Orchid Potting Material – Get the Right Mix

To grow an Orchid successfully takes a lot larger variety of materials than say a standard house plant. Instead of a soil Orchids must be potted in a mixture of materials that are aerating and also able to retain water. On top of this an Orchid grower must correctly calculate the ratio of aerating material to water retaining material for each different species of Orchid he or she wishes to grow.

Often excess moisture will form at the edges of pockets of air within the potting mixture that is being used; this can then in turn cause faster degradation of the compost that has been used to pot the Orchid. In turn this will lead to root rot and the Orchid being unable to absorb enough nutrients with its damaged root system will start to turn yellow on its leaves.

In the situation that the leaves of an Orchid do start to turn yellow many novice Orchid growers jump to the conclusion that the reason for the yellow leaves is a lack of water. To rectify the situation many beginners would decide to further water their Orchid, which will only result in yet more damage to the already damaged roots due to overwatering. As you can imagine this is not an ideal way to care for an Orchid and if continued with will undoubtedly lead to you owning a dead Orchid.

Orchids grow best in a mixture of both organic and inorganic materials. You can get these mixtures from almost all garden centre’s as well as nurseries.

You also have the opportunity to create your own potting mix to use when growing your Orchids. A mixture of your own making has gives you the chance to cater to the exact species of Orchid you are growing ultimately resulting in a healthier Orchid with more impressive blooms.

By combining a selection of the below mentioned inorganic and organic potting materials you are sure to give your Orchid an advantage when it comes to maximizing its blooms.

Organic Materials for Use in Your Orchids Potting Mix

• The fibers of tree ferns are in fact an ideal potting material. The reason for this is that they decompose very slowly and also offer good drainage for your Orchid, which as you know from above is crucial if you are to avoid root rot. The only real problem with tree fern fibers are that they are not very easy to obtain. If you can however locate some tree fern fibers for use in your potting mix then it is highly recommended that you do.
• One of the first materials that was used when specialty Orchid mixes came into existence is the coconut husk. This fiber is reasonably good at retaining water and affordable. When compared with fir bark however coconut husk does have a faster rate of decay.
• The thing you must know when using fir bark in your potting mixture is that at first it has trouble properly retaining the water. But taking this into account fir bark is a wonderful material to use and is also widely available.
• With better water retention than fir bark and a fairly slow rate of decay redwood bark makes an ideal material for use in your potting mixture.

Inorganic Material for Use in Your Orchids Potting Mix

• Heavy pumice rocks or lava rocks provide great drainage for your Orchid when used in your potting mix.
• Over used pearlite can cause nearly all excess water to be absorbed resulting in there not being enough water left to feed your Orchid. But when used in moderation pearlite has fantastic water retention capabilities and can go a along time before decay will force you to renew the potting mix.
• Vermiculite, a naturally occurring mineral, has extremely good water retention abilities, which means there will be better aeration throughout your potting mix. It cannot be stressed enough just how important it is to have a well aerated potting mix when you are trying to grow a healthy Orchid. If you can include vermiculite in your potting mix then your Orchid will be all the healthier for it.
• A material that decays slowly and is able to absorb toxins within the potting mix is charcoal and is a wonderful material to be used in your potting mix.

Many factors affect the growing of a healthy Orchid but the potting mix in which you grow your Orchid is arguably the most important. Without a satisfactory potting mix you will be limiting the potential of your Orchid to reach its full beauty. By creating your own potting mix you can cater to each and every Orchid you own and in this way always get the most out of which ever Orchid it is you wish to grow.

Image courtesy of Maggiejumps

How You Can Make a Humidity Tray for Your Orchids

There are several techniques you can use in order to increase the humidity in the air and give yourself a healthier Orchid. One such way is to spray water, preferable distilled water, onto your Orchid several times during the day. Another more expensive method is to use a machine called a humidifier, which will increase the humidity of the entire room in which it is place. A much better and also popular method is to use a humidity tray.

Simply put humidity trays are trays… of water. The water in the tray will evaporate throughout the day causing the air around your Orchid to be more humid than the surrounding environment, which of course is a good thing as your Orchid loves humid conditions.

When creating your own humidity tray the really art is making the tray look attractive so it doesn’t distract from your beautiful Orchid.

You can purchase humidity trays from most garden centre’s  but trust me it’s much more fun and creative, not to mention cheaper, to do it yourself. It is also very easy and for 10 to 15 minutes of effort will make a lifetime of difference to the health and therefore the enjoyment you will get from your Orchid.

So let’s get started, first off and I’m sure you saw this coming you will need a tray. But don’t get too tied up looking for an actual tray nearly anything will be appropriate that can hold water from containers and pots to the bottom of a plastic milk bottle. Also a lot of pots that you can buy from garden centre’s nowadays come with a saucer, which is ideal to use as a humidity tray. Even an old saucepan you don’t use anymore will make a chic looking humidity tray (maybe take the handle off if you can).

Now you have a tray to work with the next thing you will want to get your hands on is some stones or pebbles. These will add to the beauty of your brand new humidity tray so it is always nice to spend some time to find some stones you like the look of, most people like rounded stones but it’s your humidity tray so whatever takes your fancy. Good places to look for some well rounded stones as I’m sure you know are down the beach or alongside a river. However what most people don’t do is have a look in their back gardens, this is the simplest thing to do and I have a feeling that you might be surprised by what you can find.

Since you are now a renowned stone/pebble hunter it’s time to place you findings into your humidity tray. Make sure you try and squeeze in as many stones as you can and it’s important that the surface you are left with is relatively flat, as this is where your pot containing your Orchid will be sitting. If you did have trouble finding enough pebbles or stones gravel will also do the job.

For bonus points I like to wrap the pot either with wrapping paper form the last birthday present you beautifully wrapped or a nice piece of material usually found in the corner of some cupboard or wardrobe.

Now that you’ve got your humidity tray looking in tip top condition all that’s left to do is add the water. You will want to fill your humidity tray until the water is just below the level of the stones. Now position your Orchid pot carefully on top of the stones and you’ve just made your very first humidity tray.

Before you get too excited remember to keep your new humidity tray topped up regularly. Checking the level of water about once per week in the winter and closer to once per day in the summer will make sure that your humidity tray never dries out.

This is important, when you check the water levels of your humidity tray you should ensure that none of your Orchids roots actually make contact with the water. If you forget to do this and the roots of your Orchid do come in to contact with the water it can cause root rot, which if left long enough can be fatal to even the healthiest and hardiest of Orchids.

So now that we have taken care of the humidity surrounding your Orchid we can concentrate on other aspects of caring for Orchids. If your new to Orchid care have a look at this “Basics of Caring for Orchids” for more advice on the factors that affect the growing of a health Orchid.