Must-Have Holiday Plants

Orchid Care

After blooms fade, cut stems back to first node below lowest faded blossom; often the remaining stem will produce another round of flowers.

Once a week, use tepid water with a light fertilizer (a teaspoon of 19-31-17 liquid fertilizer per gallon of water). With a narrow-nose watering can, irrigate just inside the pot rim, under plant leaves. Allow pot to drain.

When bark chips have decayed, water the orchid, jiggle it out of the pot, and wash the old bark from the roots, snipping off any dried or mushy roots with sterile clippers. Repot in moistened, medium-grade bark so the base of the bottom leaves sits above the bark and 1/2 inch below the pot rim.