Orchids

We had Spring for a few days with warm temps, sunshine and snow melt running in the streets.  Today it's back to Winter with some sub-zero temps predicted for next week.  The good news is that it just can't last very long anymore!

Earlier in the week, I told you about the orchid I bought on my way through the garden center.  I’m not an expert on orchids, so I did a little research.  Since yesterday was Valentine’s day and the one day of the year that more orchids are given as gifts than probably any other day of the year, I thought some of you might have received an orchid from your sweetheart and be interested in what I found.

There are hundreds of different kinds of orchids.  My orchid is a phaelanopsis, or moth, orchid.  This is the most common type of orchid, the one you usually find in grocery stores or big box garden centers.   Mine is one that is marketed under the trade name “Just Add Ice”. 

“Just Add Ice” is supposed to tell people like me, who know nothing about orchids, that this is a very easy orchid to grow.  I simply add three ice cubes to the pot once a week and it’s good.  I can even sign up for an email reminder from their website for that once a week ice cube treatment.

While orchids don’t like to be dry, they also don’t like to be overwatered.  Over-watering is a frequent cause of death for orchids.  That led me to wonder just how big those three ice cubes should be.  Well, the three cubes, when melted, should yield about ¼ cup of water.  So, that led me to wonder why not just give them ¼ cup of water once per week?  According to the Just Add Ice website:  “When placed on top of the media, the ice cubes will slowly release over time with no worries of over-watering. With the slow drip process, the water melts into the bark soil and seeps into the roots. The roots slowly soak up the water as it drips down, which prevents water from sitting at the bottom of your pot.”  You do still need to check for water standing in the bottom of the pot after the ice cubes are fully melted.  Orchids will not tolerate their roots setting in water. 

They also won’t tolerate being dry.  If you can see the orchid’s roots, and they are a nice bright green color, they are adequately watered.  If the roots are more a white or gray color, the orchid is too dry and requires water.  My “Just Add Ice” orchid is conveniently potted in a clear pot which sets inside the decorative container so it’s easy for me to check and see if it needs water.  If you can’t see your orchid’s roots but notice that the leaves seem a limp and droopy, they are telling you they need more water.

My orchid wants bright, indirect light and no direct sunlight.  The orchid leaves are very vulnerable to sunburn.  Direct sun will also cause the blossoms to drop, which is something I definitely don’t want to happen any sooner than absolutely necessary.

It also wants temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees during the day and between 60 and 70 degrees at night.  That fits right in with where we keep our home’s temperature, so my orchid should be happy, as it would be in most homes. 

Orchids are tropical plants, though, so humidity might be an issue, especially in North Dakota in the winter time.  Orchids thrive in humidity between 55 to 75%.  That’s a difficult level to maintain in a house that needs to be heated enough to be comfortable in very cold outdoor temperatures.  We have a whole house humidification system on our heating unit but we don’t keep the humidity at 55% because we don’t want moisture condensation on the windows.  So, what to do with my orchid?  The bathrooms or kitchens generally have a slightly higher humidity level than other rooms.  All of those rooms in our house are located on the west side of the house so I will need to find a way to keep my orchid far enough from the window to be out of direct sunlight but close enough to have bright light to keep them blooming and thriving.  If I can’t find that, I can add humidity to another room in the house with a small humidifier or by taking a pan with rocks nearly submerged in water and setting my orchid planter in the pan, keeping the planter from actually touching the water.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to keep that orchid blooming and what to do when it is finally finished.