Care Tips for Orchids!
It's Singapore's 51st Birthday Today! Do you know the designation of Vanda Miss Joaquim as Singapore’s national flower was in 15th April 1981, and we are the only nation to have a hybrid as her national flower!
3 Important Care Tips To Remember:
1) Avoid wetting the leaves of Orchids when you are watering them, use a piece of tissue or a cotton ball to remove excess/trapped waters in the leaves.
2) After watering, do not allow residual or standing water to come in contact with the base of the orchid pot.
3) When the last flower drops, cut your flower spike halfway down the stem. A possible rebloom will occur if you continue caring for your orchid! (So never dispose them away just because they have turned "bald").
Good To Know:
Orchids are native to tropical rainforest, but they need not be water several times a week. It is a common mistake that many of the plant owners have committed. Over-watering will kill their roots, so home-grown Orchids only needs to be water every 5 to 12 days.
If you realised that all the blooms have fallen off, but the plant still has healthy-looking, green and thick green leaves that have not wrinkled or drooping, what you should do is cut off the old flower stem up high, right above a "node" which is just below the lowest bloom. The plant shall continue to sprout new flowering branches at that spot.
However if the plant has thin, wilted leaves then we would recommend to cut the flower stem all the way down so that it does not weaken itself by blooming right away. With proper care and some fertilizer, your plan will regain it's shape for future blooming on a new grown stem. Although this may take up to a year or more, do not give up on them! Orchids are naturally a slow-growing plant but there's beauty too during their growing process.