be sprayed, especially if the room is hot.
For orchids to bloom, you need to provide a difference between day and night temperatures. These plants feel great when the thermometer rises to about + 27 ° C during the day. At night, the temperature should not exceed + 13 ° C. If the temperature is high, but there is no difference, the orchids will not die, but most likely they will not bloom.
