How to care for orchids at home after purchase

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Exotic flowers require a special approach. Learn how to care for your orchids at home after purchase so that they will delight you with their flowering for a long time.

What to look for when choosing an orchid when buying

The first thing to look at is the leaves and root system of the plant, not the buds and flowers, no matter how beautiful they are. The leaves should not have dark and yellow blotches - in a healthy flower they are dense, with a waxy sheen, without tears and dried out tips.

Violet pigment allowed. In store specimens, you can often notice signs of dryness and rotting on the air roots, which, undoubtedly, should alert the buyer.

You need to take that flower, the lower roots of which sit tightly in the substrate. The best time to buy an exotic plant is during the flowering period. Next - a brief excursion on how to care for orchids at home after purchase.

Adaptation period

It is important to give the plant time to get used to its new habitat. No matter how much you would like, in no case should you immediately transplant a flower. For two weeks, he should stay away from other plants.

If he is susceptible to some diseases, during this period they will certainly manifest themselves. The flower will feel most comfortable in partial shade.

Wet soil does not need additional maintenance. Top dressing and spraying are also strictly prohibited. The owners of an exotic plant are required to:

• careful examination for white bloom on the bark. If you find one, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible;
• if there are not enough drainage holes in the pot or there are none at all, make thin holes with a red-hot knitting needle, choosing for this a place where the root system does not adjoin. It is necessary to carry out such a manipulation carefully so as not to damage the plant;
• observe any changes taking place;
• gently wipe the leaves with a damp sponge on all sides;
• if the soil in the pot is dry, it is worth placing the pot in a container of water for half an hour so that it gains moisture. After that, place the flower pot in a suitable tray, allowing excess water to drain.

Transfer

Do not rush to transplant a healthy, strong plant. A little more time to get used to home conditions after the purchase will definitely not harm him.

When the time comes, bright green tips will appear on the root system, signaling that the orchid has adapted and started to grow.

How to care for orchids if there is a slight separation from the pot, the main component of the substrate is moss, or putrefactive spots with a characteristic smell of mold appear on the roots or neck? In any of these cases, it is necessary to immediately start transplanting the plant.

Interesting! How to plant raspberries in the fall

Transplanting a healthy flower is advisable only if the orchid has grown and the previous pot is too small. Or if the substrate has become unusable.

Another very important point is that you cannot transplant a flower during flowering. As you know, this happens in winter. Accordingly, such an event is postponed until spring. This time is considered the most favorable also because daylight hours increase, and the plant is actively growing.

For a transplant you will need:

• suitable pot size;
• knife, pruner, scissors;
• coal or cinnamon in ground form (for filling fresh cuts);
• growth stimulants, fungicides;
• scoop;
• basin, oilcloth, gloves (for ease of use).

Interesting! Ixia flower - planting and care in the open field

In order not to overlook anything and do everything right, you need to do the orchid transplant slowly, following the sequence of actions:

1. Gently remove the plant from the container. To facilitate the task, draw a stick around the circumference of the container.
2. To rinse the roots and get rid of the remnants of old soil, place the plant in a basin.
3. Conduct a visual inspection. If there are rotten areas on the root system, cut them off.
4. If insects are found on the roots, the flower must be placed in water for two hours. This time is quite enough for all the parasites to die.
5. Cut dry roots with antiseptic treated scissors. Sprinkle the slices with powdered activated carbon.
6. Free the plant from dried leaves.
7. To completely dry the roots, leave the flower for 9 hours in a draft-free room.
8. To drain excess moisture, put drainage in a previously disinfected new pot, filling it with about a quarter of the volume.
9. Then place an orchid in the center of the container, cover with stimulants and soil, shaking occasionally for even distribution.
10. Put the flower pot in a slightly shaded place and do not move it for ten days. For the first few days, the flower does not need watering.

On the third day, when irrigating, it is not recommended to allow moisture to enter the leaf axils.

Orchid care

Orchid is a flower of extraordinary beauty, but rather capricious. In order for it to develop well, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules on how to care for it at home after purchase, depending on the season:

1. In winter, it is dark and cold, despite this, in the room where the orchid stands, it is necessary to ventilate in order to avoid the spread of fungal diseases. Spray the flower occasionally. Watering is carried out exclusively with warm water.
2. In March, it is high time to add top dressing, as the flower is rapidly gaining strength and growing. During this period, he often needs watering. The beginning of spring is the best time to separate the children from the main plant.
3. In spring, daylight hours become longer, and the sun begins to warm up intensively. To prevent the plant from burning out from an excess of ultraviolet rays, it is necessary to allow it to adapt.
4. In the summer, the flower needs weekly feeding and daily spraying. The room in which he is located must be ventilated as often as possible.
5. Autumn is the time when the air is colder, therefore, you should not leave the flower on open windows. He no longer needs such frequent watering as in summer. Its growth stops.
6. In autumn, yellowing and leaf fall are possible. This is completely normal. Thus, the orchid adapts to a drop in air temperature.
7. Starting in December, capricious beauties delight their owners with intense flowering. During this period, the plant needs good lighting more than ever. Otherwise, it may discard flowers.

Interesting! How to plant carrots in the spring

Watering features

A good time to water your orchids is in the morning. Water is poured into a bowl where the flower is placed. The water should cover 1/3 of the height of the pot.

In this state, the container is left for half an hour, after which it is removed, placed on a pallet, and after about 30 minutes, water is drained from it.

The orchid is very afraid of overflow, it is fraught with rotting of the root system. If water accidentally gets into the cup, you need to blot it.

Orchid care after flowering

After all the flowers have fallen off, the top of the peduncle dries up. There are two options for the development of events:

1. In the first case, do nothing, wait until the buds wake up, and new branches with flowers will appear from them. It is unlikely that they will be in abundance, but the plants will again delight the eye with flowering.
2. In the second - to trim the peduncles, thereby giving the plant a full rest. During this time, it will gain strength to build up the root and deciduous system.

If you know how to properly care for orchids at home after purchase and follow all the rules, then the owner of a wonderful plant will be rewarded with a gorgeous flowering.

Summarize

1. At first, the flower needs acclimatization. It should be quarantined for two weeks away from other plants. This will help protect existing flowers and newly acquired ones from being affected by fungal diseases.
2. Without special need, the flower does not need to be transplanted. Such actions will be required only if the plant is clearly cramped in the previous pot or the main component of the substrate consists of moss.
3. Overflow is detrimental to the orchid. This is fraught with rotting of the root system. If moisture gets on the cup, remove the excess by blotting it with a napkin.