Orchids are,without any doubt, one of the most beautiful existing flowers, if not the most beautiful. So, it is no wonder that orchid plants are getting more and more popular among people to decorate and brighten up our houses.

It has been told that orchid plants are very fine and delicate flowers and that they request very special care. Well, yes and no, I should say… Let me tell you. There are more than 20.000 different orchid species and the large number of hybrid species increases several times that amount. Bearing this huge variety of orchid specimens in mind, it will be easy to understand that whereas many species demand very special care and attention, many others do not. In fact, caring for orchids belonging to some genus or species is no more demanding than caring for any other more common garden or house flower or plant. What is more, most of the orchid species belong to this group.

Although it is very important to know what species your orchids belong to in order to care for them properly, I will be listing some tips and guidelines that could be regarded as common requirements to (almost) any orchid plant (even if perhaps with some rare exception).

Temperature: Try to keep the orchids between 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s their favorite temperature!

Light: Orchids love light very much… but moderately! In other words, it is advisable to avoid the direct afternoon sunlight to your orchid plant. However, a good deal of shady light during daytime is very convenient and also necessary for your orchid plant. If you maintain your orchids inside, you will want to place it sitting in the eastern or southern window of your house. If natural daylight was not possible for any reason, you may also replace it by a fluorescent light placed more or less a foot above the orchid plant, but that, only during daylight time.

Water: Orchids use not to demand a great deal of water. More important is not to over water the root of the plant since it could kill the blooms. Nonetheless, it is usually important for the flowers to stay moist (again with some specific species).

Fertilizer: It is advisable to fertilize your orchid plant just the blooming season. Then, if it blooms according to your expectations, fertilizing can be not needed until the next blooming season (there may be some exceptions but the mere look of our plant can tell us whether it needs fertilizer or not). On the other hand, it is always better to apply the fertilizer to our orchids in a moderate form. Finally, avoid fertilizers that contain the compound called urea.