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Orchid Blogs

Over Watering Outdoor Orchids

5/18/2022

 
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If you keep your orchids outdoors during the summer to take advantage of the rainy season and warm weather, be careful that your plants aren’t receiving too much of a good thing. Orchids are natural epiphytes that derive water and nutrients from tree canopies. Their native settings allow plants to soak up just the right amount of rain, shed unnecessary water and allow roots to dry out between rain showers. 
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Despite our attempts to mimic an orchid’s natural setting, an outdoor potted orchid needs extra care and attention to avoid receiving too much water.

Selecting the Right Pot
The most important step is to ensure that your orchid is in the right type of pot. Whether you are using a clay, ceramic or plastic pot, the container must allow for proper drainage. These holes serve not only to allow water to escape, but they also provide ventilation for the roots. If your pot has a built in saucer, be sure to drain the saucer often.  
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Potting Medium

New orchids are frequently potted in sphagnum moss to keep the plants from drying out in the store and during the shipping process. Sphagnum moss is a natural, organic medium that is ideal for nurturing young plants and reviving vulnerable plants. Due to its excellent water retention properties, it may not be the best option for outdoor potted orchids that receive frequent rain.  An ideal potting medium for outdoor orchids is a mix that contains fir bark, charcoal and sponge rouge. This mix will promote healthy growth, superior drainage and proper root ventilation.
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Orchid Varieties
All orchids are not the same. Some varieties prefer to dry out completely between waterings such as vandas and phalenopsis (moth orchids). Other orchids such as paphiopedliums (lady slippers), miltonias (pansy orchids) and cymbidiums like to stay evenly moist but not soggy. Orchids that like something in the middle - evenly moist during high growth periods but dry outs between waterings - include cattleyas, dendrobiums and oncidiums.

What Is the Harm in Too Much Water?
There is such as thing as “too much of a good thing” as it relates to rainwater and your outdoor orchids. Without proper drainage, too much water can literally kill your plant.  Overwatering can deprive your orchid roots of oxygen. In a short period of time, your healthy green or brown roots will turn black and begin to rot. This wet environment is ideal environment for bacteria or fungus. If you aren’t careful, the damage caused to your roots will eventually show in the leaves of your plants. By then, unfortunately, it may be too late to save the plant.  So take the time this summer to routinely check your outdoor orchids to be sure they aren’t getting too much of a good thing with these summer rains.

Tree-Mounting Your Orchids

9/19/2019

 
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Bring some color, interest and unique accents to your yard by mounting orchids to trees near your entryway, by the pool or where you spend your time outdoors. Orchids are epiphytes and grow naturally in the wild in tree canopies. 
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They derive their moisture and nutrients directly from the air and from surrounding debris. In most cases, host trees are not harmed by orchids which makes tree mounting a great option for your yard. 

Mounted orchids grow best in temperate zones and the tropics.  Be sure to check the temperature tolerance of your specific orchid before relocating it to an outdoor location. Virtually every type of orchid including Vandas, Phalenopsis, Oncidiums, Dendrobiums and Cattleyas will perform well when mounted to a tree.

Location
Selecting an outdoor location that matches the care instructions for your particular type of orchid is important. For example, a Vanda may be able to tolerate a location in a tree that receives lots of light whereas a Cattleya may need more filtered light. 
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Another trick is to identify how rain flows down your tree. With many palms and oaks, you will notice a darker side to the tree limbs, typically the underside, where water trickles down tree. It’s best to mount your orchid where you know the rain will flow down the tree taking care to stay clear of dry spots.
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Orchids can be attached to trees using a variety of different methods. 
Option 1: Simply attach the orchid to a tree limb and secure with biodegradable twine. You may want to wrap the root ball in sphagnum moss to initially keep the roots from drying out.

Option 2: Create a burlap pocket filled with your orchid plant and Better-Gro® potting mix. Attach the pocket to the tree with twine.

​Over time, the twine and burlap will degrade, however, your orchid will have grown roots into and around the tree bark. Orchids attach best to trees with textured bark rather than smooth surfaces like certain palm species.  

The best time of year to mount orchids to trees is (1) when your orchid is heading into the growing season (2) during the wet time of year, typically the summer.   With minimal effort, expense and care, your orchids will quickly adapt to their new surroundings. You will be rewarded with fresh blooms and a new look in your yard. 


Choosing the Right Potting Mix

8/21/2019

 
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What potting mix is best for growing orchids? Bark, moss, lava rock? Well, the answer depends on the type of orchids you are growing, the location of your orchids, and how you care for them. 

For example, if you're in an area with a very dry climate, you should select a mix that retains moisture. If you grow your orchids indoors and tend to over water your plants, you will want potting mix that drains well. So how do you know which mix retains moisture and which ones do not? 
 
First, let’s look at the ingredients found in orchid potting mixes and their specific traits:
  • Fir Bark: Maximizes Air Flow
  • Charcoal: Cleans Naturally
  • Coarse Perlite: Drains Quickly
  • Chunky Peat: Retains Moisture
  • Lava Rock: Aerates Roots
  • Sphagnum Moss: Holds Moisture

Of course, we don't expect you to find these individual ingredients and make your own orchid mix. Thankfully, our head grower applied his many years of research and experience to develop our line of Better-Gro Orchid Potting Mixes. The following products are the exact same mixes that we use in our greenhouses to grow thousands of plants each year. 

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Better-Gro Special Orchid Mix contains fir bark, charcoal, and coarse perlite.
  • Fir bark is a natural product that orchid roots can grow on.
  • Charcoal acts as a cleanser so minerals found in plant food or water don't build up in your pots.
  • Coarse perlite helps keep the mix open to provide great water and air permeability.
  • Our Special Orchid Mix is formulated for orchids that like to be watered, yet also like their roots to dry out quickly.
  • Cattleyas and Oncidiums grow well in this type of mix.
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Better-Gro Phalaenopsis Mix is just like our Special Orchid Mix but with the addition of chunky peat.
  • Chunky peat holds moisture and nutrients.
  • It is great for low humidity growing areas such as arid outdoor environments and indoor growing.
  • Although this mix is formulated for Phalaenopsis plants, it may be used for growing most other types of orchids including Paphiopedilums and Intergenerics.
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Better-Gro® Dendrobium Mix contains fir bark, charcoal, coarse perlite, and lava rock.
  • Lava rock does not break down easily, so it prevents the potting mix from condensing to allow optimum water and air flow for healthy root growth.
  • This all-around quality mix was designed for Dendrobiums but can be used with orchids that like to be watered and whose roots can dry out quickly.
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Better-Gro Orchid Bark 
  • This mix can be used by itself or mixed with other ingredients.
  • It includes our specially sized western fir bark nuggets to provide maximum air flow to promote healthy root growth. 
  • Our Orchid Bark also works well as a decorative soil cover for all types of plants.
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Better-Gro Orchid Moss 
  • This is a high quality, five-star rated, natural imported sphagnum moss.
  • This material is ideal for young orchids and orchid seedlings.
  • It’s soft, feathered appearance makes it aesthetically ideal for use in wire baskets or cedar baskets.
We hope you have found this information to be helpful in selecting the right potting mix. We invite you to watch our Repotting Your Orchid Video for more tips and step-by-step instructions.

Happy Blooming from Better-Gro!

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  • Home
  • Better-Gro® Products
    • Potting Media
    • Orchid Plant Food
    • Packaged Orchids
    • Orchid Arrangements
    • Bromeliads
    • Additional Tropical Plants
    • Planters
    • Plant Supplies
  • Dynamite® Plant Food
    • About / The Science
    • Dynamite Products
    • The Environment
    • What Do My Plants Need?
  • SK Pottery
  • Kokodama
    • About Kokodama
    • Decor Inspiration
    • Kokodama Products
  • Orchid/Plant Care
    • Orchid Care Videos
    • Orchid Care Instructions >
      • When to Repot
      • What's Wrong with My Orchid
      • General Orchid Care
      • Repotting Your Orchid
      • Orchid Pests
    • Common Orchid Varieties
    • Orchid Blogs >
      • Sign up for Blogs
    • Bromeliad Care
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Wholesale
  • About Us
    • Timeline
    • Meet Our Head Grower
    • Careers
    • In The Media
  • Orchid Show Tickets
    • Orchid Show Tickets Official Rules
  • Choosing the Right Potting Media