1

Create the right temperature for your orchid. Most orchids originate from a tropical climate, meaning good air, plenty of light, and 12-hour days (365 days a year). The temperature (depending on the species of orchid) should range between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 to 23.8 degrees Celsius).

• Dropping the temperature of the orchid’s environment at night by about 10 degrees will promote new buds, especially during the fall and winter.^[5]

2

Make sure your orchids get enough sunlight, but not too much. Many orchids enjoy indirect sunlight: direct sunlight cases them to burn, while not enough creates a plant that doesn’t flower. Place your orchid near a south or east facing window. A west facing window may provide too much sunlight and a north facing window may not provide enough.^[6]

Water your orchid once per week. It’s easier to kill an orchid by watering it too frequently than by not watering enough. Water your orchid about once per week and allow it to dry out between waterings.^[8] During the summer months, longer days and more heat might necessitate a shorter watering period. Water your orchid for 15 seconds and then place it on a tray of pebbles to allow it to dry out.

4

Care for the orchids diligently. Orchids require much more attention than your average plant or flower. The thicker your leaves are, the more likely your plant requires a larger dose of water. If your plant has bulky faux-bulbs, less water is better. Orchids are not resilient in most occasions, but are when it comes to their water intake. Again, they actually deal with a lack of water better than a superfluous amount of water.

5

Use an orchid-specific fertilizer and do not over-fertilize your orchids. Typically, expect to fertilize your orchid once per week with a weak (diluted to ¼ strength) 20-10-20 fertilizer mixture. Then, water the plant with plan water once per month to rinse out any accumulated fertilizer.^[9] Fertilize too often and you’ll chance burning the roots and hampering flowering; fertilize not often enough and you’ll chance hampering the flowering process.. Keep the plant in indirect sunlight until the flower spike shows. Once the spike is around 5 inches (13 cm) tall, brace it with a tie-up.

6

Keep the humidity level up. Because of orchids’ natural affinity for humidity, keep the humidity of your growing room — wherever it may be — at about 50% to 75% at all times. You can achieve this level by running a humidifier near the orchid or by placing trays of pebbles with water one them near the orchid.^[10]

Understand that each orchid is different. Each strand of orchid has different caretaking needs and rules. No one orchid is the same; all require a different temperature, lighting situation and watering schedule. So when you choose an orchid plant to grow, you must be flexible when growing orchids.