Why is it that i can grow any kind of plant except orchids?
Question:i have had a couple of orchids for years. they have never flowered and have only made a stem once. they grow new leaves, but as they do the older ones die. what am i doing wrong?
Answers:
You'll need to find out what types of orchids you have. Some of the more common types are phalenopsis, dendrobium and vanda. They all have different growing requirements, although some of the differences may be so slight as to not cause that much of a problem.
One of the things you could check is the condition of your potting medium. In the wild, orchids grown in trees and their roots are exposed to the air. Commercial orchid mix is formulated so that air is able to get to the roots. If the medium the orchids are in had decomposed over time, that leaves less air spaces and the roots are not able to breathe.
My husband and I used to attach a good number of our orchids to a section of a tree branch, cork or board with sphagnum under the roots to hold some moisture. We would then hang them around the yard (in trees so they didn't get burned). They cant be over watered that way and you don't have to worry about the roots being suffocated.
Some orchids also need to be restricted on water and nutrients during certain parts of the year (usually around winter) as this is their rest period. Kind of helps them recharge for a spring bloom.
Orchids are tropical and unless you live in Hawaii you'll need a greenhouse to grow them.
They have greenhouses here in the Socal desert where I live and they grow them commercially
DO you water them? Mabe you have bad soil.
same here. i bought the right medium, ive done everything right, i wonder how the grocery store can keep pots and pot of them alive, and i cant.
i can grow everything else too.
Maybe get different varieties then you already have tried. Spray them with mist and keep them well watered.
We have some wonderful orchids growing indoors in CT, so I don't know why yours aren't doing so well.
What I have discovered with orchids, is that you really need to try to recreate their natural environment. Here is what I do, and my orchids are always in bloom:
1. plant in a pot that drains out at the bottom with wood chip/rough compost mix.
2. set this pot inside another pot that does not drain out. I use ceramic pots because they hold the water better. Then cover the plant base and the top of the pot with some kind of sphagnum moss mix, or even bark chips.
3. position your orchids in a bright spot, but not in direct sunlight, (just like the high canopy of the jungle where they grow).
4. water them every few days, and be sure that there is water in the bottom of the non-draining pot. You don't want to flood them, but you want some water in there. An orchid usually grows in a tree crotch or crevice, where rainfall catches.
5. mist them, and be sure they are plenty moist at the root zone.
6. lots of people fertilize with schultz plant food. I do it sort of sporadically, and still have good luck.
All in all, I would say.moisture and bright but indirect light are the key. The orchid environment is different from other plants, and I think that is what makes them harder to understand. What an orchid wants would really kill most other things.
Good luck to you!
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