How do you take care of orchids?

Question

My boyfriend send me a gorgeous potted orchid - but there were no care instructions, so I need some advice please.

Answer 1

Orchids are not a small group of similar plants. There are 30,000 species on the planet (about 10% of all plants) living anywhere from the deserts to the jungles--everywhere except the arctic.

Their care depends entirely on the type of orchid that it is. If there's no label you absolutely need to find out. The American Orchid Society culture sheets (below) have a drawing of each type of orchid, however different species/hybrids within a group can look quite different. Other ways to approach it would be to search for "orchid" on google images or go to a particular nursery's web page and browse through their pictures. Perhaps the best solution--if you can do it--is to post a picture of the flower on Yahoo Answers.

Once you find the particular type of orchid, find the conditions (light, watering, temperature, etc.) it favors for growth and blooming. These differ a LOT between different types. A good source for this and lots of other information is the American Orchid Society. Here's their page of culture sheets below. Again, each will have a drawing of particular species/hybrid. They will not all look identical. Sorry if this sounds so complicated. Good luck!

http://www.theaos.org/aos/orchids/page01.aspx

By the way, I would not recommend repotting it immediately--this causes the plant a great deal of stress--there's a good chance the plant will drop the flowers, assuming you don't end up breaking them off. Most importantly, just enjoy the flowers. Then acclimate to a good location. If it does have moss or something like that on the top, by all means remove the moss. I had to criticize the previous answer too much, but you definitely need to fertilize more frequently. Weekly is generally appropriate. Use dilute fertilizer, though.

Answer 2

Okay, first thing is to repot the Orchid. Remove all the moss that is surrounding it and get some Orchid bark and an Orchid pot. Orchids like to be root bound so pick a pot that is not much bigger than the one it is in. After you repot your Orchid then water it and let all the water drain out. Orchids do not like to be wet at all. Water once a week. Fertilize during growing season once a month and sit back an enjoy. Oh, yea, only put your orchid in indirect or filtered sunlight. Also, there are different species of Orchid so it would benefit you to look up your species and do some research for best care.
Good Luck

Answer 3

I've worked extensively on Orchids especially Phalaenopsis . But since I don't know what kind of orchids you have I'll just give you a good source of care info. Different orchids have different need in terms of light, temperature, and watering practice. Opinions vary. I usually refer to the American Orchid Society (AOS). They have an extensive library of different species and easy to follow care information. The links below have pictures and a link to AOS.

Hope this helps sort things out..

Horticulture Student