torge conrad maguar writes
Hi, on a sudden impulse today the wife bought a beautiful yellow orchid
from B&Q. I 'm a complete novice, but always believed that orchids like a
high humidity. We have a small terraced house with central heating,
consequently the air gets very dry over the winter. At the moment the
orchid is on a south facing window. Please can you advise on what steps to
take to keep the poor thing going.

Is it a Phalaenopsis? Most of them are - and they're supposedly the
easiest to grow in the house.

I'll tell you what works for me, but I have no claim to expertise in
orchid growing. But all 5 of mine (3 Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium and
Odontocidium hybrid) are at the moment either in full flower or with a
flower spike growing.

Get a plastic tray, fill it with pebbles, fill it with water, and stand
the orchid on the pebbles. They do not like wet soil, so it's important
that the pot shouldn't be in the water.

They like bright light but not sun, so you're OK with the S windowsill
in winter, but move to a N window for summer (I'm assuming you're mid
terrace and therefore don't have an E window). And they prefer to be
cooler rather than hotter. Somewhere where you pass through lots of
times during the day (hall, kitchen, bathroom) may be better than living
room. But with all houseplants you compromise between conditions and
enjoyment - no point giving a plant ideal conditions if you hardly ever
get to enjoy it.

Water it once a week from the top - you're just letting the water drain
through and out the bottom, not trying to soak the compost.

Let the aerial roots wave around in the air, don't try to bend them back
into the pot. They won't appreciate either being bent or being
encouraged into damp compost.

When the flowers are over, you may be able to stimulate another stem by
pruning the existing one - recommendation is I think 2 buds from bottom,
but I have pruned much higher than that and got new flowers.

If you're enthusiastic, buy a small bottle of orchid fertiliser and
apply according to the instructions. You should get another flower stem
coming a few months later (and since the flowers last months, it doesn't
matter if you have to wait awhile for the next spike).


--
Kay