Hey Guys! My name is Maggie and here are some care tips for your store bought orchids. This is an
orchid. One, you might receive as a graduation or farewell gift. They’re mass produced and readily
available at your local woolies store. I know many of you treat it like a bouquet of flowers,
wait till the blooms drop off and then toss it in the bin. Well I'm here to convince you otherwise!
Trust me, with a little bit of Tender Love & Care they will bloom again! The Orchid Family is the
largest family of flowering plants in the world - there are at least 30,000 species of orchids,
that’s not including the 70,000 hybrids that exist. This one is a Moth Orchid or “Phalaenopsis”
(fal-en-op-sis). Special Talents include these weird looking tendrils. In tropical rainforests,
Orchids are epiphytic plants that like to grow on trees. Don’t be alarmed by these aerial roots
growing above the surface of the soil. In nature, these roots help absorb nutrients and moisture
from the air in order for the orchid to thrive. Caring for the Phalaenopsis Orchid is as easy
as recreating that tropical rainforest routine. Beneath the Canopy light. Don’t put them in a
position where they’ll receive direct rays from the sun. Also don’t keep them in a dark corner
as if it was growing in a cave. Put them in a position where they’d get soft filtered sunlight
close to a window, or in a brightly illuminated room on a table. Just imagine them chilling out
high above the ground on a branch of a tree, with the gentle sunlight filtered through the leaves,
casting its ominous green hue. Moist but not drowning. In nature, the humidity and supply of
steady raindrops from the trees ensure the orchid gets watered just the right amount. So only water
it when it has been allowed to dry out for a few days, and a hint of moisture still remains within
the soil. Avoid getting the leaves or flowers wet in the process, the orchid won’t appreciate the
torrential downpour. Either dunk it into a bucket of lukewarm water, until the water stops shy of
the nursery pot’s top rim. Or carefully water the soil alone, top-down. Let it breathe. It’s pretty
easy to want to just pop it straight back into the pretty pot straight after watering it. But
the orchid likes to breathe. So let all the excess water drain out of the bottom of the nursery pot
before you return it into the cachepot. Otherwise all that excess water will pool at the base, and
simulate a swamp. I have confidence in you! Armed with this knowledge, you’re going to do just fine
taking care of that Orchid. In about 2-6 months time these blooms will drop off. When that time
comes, say farewell to the scarring region of the spike where the flowers once were. Just slightly
below that woody region, find a dormant node which are those green bumps on the spike. Grab
a clean pair of scissors or pruning shears, and cut it about 1cm above that dormant node. Pretty
soon you’ll see new foliage and spike growing from that node. Wait another 3 months and it’ll reward
your patience by blooming again. Hope you enjoyed this video, because the symmetry on these orchid
blooms are enchanting! If you want to be there when this orchid blooms once again, don’t forget
to hit like and subscribe. Let me know in the comments what colour blooms you’re diggin. Bye!