How to Grow Phalaenopsis Orchid

What is bright and vibrant, gentle and beautiful, with rounded leaves, and makes for amazing house decoration despite it looking a bit like a moth if you put your imagination into it? No, this is not a trivia, nor the start of a joke, but a lesson in botany and home decoration. The correct answer to this query is the Phalaenopsis orchid, or, more commonly but less preferred, the Moth Orchid – one of the more beautiful flowers offered as great adornments for your home. And not just seasonally – you can grow a bunch of them for as often as three times a year, and if your skills in garden maintenance are moderate to passable, you could keep them alive for months.

And, luckily for you, the planting and care for these flowers are fairly simple, so you can do it in the comfort of your own home without having to worry about lawn care or garden clearance in preparation for the seeds. All you need is the ability to follow instructions, to know when your plant needs you, and to acquire a small amount of patience until it matures into your new wonderful decoration. You don’t even need to provide it the best spot under the sunlight as these orchids are lovers of the shade and only need warm and moist air to thrive.

What You Need and How You Should Do It

In many cases the Phalaenopsis grows on branches and rocky areas in the shade and can simply be maintained, but if you do plan on fully growing the plant, then all you need are the proper seeds or spikes, and a few pots. You know how filling pots with soil and planting works, so do just that, and you can add some pebbles to help you keep a more natural environment. Now you should find the proper place for the pot. The growing Phalaenopsis needs a not very warm, but not very cold atmosphere – an average of 20°C should be kept for the seedlings. When the plant is fully grown, it can endure a minimal temperature of 15°C, so it needs less taking care of. What it needs more is moisture and an atmosphere full of humidity, so do not place the pot in the driest place in your home.

The light which the Phalaenopsis needs is not the direct sunlight that most flowers and plants do. In fact, if you do expose it to direct sunlight, it will burn the gentle leaves and it will wither away easily. So instead find it a shady spot on a west window, or put it on any windowsill and pull the window curtain in front of it so that it protects it from direct exposure. Any netted light will be beneficial to the longevity of your plant.

Not too much care required for the maintenance of the Phalaenopsis, but instead just make sure to keep its soil moist. It would be perfect if you used rainwater (time to start thinking about that rainwater harvesting system) for the plant as it needs its water pure, and, sadly, tap water rarely is. So do not give it the lime scale of you kitchen’s taps and look for a clearer solution. Speaking of clear, find a clear pot so that you can see if any issues occur while the plant is growing. And do water it regularly – the Phalaenopsis should never be left to dry out as it starts withering the moment it has no water in store to feed from. The soil could also be tended to – a quarter strength fertilizer monthly would give the flower what it needs to keep thriving.

You know the environment you need to set up, you know how to keep it, now all you need to do is start practicing so that soon you can grow your own crops of Phalaenopsis orchids without any effort.