The Orchid Garden

A beginners watering question…

Question:

    Hi All,     I have just started catching the fever and bought a couple of dendrobiums and a vanda to add to a pair of orchids that I recieved as gifts.  I purchased the plants from a local nursery, and they were in soil when I bought them.  They are currently flowering, and I was planning on replanting them when they were done.  My condo is very dry, and the plants get lots of sun with a southeastern exposure.  My question is- should I water them frequently because of the low humidity and high sun exposure, or maybe put them in a pebble tray?  The soil they are currently in stays wet for a long time and I don’t want to overdo it with the water.     Any feedback would be appreciated.     -Pete

Response:

    Hi All,     I have just started catching the fever and bought a couple of dendrobiums and a vanda to add to a pair of orchids that I recieved as gifts.  I purchased the plants from a local nursery, and they were in soil when I bought them.  They are currently flowering, and I was planning on replanting them when they were done.  My condo is very dry, and the plants get lots of sun with a southeastern exposure.  My question is- should I water them frequently because of the low humidity and high sun exposure, or maybe put them in a pebble tray?  The soil they are currently in stays wet for a long time and I don’t want to overdo it with the water.     Any feedback would be appreciated.     -Pete

Pete, Hopefully it’s not too late already. Low humidity IS a cause for concern but so is media that stays wet for a long time. A fungal infection invades the roots and rots them. Raising humidity is the key as it will allow you to grow the plants while allowing the media to dry properly. I wish I could be of more help. Might I suggest hosing the carpet? No..maybe that won’t do…sorry! -Rod- Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/ Basic Culture CD-ROM: http://vengers.com/demo/cd.htm

Response:

Hi Pete,      Welcome to the addictive hobby of orchid growing!   Do you know what type of orchids you were given as gifts?   You mentioned you had bought a dendrobium and vanda but didn’t say what the gift orchids were.   See if there is a plastic name tag stuck in the pots and whether there is a name on it like Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Paphiopedilum, Cymbidium, etc.        Many orchids can be grown under similar conditions even though they do have their own personal growing preferences.   For instance your dendrobium and vanda like to have some humidity but the vanda would prefer a bit more.   They both like bright light but the vanda prefers more.   Both like air movement around them and you guessed it, the vanda more.      As you can see, while it may be possible to grow them both together, one or the other may suffer from having too much or too little of something.   You can position the vanda on top of a pebble tray filled with water, give it multiple light mistings during the day and in almost direct southeast light exposure and it may do alright.   The dendrobium should be placed where it gets good bright light but little or no direct light during the hottest times of the day, also place it on top of a pebble tray.      If they are in a soil type potting medium, I would recommend getting them out of it and into something with a more open structure once the flowers die off.   There are lots of different materials used to pot orchids but one of the easiest to find is orchid bark.   The vanda should go into a medium or coarse sized medium while  the dendrobium into a finer grade.      Hope this helps a little.   Good luck and good growing.  

Response:

Filed under: Cymbidium Orchids

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