Learn how to keep your orchids blooming

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Caring for your orchid is simple and straight forward. Water sparingly, preferably with rainwater, on top of the pot when the soil feels dry. You can use a proprietory houseplant fertiliser, diluted to half that recommended for other plants, every alternate watering while the plant is growing. To raise humidity, place your orchid on a tray of moist pebbles.

Cultivating your orchid
As each flower fades and turns brown remove it gently from the flower spike then when all the flowers are over, cut off the whole spike cleanly about 3cm above the base. The orchid will then concentrate on leaf growth and should flower again the following year. The only exception to this rule is the Phalaenopsis which will flower again very quickly if the spike is cut down to 25cm above the base just above the point at which the lowest flower was attached.

Re-potting your orchid
All orchids are best re-potted after flowering. Remove old flower spikes and tip the plant out of its pot. Gently remove all the old compost away from the roots and remove all dead roots. Use the smallest pot possible without damaging the roots, and use a moistened bark-based orchid compost. This applies to all orchids except for cymbidiums which flower best when pot-bound.

A good home for your orchid

Phalaenopsis / Doritaenopsis hybrids & Paphiopedilum hybrids
Keep this orchid in a centrally heated room with a minimum temperature of 15°C. Plants should be placed away from the source of heat, in a well lit position, out of direct sunlight.

Cymbidium hybrids
A cool room with very good light and a minimum temperature of 11°C is ideal between October and May. During the summer they will happily stand outside in dappled shade. Cymbidium hybrids were also developed from species native to Asia. Their wide range of colours and ease of cultivation make them one of the most popular of all orchids.

Vuylstekeara, Odontocidium, Miltonia, Odontoglossum, Oerstedella, Masdevallia & Epidendrum hybrids
A cool, well-lit position out of direct sunlight with a minimum temperature of 11°C is suitable all year round. The ancestors of these orchids come from the tropical Americas and are available in a wide range of colours. A well lit position and a minimum temperature of 13°C is essential to encourage flowering of the Central and Southern American Oncidium hybrids.