How to water an orchid?
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It is often said that the Orchid (Phalaenopsis) is a capricious diva. You offer it magnificent, and two months later, all that remains is a dry stick in a pot.
Yet, the orchid is a robust plant... if you stop treating it like a geranium. Its secret? It doesn't grow in soil, but attached to trees!
Forget everything you know about classic watering. Here's how to keep your orchid blooming for years.
1. Understanding the Beast: The Secret of Roots
In tropical nature, the orchid is a plant epiphyte. It lives clinging to branches, with its roots exposed, drinking rainwater that trickles down and capturing humidity from the air.
Its roots are covered with a special membrane (the Velamen) which acts like an ultra-absorbent sponge.
The consequence:If you suffocate these roots in classic potting soil or let them soak in water, they will rot in a few days.
2. When to water? Look at the color!
Do not throw away the transparent plastic pot! It's your dashboard.
- Green Roots:The plant is hydrated. Do not water!
- Grey / Silver Roots:The sponge is dry. It's time to water.
3. The royal method: Soaking
Forget the watering can that pours water from above. The water flows too quickly and doesn't soak into the bark.
The Technique:
- Fill a cachepot or basin with water (ideally non-calcareous).
- Immerse the plastic pot for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Take out the pot and let it drain completely.
- Put it back in place. There should be no more water at the bottom.
4. The vital gesture: Misting
Your orchid often has "aerial roots" that emerge from the pot. They seek humidity from the air. In our dry interiors, they eventually dry out.
The Solution:Spray the aerial roots and the underside of the leaves in the morning. This gesture reproduces tropical mist.
The essential tool for Orchids
To hydrate aerial roots without wetting the heart of the plant (risk of rot), an ultra-fine mist is needed.
- ☁️ Micro-diffusion:Hydrates without runoff.
- ✨ Design:An elegant brass object that stays next to your most beautiful flower.
5. STOP! Never use ice cubes!
A tip is circulating on the internet: “Put two ice cubes per week on the roots”.
That's a very bad idea.The orchid is a tropical plant. It hates the cold. Iced water causes a thermal shock that can instantly kill the roots.
Always use room temperature water (and if possible, non-calcareous water, such as rainwater or filtered water).
6. SOS Orchid: Yellow leaves
If the leaves turn yellow and become soft, it's not thirst... it's often drowning!
Remove the plant from the pot, cut off rotten (brown and soft) roots with disinfected scissors, and repot in new special orchid substrate.
The alternative to bathing
If your pot is too heavy to move to the sink, you can water from above, but with a Absolute precision so as never to wet the heart of the leaves.
- 🎯 Long Spout:Allows water to slide directly onto the bark.
- ✨ Copper Stainless Steel:A healthy and durable tool.
In Summary
A bath every 10 days, mist every morning, and lots of love.
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Ciccolini
Est ce le pot doit être immerger complètement ou juste à hauteur du pot