White orchid care: the best tips and tricks

pretty flowers at home

Orchids are one of the best known and most popular indoor plants in the world. However, the care and needs of this plant are a mystery to many people. In this case, we will tell you what are the white orchid care so that you know what are the necessary requirements for these plants to grow in good conditions and help improve the house.

For this reason, we are going to tell you in this article what are the main care of white orchids, what are their characteristics and what are the requirements they need for optimal decoration.

Contents

Origin of orchids

white orchid flowers

Caring for white orchids does not seem so complicated when you understand the origins of this plant. Tropical origin and epiphytic character (lives in the branches and trunk of the tree) It is used in very specific tropical conditions: high humidity, high temperature, many hours of light but no direct sunlight – in its natural environment, it is filtered by the upper part of the tree. The leaves – alternating heavy rains and dry roots.

Remember that living in the trunk, its roots do not come into contact with the ground, which is the ingredient that keeps the roots moist longer, in the case of orchids, once the typical intense rain has passed. In the tropics, the roots do not come into contact with water more than they can absorb ambient humidity. A look back at its origins can give us an idea of ​​why we see it falling when we treat it like any other houseplant, the solution is simple, we just need it to feel at home.

White Orchid Care

white orchid care

How much light do they need?

We explained earlier that orchids have high light requirements, but it should not be direct, preferably diffused.

  • Yes we cannot: If the plant does not receive enough light, you will notice it because its leaves turn black (in extreme cases they turn yellow and fall off) and because it does not flower.
  • If we cross the line: plants will dehydrate in direct light and there will be sunburn (dry looking spots)

Orchid roots need light. A fairly common mistake in the care of orchids is to use a container that covers the roots with light. Remember that they live in trees and do not receive direct light. So they developed a very clever way to make the most of all the light: they also carry out photosynthesis in the roots. In its natural environment, the roots are not closed and compact, but distributed over the entire surface of the bark.

This is why it is recommended that the container allow light to pass through, that is to say that it be transparent. Especially if light is the limiting factor. In addition, a transparent container allows us to observe the state of the root in detail.

The ideal location for orchids is near a north-facing window or behind light-filtering curtains on an east, west, or south window.

How to water white orchids?

Water, like light, is one of the most complex points of orchid care. But once we get used to them, it’s easy to keep them healthy. When an orchid is in its natural environment, it absorbs a lot of water during the rains. However, when the rain stops, the plant does not receive more water than it captures from the rain (its roots act as small reservoirs of water) and ambient humidity. However, when too much water is given or good drainage cannot be guaranteed, the roots rot.

Another very common problem with orchids is to water several times, but in moderation, so we do not allow the roots absorb and retain the necessary moisture. The ideal for orchids is abundant and spaced watering, making sure to drain excess water between waterings.

The easiest way to achieve this effect is to immerse the pot (without wetting the top or the leaves) in a container with water for 10 minutes, then drain to remove excess water from the substrate. We can do this process once a week or when the roots start to turn gray.

A few tips on watering white orchids:

  • If we live in an area where the water is very hard, filtered water or rainwater is recommended.
  • Never dig into the center where the leaves meet, as this will stagnate and cause them to rot.
  • If you have several orchid plants, water them separately and the disease can spread. Use water to irrigate other varieties of plants, don’t waste it.
  • You can pierce the jar with a small soldering iron or a hole punch to make the water evaporate more easily.
  • Better to water in the morning, because temperatures are cooler at night and evaporation takes longer.

What ambient humidity do they need?

Environmental humidity is another important factor that we must consider, Phalaenopsis requires an environmental humidity of 50% to 80%. This humidity can be maintained in several ways:

  • Spray the leaves in the usual way (do not let the water reach the center of the leaves and do not wet the flowers, they will last less)
  • Place the pot on a layer of clay pebbles which retain humidity increases the humidity of the air around the pot as it evaporates.
  • Place containers of water near the plants.
  • Group your plants together to create a microclimate with higher humidity

Maintenance and care of white orchids

caring for white orchids at home

The substrate in which orchids grow does not contain nutrients because it mimics their natural environment, which is bark. For this reason, it is necessary to regularly pay our orchids. The most important nutrients for plants are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

Each of them has a different function, so depending on the stage of development in which our orchid is, you will need it more than another. It is a very basic concept that will make it easier for us to decide to buy fertilizer for any plant, so be careful.

I hope with this information you can learn more about caring for white orchids.

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