Orchids are easy to grow! Here are 5 simple secrets to growing amazing orchids for years to come!
I had to share with you my gorgeous orchids. I am crazy for orchids, I have more than a dozen now of all varieties. And this year has been the best blooming season I’ve ever had; they just make me happy everyday! My Boyfriend, Jerry, bought me an orchid on our second date, recalling that I loved them. Yeah – he locked that down fast! And now, he even loves them. Last spring he took me to Carter and Holmes in South Carolina, and spoiled me with a bunch of exotic orchids. I’ve gotten them as I’m Sorry gifts, Valentine’s Day gifts, and Because I Love You gifts. He’s just the best and it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
Truth be told, Orchids have been some of the only house plants I’ve managed to keep alive for years and years. They are incredibly easy to care for and to get gorgeous blooms every year that will last for months! Which is why I am always shocked when friends tell me how hard they are to grow and that they kill them. I’ve inherited quite a few orphaned orchids in the last year from friends unwilling to keep them any more, and they’re blooming beautifully!
Here are my 5 Simple Secrets to Growing Amazing Orchids
1. Lots of Indirect Light
Light is the key element to growing amazing orchids and getting them to bloom year after year. They like a lot of indirect light. Find a spot near a sunny window, even on the windowsill. If it’s direct light, morning light is best, but any sunny window should do.
We have a great kitchen with three huge windows that get indirect light almost all day. It’s made for a perfect place for growing amazing orchids. If they don’t get enough light, you’ll still have pretty greenery but no blooms.
Note: Make sure to keep it away from any air vents, as fluctuating temperatures – like turning your air conditioner on in the summer, will shock it and it’ll drop it’s blooms – which is so depressing! Or in reverse, the heat during the winter will dry it out and make it unhappy. I’ve learned both of these lessons the hard way.
2. Water Weekly
Orchids are seriously easy to maintain in the watering department. I soak them once a week, and I mean soak them good. If the weather has been particularly dry or we’ve been running the heat, I’ll check them after a few days. But rarely do they need more water than once a week. You want their planting medium moist and to almost dry out before you water again. But regular watering is essential to growing amazing orchids.
3. The Right Planting Medium
Orchids don’t like potting soil. You have to have the just right mix for growing amazing orchids. Luckily it’s easy to find and a bag will last you forever. I use a 50/50 mix of Sun Bulb Better Gro Orchid Moss 
and Sun Bulb Better Gro Special Orchid Potting Mix, which is a mix of bark, hardwood charcoal, and sponge rock
. I pack it lightly around the plant and roots, but make sure it’s in there securely. If it’s too densely packed, it could maintain too much water and then you’ll rot your roots or the root won’t be able to push through it to grow.
and 
. I pack it lightly around the plant and roots, but make sure it’s in there securely. If it’s too densely packed, it could maintain too much water and then you’ll rot your roots or the root won’t be able to push through it to grow.4. An Orchid Pot
Orchids are air plants, which means their roots are going in search for air. Orchid Pots
My boyfriend is a talented potter, and he’s made me a bunch of gorgeous little orchid pots!! Which has made growing amazing orchids even more special! You can pick up cheap terra cotta orchid pots at any garden store, but they suck up a lot of water and will dry your plant out. I prefer ones that have been glazed.
5. Fertilizing
The last two years, I’ve been fertilizing my orchids weekly when I water them. The difference has been incredible! I’ll get multiple flower shoots per plant and far more blooms than I ever had in the past. I prefer Miracle-Gro Orchid Plant Food Mist
Since we have more than a dozen orchids, watering and fertilizing was taking up some precious time, so I recently just switched to Miracle Grow Orchid Spikes
See, Orchids are easy! And now that you know these 5 Simple Secrets to Growing Amazing Orchids – your orchids will thrive too!
Orchids will tell you if they’re unhappy. If it’s not blooming but has nice leaves, it’s not getting enough light. If the leaves are turning red and have burnt spots on them, that’s too much light. If come late winter you’re not seeing root growth and new stems, it probably needs more light. But once you find that sweet spot, you’ll have a gorgeous orchid that will bloom for years and years to come!
They are also incredibly cheap to come by, quite a few of mine I bought at Trader Joe’s for less than $10 and a couple from Ikea for $3!
I love orchids too, and they don’t seem to give off a lot of pollen like some other flowers which makes them a great choice for my allergies! I’m terrible at keeping plants… I have one plant that has now been with me for a year or two, he doesn’t always look too great but then I remember to water him again! I sound terrible… I will try treat him better!
XO Miss Portmanteau
Yes! I have terrible allergies too. I’ve never had an issue with these. Good luck with your plant!
I am a newbie when it comes to flowers as I always used to hate them but these are so pretty!
You should try growing one. They really are great little house plants.
God I wish I was better with flowers but I even kill cacti. And I’m a daughter of a gardener! I will give this a go because I love orchids so much.
Katja xxx
http://www.katnapped.com
They are seriously easy plants. They are also super rewarding! Good luck!
I wish I had green fingers like you every thing I grow dies I guess its a case of too generous watering I think.
I understand. I’m usually the opposite, I forget to water all the time. I’ve been pretty good with these… the outdoor plants, not as much. Thank goodness for irrigation hoses and timers.
I didn’t know there were orchid pots! I love orchids, I have a lot at home. I have close to the window and sometimes they get burning spots from that. But I don’t have any other spot for them. So hopefully they will stay alive a bit longer than several months… 🙂
Oh yeah, orchid pots are the best! I have done all sorts of pots, and they just love them. You can always put up a muslin shade to filter the light, it might keep your leaves from burning.
These orchids look fantastic and I’m sure they will brighten the entire room. Thank you for sharing these tips on how to grow orchids, it happens that I was looking these days to buy some apartment flowers and your post arrived just in time. Do you think they will go well even in a not-so-bright room?
Hmm, probably not if there isn’t a decent amount of sun at some point in the day. A sunny spot is really essential for blooms. It’ll still be a nice green plant though. If you don’t get a lot of natural light, I recommend a mother in law’s tongue, they barely need anything ever. I forget to water mine for weeks, we keep it in a pretty dark room, and it thrives! I can’t kill that plant even if I wanted to. It’s also really cool looking. How much light do you get?
I’ve never been a flower grower or gardener, I kill EVERYTHING. I got given a tomato plant for free once at school because the school garden had too many and I killed it within a few weeks. My grandad, however, is great at growing all sorts. When I was a child, he always grew tomatoes in the summer and would give me a bunch to take home whenever I visited.
I LOVE growing tomatoes. They are so wonderful. I have wonderful memories of my grandfather growing them too. We used to go out to the garden and eat them right off the vine with a shaker of salt. Soooo yummy.
Thanks for these great tips. I’ve never been able to keep an orchid alive. I might just have to give it another shot.
Many years ago we bought a beautiful white orchid plant from a Japanese shop. It was beautiful and lasted many years with minimal care! I never changed its pot or soil. Then, my mother thought it looked a bit unhappy and changed the soil and it died shortly after. That shop closed down and I never found another orchid like it.
I got an orchid, the standard white one, but almost all its flower feel and I’m so scared to cut it off… last time it ended in a disaster… I believe it’s too hot, the Spanish summer, for my orchid. Have any tip to help the orchid beat the heat?
Well, your orchid could have lost its blooms for a few reasons – I wouldn’t be concerned. All of mine are losing their blooms now, because the season is coming to an end and we’re running our A/C more. The A/C dries out our house and cools off the room where I have them – so they kind of go into shock a bit. But they bloom for several months. And depending on how long you’ve had your orchid, it could have been in bloom for some time before you bought it – which is probably the case. Just keep watering it and fertilizing it. Keep it out of too much direct sun and heat until the weather cools off a bit. It should bloom again next year and you’ll have blooms from February/March until June – for years and years! I usually cut off the stems when they turn brown and dry up.