How to water an orchid ?

You should learn how to water an orchid because it is not so simple and obvious. Without water, some orchids could not live long, although some, like Phalaenopsis, are truly drought tolerant.

Orchids are exotic plants therefore you should not water them the same way as most other plants. There are a few rules to keep in mind when watering orchids.

What water should I water an orchid?

When caring for orchids, it is worth knowing that water quality is very important for these plants. For many orchids, tap water is too hard, which is detrimental to them and causes unsightly spots on orchid leaves. Therefore, you should not water the orchid with water straight from the tap.

Orchid growers have had to spend a lot of work on growing hybrids resistant to tap water. However, if you want to provide really good water for our slopes, it is worth collecting rainwater, because it is the most suitable for these plants.

You must be careful that the rainwater is not contaminated. You can also water orchids with a mixture of distilled water and tap water. Mineral water is not suitable for orchids because it contains too much mineral salt.

Principles of watering an orchid

Since orchids appeared on our window sills, a lot of books and articles have been written about watering these plants, and yet most of us still have problems with this. It is no surprise that watering is still one of the most difficult tasks.

How often you water an orchid depends on many different factors, such as the type of substrate, how long it can hold moisture, and the size of the pot.

If you supply too little water, the water does not reach the lowest roots and the orchid will therefore wilt. The orchid rarely withers. You really have to try to dry this plant to death because orchids also absorb moisture from the environment.

Weekly watering is a rule of thumb for a typical 12 cm pot. After watering, you should wait until all the water has drained and only then put the plant back in its permanent place on the windowsill.

Advice! After watering the plants, always place the orchid in exactly the same place where it stood before and in the same arrangement of leaves in relation to the light, because orchids react very badly to being moved.

Watering frequency

Miniature orchids, growing in smaller pots, 8-9 cm in diameter, should be watered more often (up to 2 times a week) because they dry much faster. Sometimes the smallest ones should be watered up to 3 times a week. On the other hand, orchids grow in large pots of 14-16 cm. can be watered freely every 2 weeks. To sum up – the larger the orchid, the less frequent it is to water, and the smaller it is – the more often it has to be done.

Warning! Before watering It is best to leave tap water overnight for all the chlorine to evaporate and for the water to come to room temperature.

You should remember to water the entire pot evenly from all sides. If you water on one side, it may cause the plant to form roots only on that side. It’s a good idea to dip the entire pot in water.

However, with such watering, you have to be careful not to immerse a healthy orchid in the water in which you have just dipped the sick one, because it is easy to infect another plant.

After watering the orchid, it is necessary to wait until the water has completely drained from the pot and only then put the orchid back in its place. The orchid often rots because you forget to properly drain the water from the pot. Therefore, drainage is as important as watering itself.

Orchid sprinkling

Orchids placed on window sills do not need sprinkling because the general air humidity in the room is sufficient for them. Even if the air is slightly dry, it is better to place a container with water next to it than to sprinkle the plants.

There are also orchid species that absolutely need morning and evening sprinkling. Then there is no help and you need to spray them regularly.

Warning! When sprinkling orchids, remember to spray the underside of the leaves, because this is where the plant has stomata through which it absorbs moisture. Spraying the top side of the leaves will do nothing.

Sprinkling is also a good procedure if the plant has a sick or poorly developed root system, but then you need to sprinkle it several times a day.