Orchid care made easy. 

Ready to learn the secrets of orchid care, once and for all? Have you fallen in love with orchids, but you're not exactly sure how to take care of them? Do not worry, it is not as difficult as you think. With a little time, effort and knowledge, you will be able to master orchid cultivation for many years to come and enjoy the rewards of living with stellar flowering orchid blooms, year after year.

Everything You Need To Know About Orchid Care

Heavenly Orchids is here to be your guide along the path of orchid care. On our site, you will learn everything you need to know about how to care for your orchid. From how much light, temperature, type of grow medium, water and fertilizer that your orchids need to thrive to how to treat problem pests and diseases, you can find the answers on this website. We also discuss interior design ideas with orchids and products to make your experience with growing orchids more enjoyable. 

Orchid Care Basics

Orchids are enchanting, mesmerizing, dazzling, beautiful and alluring plants. Once you fall in love with orchids, you may soon find yourself wanting to add more and more of these beautiful flowering plants to your home. For some, it can become quite an addiction. But before you start adding to your collection, there are some important basics to learn about orchid care. 

The Wonderful World of Orchids

Purple orchid from Laos

Welcome to the wonderful world of orchids, you probably just got your first orchid, or maybe you have been unsuccessful with growing orchids before, but now you want to learn how to care for them.  How much water does it need, how much light does it need, what do I fertilize it with, which grow medium should I use, how do I care for my orchid to get it to bloom again? What do I do with the stem when my orchid is finished flowering? What do I do if my orchid isnt doing well? You will find answers to all those questions and more here on the Heavenly Orchids website. Follow the links on this website, to learn all you need to know about how to become capable and knowledgeable in orchid care and how easy it can be to grow and keep orchids. Those divine heavenly blooms will be well worth the time and effort that you put into learning the basics. It's wonderful feeling when you buy a new orchid in bloom, but there is such satisfaction and sense of accomplishment and wonder, when the care you have given your orchid results in your first rebloom.  

Light

Orchids, for the most part are tropical plants, but also grow all over the world in a variety of other climates. Tropical climates are generally warm and humid with a distinct rainy season and dry season. This is something to keep in mind when it comes to orchid care as most orchids in cultivation today originate from the tropics. We want to mimic the natural conditions as closely as we can.  Many tropical orchids like to grow on the trunks and branches of trees in filtered sunlight using the leaf canopy to shade them from the hot tropical sun. We never want to place an orchid in a location where it will get direct sunlight, this will most likely result in the leaves of your orchid getting sun burnt and could kill your new plant rather quickly. Tropical temperatures are generally warm for most of the year, orchids love temperatures between 70°-85° Fahrenheit (21°-30° Celsius). 

Growing Medium

Orchids that grow in trees are known as Epiphytes and are also known as air plants because they do not root in soil. Epiphytic plants are non parasitical, meaning they do not take or absorb nutrients from their host plant/tree that they choose to use as a support. However, when we grow orchids in our homes we place our orchids in a pot with a growing medium which usually consists of tree bark, sphagnum moss, or other specifically designed growing medium for orchids.  This helps our orchids to grow in an upright position and also allows for air circulation and also allows for some moisture retention that the sensitive velamen on our orchid roots can access. 

Water And Nutrients

Orchid roots absorb most of their nutrients from animal droppings, leached minerals, and decaying leaves or other organic matter in their environment using the host plant as an anchor. Water is absorbed through the leaves and roots, and the roots have a spongy outer layer called a velamen that acts to absorb moisture from humidity in the air. If you live in an area that has a dry climate or where winters are cold and you keep your home warm and dry, it is a good idea to give the aerial roots a light misting once or twice a week and sometimes more depending on the species of orchid. Winters in the tropics can be dry and orchids in nature can go a long time between rainfall, surviving on humidity from the air, so you don't want to over water. In fact overwatering is one of the leading causes of orchid death. But we will go into more detail on watering your orchid here. 

Temperature

Lets talk about temperature for a moment. Tropical climates are generally warm, spending most of the year with temperatures from the low to mid 80's into the mid 90's Fahrenheit and above (28° -35° Celsius). Winters in the tropics can reach the low 70's Fahrenheit and occasionally into the 60's in the northern and southern parts of the tropics. Generally, the temperature in the shade of the tree canopy moderates the extremes. So for us, that means that our orchids will do best in temperatures of 70°-85° Fahrenheit (20°-30° Celsius) Avoid cold drafty areas for your orchids. 

Orchid Care Help

There are a number of ways that we can enhance or supplement the atmosphere for our orchids. We can add humidity, supplement light, provide shade, and choose the right location. A general rule of thumb for the best location to place your orchid is near to an east or south facing window, but not in direct sunlight. A simple way to add humidity to your plant room is to place a small container of water in an elevated position, and if we have a lot of orchids, and or other plants, we can add a humidifier to our growing area. For more detailed information on these topics, click on the navigation buttons.  

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