Supermarkets often get orchids in for Valentines Day. Most of them are 'forced', i.e. grown so that they flower on time, and that means that a lot of them will be looking pretty sad about a week from now. You might see ones with crooked leaves, wonky flowers, dying flowers or stagnant roots marked down to a quarter of their original price or less.
These little guys can be saved, and if you get them cheap they're a good frugal plant choice! With just a little care and know-how you can make a discount valentine's orchid into a long term flowering houseplant.
Edit: I should probably give some basic tips here!
Orchids need to be rooted in proper orchid compost with nothing covering it and a white or clear pot that lets the roots get some sun - they are photosynthetic. In the future you will need to get new orchid compost and replace it, but spread over the years it's not terribly expensive. Orchids are slow to grow and cheap to keep - if you pick up a little one on Valentines day you've probably got a couple of years to go before it needs to be re-potted, as long as it's not in the wrong sort of soil or pot (if it is, you'll need to re-pot it right away and spend on compost).
It's a good idea to get some sort of orchid plant food, but you don't need that much of it.
Orchids ideally need some sunlight to flower, but if you have full spectrum LED lights of any sort (we have them over our kitchen counter) they can flourish through the winter in that.
A properly cared for orchid will flower again. Retain any sticks and clips that came with it to peg up the new flower so that it grows straight.
Orchids don't need a lot of water, maybe a half cup to a cup a week. They do like having their leaves sprayed (you can get food to add to this, they usually come from rainy environments in which water drips down on them from above or flows along tree trunks, bringing them nutrients, and I've had great success with orchid sprays in terms of keeping flowers going and encouraging healthy leaf growth).
Once every couple of months, take your orchid and run it under the tap (I usually set it to room temperature so it's not too cold) and really rinse the compost. This flushes the soil and washes away any deposits the roots have left on it (not sure if I am wording that right but basically it cleans the compost and they like that).
Orchids like sun, and you can put them outside on warm days in the summer.
February 14, 2019 at 07:24AM
