Growing Orchids Under Artificial Lights
Many people grow orchids indoors – mostly in windows or places with other good quality natural lighting. However, you can also grow your orchids using artificial lights. Orchids do well growing under lights, and many sellers even specialize in plants that do the best. You can’t just plunk any orchid under any lighting fixture, though. There are some things you’ll need to pay attention to if you want to have healthy, beautiful plants. Let’s take a look.
You’re going to want to try to stick to relatively compact plants when you use artificial lighting. That’s because many of the larger orchids require higher quantities of light, and we just can’t provide everything they require. Each orchid type requires a different amount and quality of light, generally expressed in terms of foot candles. Orchids grown without the right amount of light will appear to prosper, but won’t flower. If you have an orchid in this situation, you might need to add more light.
The best way to tell how much light you have available in your growing space is to use a light metter. These are relatively cheap, and are pretty easy to use, so don’t feel like you need to skip out on buying one. The most commonly grown orchids need anywhere from a thousand to three thousand foot candles each, depending on species. Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilum plants require one to one and a half thousand foot candles, while dendrobium orchids come in at about one and a half to two thousand. Cattleya orchids need two to three thousand foot candles of light, and oncidiums require a whopping two to five thousand. Make sure you’re providing the right amount of light for the plant you have – as you can see, there are significant differences.
While this might sound like a lot of light, you should realize that it’s not. Full summer sun at midday can be as bright as ten thousand foot candles. That’s a lot more than the average orchid needs. Greenhouse orchid growers have no problem getting that much light and more, and often need to partially shade their orchids, but in a home or a small apartment, getting the right amount can be tricky. If you’re worried that your plants are getting too much, just watch out for leaf burn. This appears as damage on the edges of the plants, and is a warning sign that something is wrong.
Remember that the quality of light matters just as much as the quantity, too. Plants require both blue and red spectrum light to grow successfully. This can be provided by adjusting the temperature (visually) of your bulb. Warm white bulbs offer red spectrum light and cool whites offer blue spectrum. There are also special combination bulbs that provide both in one unit. Mix the two types, or buy a single bulb, then decide how long to operate them. Most growers use fluorescent bulbs which produce less heat than incandescents and require changing less often. Replace bulbs once a year since their light output reduces over time.
Photo period is going to be important, as well. Some species will require you to change the apparent day length if you want them to flower. Orchids in the window will simply react to the length of time the sun shines on them, but orchids grown under artificial lighting may require careful timing. If you have a species which doesn’t require specific conditions, provide twelve to fourteen hour photoperiods in the winter and fourteen to sixteen hour days in the summer to offer enough light for a beautiful crop of flowers.
Another basic rule is to provide as much light as your orchid can take without developing leaf burn. Too little light causes narrow, elongated leaves and weak pseudobulbs and stems. Orchids which are getting enough light will have bright, light green leaves and strong, compact growth. Your plant could look healthy, with beautiful dark green leaves, but this indicates it’s not getting enough light and will probably never bloom. Correct the problem, and you’ll soon have attractive flowers and a healthier orchid. It’s all about the light.
Transplanting Orchids
Orchids are one of the flower world’s most beautiful and exotic members, with over twenty-five thousand different species. Some are hard to grow, which has given orchids their reputation for being difficult. However, many other orchids are relatively simple to care for, as long as you know just how to care for orchids. One essential part of orchid care is the need to routinely transplant your flowers to a larger pot. This keeps them from running out of space, and allows them to continue flowering. An orchid in a container that’s too small will generally stop flowering.
The growing medium for an orchid needs to be replaced periodically, since it will decline if it stays in the same medium for too long. Orchid medium can actually decay to the point where it compacts and actually smothers the plant roots. Different media last different periods of time, with coconut husk mixes remaining viable longer than fir, and sphagnum moss being a middle ground choice. If the orchid appears to have outgrown its pot, or you need to refresh the medium, you’ll need to know how to do it. Let’s take a look.
Most orchids need to be repotted only every two to three years, though it will vary by species and individual plant. Don’t repot too often, since this could disturb the plant. New orchids may need to be repotted as soon as you can to make sure they’re in good health and keep them in harmony with your other plants. Repotting a new orchid can also allow you to examine its roots and make certain it has no insect pests or other problems to deal with. That will let you be sure you’re growing an orchid without pre-existing problems.
Older plants may not need repotting often at all, but if you see new growth outside the pot, you definitely need to do it. Roots that grow outside the container may be broken, or they may attach themselves to neighboring objects. Orchids suffering from insect infestation may also need repotting – carefully clean and check the roots in this case, and throw away all the old mix.
Transplanting needs to be done at the beginning of the plant’s growing season, after it has flowered, but before new roots are longer than about a half inch. Prepare the plant by soaking it until the or medium is extremely damp. Then lay the pot or container on its side and pull the plant out gently. A knife can be used to help you loosen the roots. Keep the roots intact as much as you can, since these are the way the orchid obtains its nutrients. Remove as much potting soil or growing medium as you can, then trim off off dead, damaged, dark or rotten roots.
Pick a new pot that’s one size larger than the current pot as long as the plant is healthy. For a plant with significant amounts of root damage, the same size or a smaller pot might be appropriate. Prepare the pit by placing coarse gravel, small stones, or other substances that help drainage in the bottom. Add your orchid and your growing medium, setting the plant into the new pot at the same height as it was in its old pot. Use an orchid appropriate growing medium, not regular soil.
Avoid watering your transplanted orchid for two weeks, and keep it out of the sun for six, so that it has the ability to recover from the stress of being repotted. For the first few months after repotting, water only sparingly. Use a stake in the middle of the pot (don’t damage roots) if you need to add extra support for your plant. That’s all there is to it! Orchid repotting might seem difficult and stressful, but if you take the time to learn how to do it correctly, it can be easy for you and your plant.
Growing orchids is a fun hobby that many people can get involved in. Just make sure that you know how to care for your plant properly. That means knowing when and how to repot it in order to keep it healthy and growing correctly. The reward is many beautiful flowers, and an exotic plant that you’ll have for a long time to come.
Growing and Caring for Blue Orchids
Orchids are an incredibly popular variety of plant, both for their overall beauty and for the many different varieties available, and blue orchids are a real favorite. There are more than eight hundred genuses of orchids, and over twenty-five thousand species. Each of these flowering plants has a different appearance, with colors, shapes and sizes varying significantly. If you don’t know much about orchids, maybe it’s time you learned.
Versatile and beautiful in any environment, orchids can be grown in all climates. They’re decorative, and also serve as a source of oils and perfumes for industry. Most of the orchids that we see, however, are in florist shops and garden centers. These plants have a reputation for being hard to take care of, but it’s not one that they deserve. If you take the time to learn what your orchid really needs, you’ll be able to keep it alive and growing well without a lot of trouble.
Blue orchids come in all kinds of different shades, with most tending toward purplish shades. You can find blue orchids in blue violet, dark purple, and even rare royal blue shades. Vanda blue orchids are the most common, and are native to tropical regions in southeast Asia. These orchids can be found in shades anywhere from a pale sky blue to reddish violet, and there are many different species. Singapore’s national flower is a Vanda orchid.
This kind of orchid isn’t a beginner plant, but if you have the right information and enough patience, you can keep one healthy. Well kept blue orchids may bloom up to three times every year, with the blooms lasting over a month each time. However, you need to care for them correctly. Poorly treated orchids may survive, but may not bloom. They need to be given careful attention and kept appropriately moist if you want to get the most out of these fascinating plants. Careful orchid care is a must.
That means avoiding regular potting soil and pots. Blue orchids normally grow with their roots dangling, on tree bark. They can be grown in baskets or on cork bark to simulate this natural arrangement. The roots will absorb moisture, and should be allowed to grow freely. Place these orchids in an appropriate medium made of bark and fiber. Most garden stores offer an orchid mix that has the right pH and the correct texture to keep your blue orchids healthy.
Orchids prefer bright sunlight, and can be suspended close to the glass in greenhouses. If you’ll be growing your orchids in your home, make sure you pick the brightest available window or area. You may also grow yourorchids under artificial light if you know how. Feed your orchids a high potash plant food every two weeks in the summer (half strength) and once a month at quarter strength in the winter and spring. Water thoroughly to ensure flowering. Daily watering is appropriate between June and September (in the northern hemisphere) and keeping them moist is appropriate the rest of the year.
As for caring for your orchids after blooming, they should be allowed to rest for two weeks with no water, allowing them to dry out. Then start watering again, but don’t overdo it. Keep the air around your orchids humid, running a humidifier close by if you can. The roots should be in moist air, since they’re native to a tropical environment. When your orchid outgrows its pot, repot carefully to encourage flowering. Repotting should be done every year or two.
If you take good care of your blue orchids, you’re sure to have a beautiful, healthy plant that rewards you with regular blossoms. An orchid isn’t like a regular plant, but most people can learn to grow them. Take the time to learn how, and don’t be intimidated by their reputation. Orchids are an unusual, tropical plant with some special requirements, but that doesn’t make them impossible to keep healthy. A little bit of research and some patience is all you really need. Don’t be worried. You can grow blue orchids, too.
Orchid Planting and Propagation
If you want to grow an orchid properly, that’s going to mean knowing about everything it needs. You need to duplicate the natural conditions these plants grow in as closely as you can. Unfortunately, this can be tricky with store bought plants, which usually come in pots. After all, in their natural setting, most orchids cling to bark or stone, and don’t have their roots in soil at all. This is a very different environment from that of the orchid you buy from the florist, and is one reason that so many of these plants die quickly. That’s why planting your orchid quickly after getting it is so vital. Let’s take a look at what you need to do.
Most of the beautiful orchids you’ll find on the market are phaeleonopsis orchids or dendrobiums. These plants prefer strong light that’s not too hot, high humidity, good airflow around the roots, and regular dry periods followed by extremely wet ones. They like temperatures between fifty and eighty-five degrees. These are the conditions we’re trying to recreate in order to get good blooms. They’re also the big reasons that most people can’t just plant an orchid in their yards. After all, regular soil can be a problem, binding roots and drowning them.
The majority of orchids from the store come in inexpensive plastic pots, with their roots packed in very wet moss. This is violating two of the rules above – air flow and the ability of the roots to be dry from time to time. This results in an orchid that will look good for a while, but the roots aren’t able to breathe, and will eventually rot. Orchid roots are a lot more specialized than ordinary plant roots, and have the ability to soak up water extremely quickly. They don’t take nutrients from the soil like the roots of most other plants.
When you buy an orchid, step one is to enjoy its flowers. Most store bought orchids will be in bloom, and shouldn’t be repotted until the bloom has fallen. Once it’s done with, you can cut off the dead flower spike (use sterile snips to prevent problems later) and replant your orchid. Use a special orchid potting medium, usually made from bark, charcoal, moss and other porous substances that will allow the roots to breathe, and will prevent root rot. Most people can’t successfully plant orchids in the ground or permanently place them outside (even on tree bark) because their climates don’t match those the orchids naturally grow in. A pot is the best choice for planting most orchids.
These pots are specially designed, and should be hanging pots, not ground resting ones. They feature wide drainage slits. Expect water to run right through them, and keep a tray on the floor under the orchid to catch the runoff when watering. Remove your orchid from its plastic pot and get rid of the potting medium. Be gentle, and look for healthy roots. They’re usually firm and white, with a green tip. Dark, shriveled, or rotted roots must be carefully cut off to prevent them from damaging your plant further. Place your plant in the pot and fill it in with potting mixture. Don’t be surprised if it’s a little wobbly at first – a stake can help this. Eventually, new roots will anchor the plant to the pot.
Place your newly planted orchid in an east facing window so that it will get several hours of full morning sun, or grow your orchids using artificial lighting. You can even put orchids outside during the warm months. Just make sure they aren’t in overly hot sun, and that they get the amount of water they need. Many orchids need watering daily in order to keep them in top condition. The end result is a planted orchid that will last a long time and bloom for you regularly. It doesn’t take much to get your store bough orchid into better conditions and keep it happy. The effort you put into maintaining this beautiful, exotic plant is well worth it.
