How to Care for Orchids with Armstrong Garden Centers

February 9, 2016

How to Care for Orchids with Armstrong Garden Centers

Published by Mary Tran

Do you love orchids but don't know how to care for them? There's a free class coming up at Armstrong Garden Centers that will teach that and more. For the longest time, I would throw out my orchid plant after all the flowers have fallen. I knew that they would rebloom after a year, but they always looked dead to me and even the leaves will fall off, because I was over-watering it. Well, after consulting with an expert at Armstrong Garden, I feel much more confident and am now a proud owner of a new orchid plant. I can't wait to share what I have learned below!

As mentioned orchids bloom once a year and they stay bloomed for 4 weeks to 6 months. They like medium to bright indirect light. (They will get sunburn if they're in direct sunlight.) They make great centerpieces but not ideal for dark spaces like hallways or bathrooms.

How To Water

You'll want to water it every 7-10 days over a sink, and let it drain completely. The leaves at the base will live year round, but if they fall off, it's an indication it's being over-watered. Notice that the roots are in bark not soil (see left photo below). You can put them in decorative pots but you will need to be able to pull them out to water, so keep them in their plastic containers to make it easy for yourself.

How to Train Your Orchid

After the flowers fall, trim above the joint. (See right photo above). When they bloom again, it will send up a whole new stock. Orchids naturally want to grow outward and sideways so you'll need to catch them when they're little to train them to grow upwards and tie them to a stake. If you wait too long to train them, it will break.

How To Feed

Orchids are heavy feeding plants. You'll want to start with a growth formula after they bloom. Let it rest for 6 months after it falls off, then switch to a blooming formula. If it's been over a year since the last bloom, give it more blooming food.

How to Pick an Orchid Plant

Look at the leaves, are they nice and green? Don't buy one without leaves. You'll want to pick one that have some flowers open but not all. If all of the flowers are open, it's a good indication that it's toward the end of it's blooms season. However, those who need them for an event or wedding, will look for them all open.

Orchid Bark

There are various types of orchids that you will learn about in the class. Some like to be outside. They also have different types of bark from fine, medium, to mixed with bark & soil which will depend on the plant. If your orchid will be indoors, you'll want to choose clean orchid bark that have been cleaned and sterilized. The ones from outside will have bugs.

The gardening expert at Armstrong Garden was so helpful and made it seem so easy to care for orchids. I can't wait to watch mine bloom year after year and add to my collection. If you want to learn more about how to care for orchids, check out the free Orchid Care is Easy class at Armstrong this month on February 13 at 9am. For more information, please visit their website at www.armstronggarden.com.

Have fun!

Mary

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