On Valentines Day 2010 I was bought a beautiful flowering orchid. I was so excited I went out to buy a spray bottle and orchid food as soon as possible; as the label said, spray with water (and orchid food if desired) daily. Knowing orchids can be errr… tempormental, this has been a religious practice of mine and my boyfriend since we’ve had it. But it STILL hasn’t flowered! So I’ve done some research…
An orchid’s light source turns out to be more important than I’d imagined. I thought by keeping it out of direct sunlight I would do it a favour, as it’s normal habitat is the rainforest floor. However, it appears orchids do require direct light and it is the ANGLE that is important, i.e. it should come from above, the idea being it recreates the light path to the orchid through the canopy. The indication my orchid is too far from a window is that the single new leaf that has spouted in the last year is smaller and narrower that the others. This smaller leaf is therefore unable to store enough energy for the plant to bloom.
It also seems by not putting it near the window, I have restricted temperature fluctuations. These fluctuations are required to be around 25°c in the day time and around 17°c at night. These temperatures are important in the induction of flowering.
The last thing that appears noticeable is it’s pot and the water. It’s been in the same pot since I bought it, meaning an ‘old’ root system in clogged soil has built up, particularly when you relate the bog-standard softened tap water to the equation, which is apparently quite damaging. But watering my orchid with evian is pushing it for me. Collecting rainwater would be the most ideal non-damaging source, however living in a flat has it’s restrictions.
So this weekend, my orchid will be getting a new pot, with new potting bark. And a new position in the flat. Hopefully it will cheer up and I will have a beautiful flowering orchid once again. Stay tuned for pictures… Hopefully it'll be something like this
An orchid’s light source turns out to be more important than I’d imagined. I thought by keeping it out of direct sunlight I would do it a favour, as it’s normal habitat is the rainforest floor. However, it appears orchids do require direct light and it is the ANGLE that is important, i.e. it should come from above, the idea being it recreates the light path to the orchid through the canopy. The indication my orchid is too far from a window is that the single new leaf that has spouted in the last year is smaller and narrower that the others. This smaller leaf is therefore unable to store enough energy for the plant to bloom.
It also seems by not putting it near the window, I have restricted temperature fluctuations. These fluctuations are required to be around 25°c in the day time and around 17°c at night. These temperatures are important in the induction of flowering.
The last thing that appears noticeable is it’s pot and the water. It’s been in the same pot since I bought it, meaning an ‘old’ root system in clogged soil has built up, particularly when you relate the bog-standard softened tap water to the equation, which is apparently quite damaging. But watering my orchid with evian is pushing it for me. Collecting rainwater would be the most ideal non-damaging source, however living in a flat has it’s restrictions.
So this weekend, my orchid will be getting a new pot, with new potting bark. And a new position in the flat. Hopefully it will cheer up and I will have a beautiful flowering orchid once again. Stay tuned for pictures… Hopefully it'll be something like this
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