Orchids managed to win the love of flower growers. Bright flowers are increasingly appearing on the windowsills of houses and apartments. However, orchids need to provide comfortable conditions, especially during the cold season. First of all it concerns watering.
This will be discussed in this article, namely: what is the frequency of this, how to prepare water and other nuances.
Features of growth in the cold season
In the fall, many orchids emerge from a period of rest that they experience in the hot summer. In early autumn, when the light day is still quite long, the orchid begins to form a flower stalk. The period of growth of the peduncle lasts for several months and by the middle of winter the orchid blooms. At this time, the orchid can be safely put on the windowsill, as sunburn in the winter is not terrible. In addition, it will be useful to illuminate it artificially, so that daylight lasts from 12 to 14 hours.
Why special moisture control is required?
It must be remembered that the orchid is a tropical plant. Therefore, we must especially responsibly treat the care of her in the cold season. Lack of light and dry air can be detrimental to the plant. Heating devices dry the air in rooms often. In order for the flower to remain healthy, it needs to provide the right care.
How often to produce watering in autumn and winter?
When caring for orchids you need to remember that they do not like excessive moisture in the pot (how to water the orchid growing in the pot?). It is better to dry the soil a little, rather than pour it. How often you need to water the plant at home in winter depends on the rate of drying out of the soil (how to water your home orchid at any time of the year, read here). This is usually once a week.
However, watering may be needed even less often. It depends on the conditions in which the orchid is contained. The colder and darker the room, the slower the soil dries out. So the interval between watering can grow to 10, and sometimes up to 14 days.
The most an effective way to determine the level of drying of the soil will be a wooden skewerput in the pot. If it has become wet, then it is too early to water the orchid.
It is convenient to monitor the drying of the soil, if the orchid is growing in a transparent pot. In this case, it should be watered when the condensate stops collecting on the pot. Also, the indicator of the drying out of the soil is the color of the roots: it is worth watering the orchid when the roots turn brighter. If the roots are green - watering should be postponed.
About how often you need to water the orchids, said in a separate material.
Water preparation
Water for watering orchids should be warm. It is enough just to get water from the tap in advance, at least one day, and leave to stand in an open container. So the water will acquire a comfortable room temperature and evaporate substances harmful to the plants contained in tap water. However, if the room is cool, it is better to warm the water a little so that it reaches a temperature not higher than 30 0WITH.
In winter, the need for dressings is reduced. Therefore, fertilize the plant before the spring does not follow. An exception may be the case when the orchid is under special artificial lighting.
About what you need to water the orchid and how often it can be done, read here.
detailed instructions
It is believed that you should not rinse the orchid under the shower or spray it during the cold season. However, first of all, you should be guided by the state of the plant. If the plant feels good, then such methods of watering really better to postpone for a warmer time.
September to November
In the autumn months, you can use the dive method for irrigation. For this you need:
- Put the orchid pot in an empty container, a little larger than the pot itself.
- Pour the water into the orchid pot. It is important to pour not directly on the roots, but on the substrate.
- Water until the water level in the outer tank reaches the height of the orchid pot.
- Leave the pot in the water for half an hour.
- Take out the pot and put it on the pallet. This will allow excessive moisture to drain. Leave it for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, drain the excess water and put the orchid in a permanent place.
Recommendation. You can put a pot with orchid right in a bowl of water. In this case, you need to hold it so that the flower does not turn over and the substrate does not spill out of the pot. Dry bark is very light and will not keep the pot at the bottom of the basin. He can just float.
December to February
In winter, watering an orchid can also be done by dipping (what other ways are there to water the orchids?). However, you should pay attention to the overall humidity.
If the room is very dry, you need to provide additional moisture. To do this, you can:
- Put in the room humidifier.
- Spray the air around the orchid with a spray bottle. The main thing - do not fall on the rosette of leaves.
- You can put a container with water next to the orchid so that it smoothly evaporates.
- If the orchid is near the battery, you can place a wet towel on the battery and change it as it dries.
What difficulties arise?
Most often, the problems of watering orchids in the cold season are caused by excessive moisture. The orchid does not like the cold, and the moisture in the pot can provoke hypothermia of the roots. and, as a result, their decay and diseases of fungal nature. To avoid this, it is necessary to give the water a good drain after watering and time to remove it from the pan.
To avoid such problems, it is necessary to provide heat insulation for the flower. You can rearrange it from the window sill to a warmer place. But then you need to take care of good lighting. But if there is no place to rearrange the pot, you can lay a layer of foam under it or block the pot from drafts.
At first glance it may seem that the orchid is very whimsical. However, to care for it, you need to follow fairly simple rules that a novice gardener can handle. The main thing is to be attentive to your flower and act only on the basis of its needs. Upon careful handling, an orchid will delight you with its flowering in the middle of a cold winter (how to water it during flowering?).
