Orchid lovers, if desired, can prepare the soil for them on their own. You will need to take into account the location of the orchids, air humidity and some other factors. You can take note that in a normal room the air humidity is about 60%.
General recommendations for soil preparation
Keeping orchids in an apartment requires more moisture-absorbing substrates than for greenhouse plants. If the humidity in the room is low, the soil should be prepared with a sufficient amount of moisture-consuming components. Ideally, the soil should dry completely within three to four days after watering. So orchids will not suffer from overdrying or waterlogging.
The substrate should not be strongly compacted. If the mixture in which the orchid grows is caked, you do not need to loosen it - just transplant the flowers into another pot so that the roots do not rot.
There can be two options for self-preparation of soil.
1. Prepare red peat, leafy soil and pine needles, small pieces of charcoal and sphagnum moss, some styrofoam. Good drainage is essential if you want to keep the substrate airtight. Styrofoam and broken brick - small pieces - put on the bottom of the pot. All components of the substrate must be properly steamed before use.
2. You can prepare the soil for orchids from the bark of spruce or pine. In addition to pieces of bark, you will need fern root and sphagnum moss cut into small pieces. The bark with fern roots must be rinsed in running water and steamed properly - for disinfection. The moss must be fresh. It is advisable to immerse it in water and keep it there for 24 hours before adding it to the soil. This helps to get rid of insects, ants, small snails, which will gradually float to the surface.
By mixing the soil ingredients and arranging good drainage, you can easily create favorable conditions for your orchids to grow and develop.
