Orchids for dummies - page 2

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Dendrobium

Dendrobium Pravit White

Dendrobium

Phalaenopsis Taipei
Gold 'Taida' x
Double Delight 'Tayama'

7 TIPS

1. Purchasing. Highly recommended to purchase orchids not in big stores, but in privately run stores, or even a nursery if possible. In any way, try to purchase the plant from a person who is in charge of the quality of his own plants. You can also order the orchids online. Always check the conditions of the roots, purchase only the plants that have fully developed roots, with a possible green tint to them, without any signs of rotting (white dots, thin brown coating). Ideal situation is when you can see the roots hanging out of the basket so you can observe their quality.

2. When your orchid got home, remove the plant from the pot, and use the pot what it was ment to be used for - plant your favorite geranium into it... Carefully study the orchid's roots, remove any dry and broken roots and leaves with scissors.

3. Planting. We recommend 2 techniques used to plant orchids. You can try both of them, but you will need two orchids for that...

a) COCONUT. We will need not the nut itself, but its outer shell. With a scream "Banzai!" the coconut must be chopped in half using a full swing of a hatchet. Remove the inner shell from the outer shell ( if you wish you can eat the flesh of the coconut). Using a drill, make some holes in the bottom of each of the two halves of the shell, these are drainage holes. Remember, water should drain down through the shell, and never stay in it. Plant the orchid into the shell carefully, securing it with wire if needed. The roots are then covered with a special orchid mix (bark + coal + perlite + sphagnum moss), which should be bought at any garden store, and after that, a layer of sphagnum moss goes on top. After these procedures, shower the plant so that the planting mix would compress a bit. After that, do not water it for a week. This shell container can be hanged by running a fishing line through the drilled holes at the sides of the shell. Or you can just set it on a prop.

b) WIRE BASKET. The basket can be woven with a distance of 2-3 cm between the wires. If you are not a master in weaving baskets, you can purchase or utilize any old small basket that you have in the house, just remember that it will rot away in about a year. You can also use a plastic basket, like the one they have strawberries for sale. Basically you may use any small container with holes in it, as long as the water drains through. If the holes are larger than 1/2" in diameter, you can use a layer of spanish moss, which won't hold the moisture in. Then plant the orchid just like in the part a), using orchid mix and spanish moss.

Continued...