watering orchids

[oscar freak]

i'm still learning about these plants and i swear watering is the most confusing aspect,everyone has their own ideas and i was doing my own thing and nearly killed a few by over watering.being holiday time here i was worried about leaving my plants for an extended period,before i left for two weeks i visited a new orchid nursery owned by an old chinese man and he couldnt stress enough my once a week was too much,that every 10 to 14 days was sufficient.so i went on holiday in faith but sure i would come home and find a whole bunch of shrivelled dead orchids but instead i found them all right as rain with new growth all over the place.so now i have a new appreciation for these plants.

[RJSquirrel]

hardest thing to learn watering orchids is to water them when they need to be watered and not be watering them when you feel like you need to be watering them. Take time to talk to your plants then take more time and listen to them

[No-Pro-mwa]

I under water mine. They yell at me and I don't listen to them. WATER ME! No I don't have time right now perhaps tomorrow. I must play on orchid board and find out how to take better care of you instead of actually doing it.

Ok seriously they really are tough plants. They do try and survive us.

[mtorchid]

Originally Posted by No-Pro-mwa

Ok seriously they really are tough plants. They do try and survive us.

Well put No-Pro-Mwa! Ideally we could all just tie them to trees and let nature do the watering for us. The main draw back to most container situations is that part of the media is still moist while other parts are dry, which doesn't happen in nature.

[bil]

Basically, if you give a plant the light, water etc that it has evolved to fit, then it will do well.

Epiphytes are evolved to live with the roots out in the fresh air, 'watered' with mist a rain frequently and sparsely. We put them in pots because it is easier for us and we don't have to dance attendance on them.

I was advised to put my phals in large pots with large bark and nothing else, and that's what they seem to like.

[silken]

I killed a number of orchids to root rot before I got the hang of it. I don't think I have ever killed one from letting it get a bit too dry.
I use the inexpensive bamboo kebab skewers in most of my pots and pull it out to check if it is time to water. Depending on the type of orchid, this could mean bone dry or slightly damp. It has been a big help for me.

[disalover]

We also went away 10 days and nothing died. The rain cept them alive

[plantbuddy]

Interesting.

I learned a lesson last summer when I un-potted a minicat and found I had no new bark to put it in. So I left it naked in the pot for a month and watered it as usual. It grew roots. Then, feeling bad, I cut up some wine corks and potted it in that wide open medium.

It grew fast and furious in that non water retentive pot.

[bil]

Originally Posted by plantbuddy

Interesting.

I learned a lesson last summer when I un-potted a minicat and found I had no new bark to put it in. So I left it naked in the pot for a month and watered it as usual. It grew roots. Then, feeling bad, I cut up some wine corks and potted it in that wide open medium.

It grew fast and furious in that non water retentive pot.

and that says it all. Epithytes grow up in the trees with only the medium that their roots can hold. That ain't much. I have seen people growing epiphytes hanging from wires with zero media, and all they get is a spray of water a day.
The one thing I have learnt so far is that too much kills.

Too much water, fertiliser, media, you name it. Less is more.

[Cym Ladye]

Orchids thrive on what I like to call 'Studied Neglect".