Orchids...A total delight for Gardeners...

Orchids are delight for every gardener. They are not easy growing plants. A slight compromise in amount of sunlight, water, fertilizers may kill the plant. I have a variety of Orchids in my garden ranging from Dendrobiums, Vanda, Catteleya to Oncidium varieties. 

Each of these varieties have different types of requirements. The potting mix that i use is mixture of coconut husk, charcoal and small rounded pieces of bricks. I prefer to keep them under shades ensuring that they donot get direct sunlight. The watering is done once in every two days in summer and in rest of the year I water them only when the potting mix is dry. We have to make sure that the pot has plenty of holes. Since it was very hard for me to find such pots, I decided to go for DIY( do it yourself). I took mineral water bottles and cut them into half, after that i punched many holes into it, so that all the excessive water drains out. These pots also ensures that the roots get plenty of light since they are transparent. The holes in the pot also helps in circulating a lot of air in and around the roots. I have bought a special fertilizer from the gardening store. I spray the plant thoroughly with the fertilizer in every fifteen days. We should ensure that the fertilizer is not very strong. A very diluted solution of urea and DAP can also come into aid if you do not find a orchid fertilizer from near by stores. 

Once a plant has been pot, Do not disturb it until it grows big enough. Continuous re-potting may result into poor plant health and it may even kill the plant. One of the most common pest problem I find in my plants are ants. I treat the potting mix with a diluted solution of chemical pest controllers. I have never found any detrimental effects of the chemicals on the plant instead I got rid of the ants.

If a orchid has poor health then it will take a long time to bloom. You have to be really very patient with these plants. Do not prune the stems with no leaves. The stems stores energy which helps the plant recover if they have under gone any damage. After the blooms have dried, cut off the stalk of the flower.

This year I had a great luck with my orchids. most of them bloomed. I would like to share some of the snaps from my collection of orchids.

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Vanda

Oncidium

Dendrobium

Dendrobium

Hope the post was informative for you. So what are you waiting for? Just bring a orchid today and start with the wonderful journey. If you have any queries do comment.Hope to return soon with my next post. Till then Happy Gardening. 



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