How to water an orchid in a pot at home: consider the basic rules and step-by-step instructions for beginner gardeners

Growing an orchid at home is a time-consuming business and in need of good knowledge. This unusual flower requires proper competent care. Bright lighting, top dressing, temperature - all this is of great importance in growing plants.

One of the main points that you need to know is how to water an orchid in a pot. Often, improper irrigation is the main cause of plant death. Therefore, this article will tell you how to properly water the orchid in pots.

Features

Most orchids are epiphytes, that is, plants that grow in living nature attached to the trunk of a tree, and moisture is extracted from the environment. So these plants never get wet in the water.

From here follows the first and one of the main rules of watering: you can never keep orchids in the water, wet them. Caring for these fastidious plants differs from others and depends on many factors, which we will consider below.

Basic Rules

To begin with, you need to water the orchid through the top of the pot, letting excess fluid drain.

REFERENCE: the most important thing that everyone needs to remember - you need to water the orchid when the substrate is completely dry! Otherwise, it can cause great harm to the roots!

It is impossible to give exact recommendations for watering for any occasion in life. However, there are several general rules for orchid irrigation that should be followed:

Watering should be done not often, but plentifully (see the frequency of watering orchids here).
The temperature of the water should be room temperature, or slightly higher.
The best time of day for irrigation is morning.
During watering and spraying, you need to ensure that water does not get on the flowers of the plant, otherwise spots will form on the petals and the orchid will wither faster.
The contact of the roots with water should not exceed half an hour.
The liquid after watering should all drain out of the pot.

Step-by-step instructions for beginner gardeners

Undoubtedly, the plaque plays a big role in the growth and development of any plant, and especially orchids. All flower growers prefer different types of plates: clay, glass, plastic, with drainage holes and without.

And, of course, depending on the pot, watering the plants will also be different. Let us consider separately each type of bowl and proper care in it.

Planter without drainage hole

Irrigation of orchids in such a pot has its own characteristics. Watering should be carried out only on top of the soil, immersing in a vessel with liquid simply does not make sense, because there are no openings for draining water.

It is allowed to water the orchid in the shower using a watering canIn this case, after that it will be necessary to drain the excess liquid. This is done quite simply: you need to turn the flower pot over while holding the root system and pour water.

It is less necessary to irrigate an orchid in a pot without holes, because the soil in such a pot will remain wet much longer. The recommended interval between watering is 14 days. You can adjust this frequency based on the state of the soil.

IMPORTANT: due to the fact that the soil in the bowl without holes dries much longer, it quickly becomes unusable for the flower!

Transparent and opaque for growing

Orchids planted in transparent pots with a drainage hole can be watered in several ways. You can use a hot shower, immersion in water or watering with a watering can. Each method has its own nuances.

If the pot is immersed in water, you need to lower the bowl slowly so that the roots do not push the flower out. It is necessary to keep the plant in liquid for about 30 seconds and the same amount in air.

This method of irrigation is considered the most effective and less costly. Thus, you need to water the plant once every three days, and in colder times - once a week.

Watering with a watering can is carried out carefully, without touching the flowers of the plant and sinus of the leaves. Watering is necessary until water flows out of the hole. Drain excess water from the sump.

The advantage of transparent pots is that the owner can clearly monitor the intervals of watering. If there is an accumulation of condensation on the wall of the pot, small drops of liquid, then the plant is too early to water.

The methods of watering a flower in an opaque pot are not very different from the previous one. Their only drawback is that you cannot see the state of the roots for the next irrigation.

However, there is one proven method: you need to take a wooden skewer, deepen it to the very end in the ground and leave for half an hour. If at the end of the period the stick remains dry, then it is time to water the orchid.

Photo

Below you can see a photo - how to properly water orchids at home for beginners:

Useful tips and tricks

Orchids are very moody plants. One wrong step can ruin a flower once and for all. Novice gardeners make a lot of mistakes. To prevent this, consider a few useful tips below:

Overfilling is the most common mistake that should be avoided. The roots of the flower do not tolerate moisture, which leads to their decay.Advice! This can be avoided with high foam drainage - about 4 cm.
When watering, try not to get into the axils of the leaves, otherwise this can lead to decay of the root neck of the plant, and it will die.
It is necessary to spray the flower from a distance of at least 20 cm. If this distance is not observed, then the liquid will evaporate longer.
You need to irrigate an orchid only with high-quality, boiled water at room temperature. The root system of the plant will quickly die off from hard cold water. About what water and solutions you can water orchids, we described in detail here.
Using the immersion method, it is necessary to change the water after each pot. This is done so that in case of illness of one plant, do not infect the rest.

By following all these simple rules, you can get a healthy flower that will delight the eye of its owner and its guests.

Watering orchids is different in its application and characteristics. Now that you know how to water this plant properly, nothing will stop you from growing it at home.