General Chat

Does anyone grow them - unlike me who just has one?
My brother gave me and my sister an orchid each a couple of years ago.
My sister regularly buys them, but hers appear to die after flowering.

Mine's been on the kitchen windowsill ever since I got it. Very, very occasionally I water it, and once, I actually fed it :-D
So far it's flowered 3 times, and is budding as I type.
All the dead stems from previous flowerings are still on the plant (I've never attached the new flowering stalks to the central stick), and it has a mass of aerial roots.
In all the time I've had it, only 2 leaves have died (still on the plant).

I thought they were delicate, but mine's thriving on neglect!!

AND it's one of the few indoor plants Betty cat (who CAN get outside) hasn't tried to eat :-D (probably because it's non-toxic!!)

Your sister & I have that in common. Mine die off rather quickly. Don't they need a humid atmosphere? That could be why yours thrives.

just looked up humidity and orchids - what a palaver!!!
'Always use a humidifier in the room where your orchids are' etc etc.

I suppose it could get passing humidity, as the kitchen is next to the bathroom.....
The only other 'humidity' is when I cook vegetables, but my windows don't regularly steam up :-D

My sister sometimes has her orchids in her kitchen - they still die.

mine are in my conservatory which is freezing in winter and steamy in summer - I have one from Ikea which has flowered twice and one from M & S which has flowered three times - water them occasionally

Orchids are the only flowers i can have in the house as the perfume of other flowers makes me feel ill.. so i love orchids <3

G.son bought me one for my birthday 18 months ago. OH has been looking aafter it and he just followed instructions from card and me and it is in full bloom at the moment. After flowering cut stems back to about 1" and water sparingly.

In Dining room - brought into lounge when began to blossom. No humidity/steam etc either room.

I have 7 on the kitchen wondw sill north facing. They seem to thrive. I do water them fairly regularly when flowering and spray the leaves with a feed spray, and the roots. I cut off the bits that die and remove dead flowers. They seem to thrive without much more care than that, They seem to like being in fairly cramped pots. sometimes if they still have leaves but are otherwise looking dead I put them up in the spare bedroom and find they often revitilise.

Mine is in it's original pot. Dead flowers drop off on their own, but it has had a dribble of water today :-D

Ours still in same pot also. G.son was most impressed on Sunday.

I've had 4, and all have flowered regularly at least twice a year. One died last year, but I have 3 in flower or with flower stem developing at the moment. The "youngest" of them is 4 years old, the oldest about 9 years

I have them in a south facing very bright and warm (because of the sun) room. I water infrequently, but soak them in the kitchen sink about every 3 months or so. I do not spray or feed them. They are all in the same pots they were in when bought/given to me.

I wait until the flowers have dropped off and the flower stalk has dried, then I cut it back to about 1"

I have got 5. 3 of them I have had for a few years. They are easy to care for and I love the colours/varieties. A little water occasionally and take off the dried stalks when needed.

Pleased I found this thread.

I've never kept an orchid successfully, meanwhile daughter has one that is brilliant. However, neither of us knows what to do with the roots that pop up from out of the plant pot. Do we repot the orchid into a larger pot, tucking the roots into the soil or what....?

The 'outgrowing' roots look so ugly that I've often been tempted to cut them to soil level but have never done so in case the plant died (which they always have done for me anyway).

NO!!!!

They are air or aerial roots.

Do not bury them or cut off any except ones that have obviously died ........ the plant will die otherwise.

This link explains it all quite clearly

http://www.justaddiceorchids.com/Just-Add-Ice-Orchid-Blog/bid/86870/Orchid-Care-What-are-Air-Roots

Thanks Sylvia.

I shall have one more try and when these ugly roots appear, I shall repot, tucking them in.

You may be able to tell me why, after flowering, the stems begin to turn black - I've not managed to save an orchid yet.

It is the only plant that I've been unsuccessful with so I'm bewitched, bothered and bewildered by them. :-D

How many orchids do I have?

er........... over 100 :-D Lots in pots, some in the garden... and lots more in the trees! It does help that we live in the sub-tropics.

My favourites are the "Moth Orchids" I think they are beautiful. Two in pots on tables outside with the last of the flowers (they were covered with flowers, now there are only four on each plant). They've been flowering since August last year (I know that for sure, because they were in bloom when I had my op in early September).

Rule No 1 for Orchids...... DON'T CODDLE THEM!!!


They don't like having wet feet, so be careful not to overwater them.

I feed mine now and again, but I use HALF what the packet recommends. When you empty your coffee pot....... put the grounds on the orchid mix.

Don't feed them when they're in flower......... or the blooms will fall off!

If you get that awful black mould on the leaves.......... put a few drops of clove oil in a spray bottle of water & squirt it on the leaves.

Obviously my 'ideal' plant - ignore and flourish :-D

My plant is on a west facing windowsill, so gets full sun in the evening.

I may get some more......

Water with orchid feed or half-strength Baby-bio once a week, letting the water drain through before placing back in the pot. They prefer clear plastic pots although I have on occasion re-potted into a plastic terracotta pot.

Only water every fortnight when dormant, picking up the weekly watering with feed as a shoot appears. I once had 25 on the go for several years.

They like the light but not direct sunlight or the leaves become scorched.

lavender .......

that is what all the advice is, BUT ..............

my orchids love it in a room that faces south, has windows on the east and south, and a skylight facing west, so it gets sunlight from early n the morning until early evening in the summer. They do better in there than anywhere else more shady in the house!

and believe me, I have moved them around!

hmmm

I have some in the garden that get full sun. They've been there for over 5 years.

I often find one I've forgotten about.... in a pot in the garden, totally neglected for ages.. I spot them because they're covered with flowers (our garden is mainly palms & ferns).

my house plants and I come to an agreement .......

...... if they cannot live with being watered perhaps once every 2, or maybe 3, weeks, then they can die.