How to water phalaenopsis, what to add so that plant growth is better, as well as how to properly care for the flower during flowering and after transplantation?

Phalaenopsis is an amazing exotic flower that has become very popular lately. However, the plant is unusual and rather capricious, therefore, it must be watered in a special way, observing a number of important rules.

In the article we will talk about when, how, how to water the phalaenopsis, is it possible to save an overflowed or dried flower. We also recommend watching an interesting and useful video on this topic.

Proper care of phalaenopsis

This is a beautiful plant belonging to the orchid family, which in recent years has gained immense popularity. Phalaenopsis is an epiphyte that grows on trees and uses them as a support and getting moisture through the bare roots.

The readiness of the flower to receive moisture is provided by its leaves, and this, in turn, depends on how much sun they received. There is enough sun in the homeland of orchids, but in our climatic conditions there is a lot of it in the summer and spring and not enough in the winter and autumn.

ATTENTION: A frequent mistake is watering a flower when the “power” of light falls below the light border, because the absorption of moisture (even very weak) will stop and the roots may rot. Overfilling is the most common cause of death of these plants.

We talked more about how to properly care for a flower at home here, and from this article you will learn about how care should be after buying a phalaenopsis in a store.

Moisture requirement

The frequency of watering orchids depends on the need for moisture, which the owner must independently identify in his flower. Watering is necessary only when the substrate and roots have dried out well, it’s okay if such drying takes a couple of days. The weather outside the window also matters, so in a period when it is cloudy and rainy, the substrate dries out more slowly than when it is sunny and warm outside, and in winter it dries out even longer.

Epiphytes prefer not to remain wet for a long time, so if you see that the substrate is wet all week, change it to a larger one. It is known that the larger the substrate, the faster it dries.

For reference, we give statistics:

in winter, home phalaenopsis is watered on average once every 2 weeks;
in the summer - 1 time in 2-3 days;
in autumn and spring - 1 time per week.

Features of the procedure

Besides the issue of watering frequency, An important point is what to water the orchid. The answer, it would seem, is obvious - with water, but which one, is the usual tap water suitable for a tap or some other one?

Do I need a special composition?

Normal tap water is often hard, chlorinated, with impurities from pipes, so its composition is not very suitable for irrigation.

For watering you need soft water, it would be ideal to water them with rain or melt water, because that's how they are watered in nature. However, often this is not always possible for residents of cities and high-rise buildings, because it is needed not once, but constantly.

Which water to choose?

Distilled water is completely free of impurities, it is perfectly purebut in its pure form is not the best choice. After all, there are no useful trace elements in it either. Alternatively, you can bred it in half with well-maintained tap water.

If you own an aquarium, a good option may be to irrigate aquarium water, it is settled, saturated with nitrogen, air.

If there is also no aquarium, you can boil tap water to reduce stiffness, then pour into a ceramic or glass container, let it stand still for a day and use 2/3 of the tank for watering, the rest should be poured. Some other growers recommend pouring mineral water.

Also tap water can be filtered with household filters, but whether this cleaning will be enough, and whether you can harm an orchid using such water, is difficult to say, because the composition of the water differs not only in each region, but even within the same city. Some owners of phalaenopsis simply defend tap water for a day, then water and their flowers do not suffer from this.

IMPORTANT: You should remember the main thing: you need to water the flowers with soft or moderately hard water, which is 2-5 degrees warmer than indoor. An excess of iron in water is very harmful for these flowers.

What can be added to make growth better?

Healthy plants can be fertilized with root dressing, which will saturate it with nutrients and stimulate growth. These fertilizers are applied to the root of the phalaenopsis. (in detail about what fertilizers are needed for this flower and how to apply them correctly, read here).

If the roots are damaged, grow actively, and nutrients need to be urgently delivered, as an alternative, you can use foliar fertilizers that are applied to the leaf part.

At different stages of growth, the fertilizing should be different, so when the vegetative green mass is growing, the flowers have a great need for nitrogen, and when laying peduncles - for phosphorus and potassium.

Watch the video about the proper feeding of orchids:

How to water?

Proper watering is carried out using the following most popular methods:

Shower. the orchid is placed in a bath or shower, the shower is set up to the smallest diffused stream and the plant is watered with water at a temperature of 40-50 degrees. This method is close to watering an orchid in vivo. It should only be used if soft water flows from the tap. After watering, you need to let the flower stand in the bathroom for another 15 minutes, and after an hour, wipe the leaves with a napkin or a cotton cloth so that they do not rot.
Immersion. To do this, you need a basin or bucket filled with warm water, in which a flowerpot with an orchid is placed for no more than 30 minutes. Then you need to give the flower at least 15 minutes so that the glass is excess water. It is recommended to use this method for those colors that do not have signs of damage.
Watering a watering can. Filling the watering can with prepared water, direct the stream onto the substrate until the water begins to flow out of the holes. After the glass water, repeat the procedure. Care should be taken to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves and stems of the plant. Water in this way should be in the morning.
Spraying the roots. Such irrigation also needs to be carried out during the first half of the day, so that the root system has time to dry before evening. It is used most often for plants that grow in special blocks, rather than soil. The best effect is spraying in fog mode.
Tap watering. Place a pot of plants directly under a stream of water with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees for no more than 2 minutes. Then drain the excess water. The method is suitable for those with fairly soft water flowing from a tap.

Watering in different periods

During flowering, the plant needs regular watering as the roots dry, depending on the length of daylight and temperature in the room. Usually, such flowers are watered once every 3-4 days. Regular top dressing is needed.

After flowering, phalaenopsis needs to reduce watering, ambient light, cessation of top dressing. The flower needs a rest.

If phalaenopsis still does not bloom, and you really want it, some gardeners recommend arranging a shock therapy for the flower, in the form of adding ice cubes instead of watering. However, often, you just need to be patient and look after the flower as usual and, soon, the flowering will not make you wait.

After transplant

Watering the flower after transplantation is recommended to be carried out by immersion, let the water drain and put the flower pot in a dark place for 2 weeks. And only after the expiration of this period, again water it.

Mistakes

Excess moisture

An excess of moisture will adversely affect the plant, the roots will simply begin to rot, the plant may die. According to statistics most indoor phalaenopsis died due to overfilling.

Lack of moisture

Often, inexperienced owners of phalaenopsis make such a mistake when caring for a plant, as insufficient watering. Indeed, sometimes the substrate and roots dry out after a week - two, and sometimes after 2 days. In the case of prolonged underfilling, the roots dry out and the plant dies.

How to save a plant

Alas, if the roots of the plant are completely rotted or dried, nothing will help. But if at least one small spine or part of it remained alive, you can try to reanimate phalaenopsis. For this:

rinse and free the roots from the dead parts;
sprinkle with crushed cinnamon or activated charcoal;
let dry for a day;
transplant into a new soil (how to transplant an orchid phalaenopsis at home, read here, and from this article you will find out what the composition of the soil should be);
water as needed;
if moisture collects in the plant’s neck, pat it with a napkin.

Watch a video about saving a transfused orchid with rotten roots:

Briefly about feeding

Before adding dressing for better flower growth and not harm it, you should familiarize yourself with a number of rules:

fertilizers should be applied only during the growth period;
you can not do this within a month after transplantation;
it is not recommended to fertilize plants affected by rot or pests;
feed should only be after watering, otherwise you can burn the plant;
in winter or warm summer, this should be done once a month, in autumn and spring - once every 2 weeks;
do not start feeding the plant for the first time in the period when the plant is blooming;
at different stages of flower growth, top dressing should be with the use of products with different contents of nutrients.

Conclusion

If you follow fairly simple rules, watering the phalaenopsis is not at all difficult. Experienced flower owners accurately determine the moment when it needs to be fed, watered or cured. However, anyone can learn this wisdom, only a little love of plants and desire is needed, and, in time, it will come.