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Watering Your Orchids
Watering Your Orchids Once you get the hang of it you will be a pro at watering. Mostorchid plants are epiphytes (air plants) and we are used towatering plants in soil. Air plants have pseudo pods which takeup the water and hold it for the plants to drink. The rootsystem looks dry but may not be. If there is enough water youwill notice the roots have plumb looking parts which are thepseudo pods. Here are some guidelines that you can use for watering:
| water more often if | water less oftenif |
| there is more light | the isless lights |
| temperatures are higher | temperatures are lower |
| humidity islower | humidity is lower |
| there ismore air movement | less air movement |
| plant has thin leaves and growth | plant has thickleaves and growth |
| it is mounted on a slab orin a basket | it is in a pot |
Over watering is the most common mistake of beginners.The plant shows water which may e covering the root system. Ifthis occurs it means the roots are not getting the oxygen itneeds and may go on to die. You will also notice some of theleaves may be turning yellow and drop off (also a sign of underwatering). The pseudo pods will have furrows which run thelength of them. The leaves will become thinner, won’t fullyexpand and will wilt. Under watering is usually the case if the plant is in adirect sun for long periods of time. Some of us will only mistthe plant instead of watering. The signs of under watering areessentially the same as over watering. The thinner leaves of theplants especially Miltonias will have accordion like leaves. The treatment for over watering is to re pot as soon aspossible. As re potting is taking place cut off the roots thatdo not look healthy. Re pot in a coarser medium. This will allowthe plant to get the support it needs. Be sure that the plantdries out before being watered next.Occasionally you plant may not have any viable roots and may notrespond to re potting. If this is the case then I wouldrecommend that you place the plant and container in a clearplastic bag and loosely tie it and place it in indirect light.The humidity will help. Occasionally with over watering you will notice that the rootsand then the rest of the plant may turn black. This is “blackroot” disease. Use a fungicide on this and probably you can saveit.For under watering the main stay of treatment is to water morefrequently. If the plant feels loose in the pot then re pot it.Once you do this you will notice that there will be less wiltingand greener healthier leaves. If there is still some wilting theplant will need more humidity. This can be accomplished byplacing the plant on a tray that has pebbles in it and is halffull of water. Remember you do not want the roots to sit inwater.
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