10 Things I’ve Learned to Grow Healthy Orchids (AND BONUS TIPS!)🪴

[@dsiegel22]

I enjoyed your video of the ten steps to grow healthy orchids. Your disclaimer throughout the segments about your personal growing habits as to the location and conditions of growth and media should especially resonate with beginner orchid growers. I've only been growing orchids for four years. There is an abundance of information being spewed on the internet. One of your viewers mentioned Nature Nel's KZbin Channel as well. Nelson provides polite and pretty straight forward educational information. A mature,highly respected member of my orchid society and I agree with her mantra stated: "You are the boss of your garden, do what works for your plants you care for." Thank you for bringing conscientious information to your viewers. Respectfully,

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Wow, what a wonderful comment! Thank you for taking time out of your day to not only watch this video, but to reach out and be so kind. This means so much to us! We always do our best to provide accurate information, but within the context of our growing environment. While we know others grow orchids in other places, we try to educate ourselves on this too to help others in those growing environments. We wholeheartedly support those who find something that works for them and their collection. We're all just trying to enjoy this amazing hobby and share the happiness it brings. Thank you again and happy growing!

[@ot7stan207]

Thanks for this video. I started growing orchids about 2 years ago and am so deep into it now. Considering starting a channel myself because I think there arent a lot of younger people getting into this hobby. I think its great to keep this passion/hobby going.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thank you so much for watching! We agree 100%! Orchid growing is for everyone-no matter the age. Hopefully the passion continues for the generations to come. 💚 Happy growing!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

As for starting a KZbin channel, it’s daunting at first for sure, but we highly encourage you to start. It’s a great way to document the content you’re passionate about and engage with such a wonderful community. Best of luck to you with all your endeavors!

[@angelaharrilal669]

Great advice to successfúl growing,

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Glad you think so! Thanks for watching.

[@trishbronk]

Great Video!

[@hughcard3799]

Great job with all the fundamentals every grower should know. Keep up the good work.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thank you for your encouragement! We appreciate the support. 💚

[@emmanuelV37]

Awesome tips!! And I especially love the one where you said that media is based on your watering habits....so true!!! Really great pillars you've noted for orchid growing! Thanks!!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thank you very much, Emmanuel! 💚 We love having you here! 😊

[@juanitahamilton9523]

Very good info 👍☀️✨🌞💗

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Always a pleasure! Thank you so much for watching! 💚

[@yolantalachance2779]

Thanks for the great inf.😊

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Always a pleasure! Thank you so much for watching! 💚

[@aishasimon4125]

Watching from St.kitts

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

How cool! Thank you so much for watching. We’re happy you’re here 💚

[@normaperez7031]

Thank you for sharing, good info

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Always a pleasure! Thank you so much for watching! 💚

[@ernestluthringer1690]

Great information. Been growing for three years. Grow inside and back porch cause of stroke.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thanks for watching, and keep up the efforts. Grow your orchids anywhere you can, and just try and set them up for success.

[@richardlawton1023]

Well said... Fyi..for bark i sterilize in my oven at 275 for 3+ hours. Same for lava rock,lecca ..

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thanks for watching. That's actually a pretty good habit if you have the time. I don't ever sterilize my rock because I use it straight out of the bag from lowes or HD and it's usually pretty clean besides dust but I know people who reuse old rock and they bake it in the oven like you said. Bark mix that comes from unknown sources wouldn't hurt to be heated or pasteurized. You can't be too careful.

[@richardlawton1023]

@@IngramOrchidsandMore that's why I cook it. It's not sterile from Lowe's. Since I started this especially the bark I have not had any bug problems.

[@mattyt3663]

I’m having an insect issue. Have you guys do a video on pest control when blooming indoors? 🙏🙏🙏

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

We do have an insecticide and pesticide video filmed already! A lot of the chemicals that work well are not recommended for use indoors. You can check out the details on that video! 👍

[@trishbronk]

In your opinion (for SW Fl.) describe the best light for Vanda’s

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

For most strapped leaved vandas, I'd say 50% shade or shifting shade that allows for morning or evening sun but blocks direct sun right during the middle part of the day between 12-3. Some vandas don't even like that much light while others like semi terete or terete will grow best in full sun, so it just depends on the individual vanda.

[@tomfurmby88]

spot on. I know it must be daunting talking on camera. Something I am terrible at myself. It's really good to see a younger orchid grower. In my opinion we are at the very beginnings of figuring out orchids - or at least most of us are. The older generation have valuable information to teach the younger generation but at the same time I feel like the younger generation likes to discover new approaches more and thus discover new maybe better ways of growing them than has been done. Did you know the blue LED bulb was only invented 24 years ago. And the white light was developed a few years later which was only possible once the blue LED had been developed. I watched a very interesting video by veratisimum on the subject. It's mad to forget we have only just recently had the technology to grow them successfully for the past 20 years. I know before that we had HID or fluorescent but I have used both, the HID uses loads more power and the fluorescents are not suited for growing orchids indoors. They just aren't no matter if someone says they managed to do it lol. LED's are as good as sunlight these days which made it much easier to grow indoors which is great. It enabled me to figure out orchids that growers growing orchids outdoors could just never do without being able to experiment with the lighting. Things I learnt were vital for me personally include 1. Bleach 2. bleach 3. bleach 4. LED lighting 5. Ignoring everything posted on orchid forums online (everything? yes everything) 6. Listen to nature nel 7. Ignore guidelines on fertilizing online, research what they need from scientific experiments (the ideal concentration has been found to be an EC of 1.0 during active growth) and I was scared to try this strong for a long time because absolutely everyone says online not to... Even Roy at H&R orchids says an EC of 0.7 is plenty but imo having tried the two I think an EC of 1.0 is better. Vanda's certainly need it, phals grow so much better, leaf after leaf, no pauses. no leaf dropping every autumn. Some do fertilize the same strength I do. But not many. Ironically the strength on the MSU label is actually spot on. But everyone online says use 1/4 strength. And then they would argue less is better so even 1/4 as much is fine and 1/4 of that is fine and 1/4 of that is better lol. It's not the experience I have made. I have cucumber sized roots these days. Much more enjoyable in my opinion. But since so many people tell others to fertilize as little as possible nobody listens to me. You have moster orchids so I am pretty sure you must be fertililizing them well. I know people say they do fine lots of times without ever fertilziing. I don't buy it long term. Anyway sry for the long comment. All great advice and I love to critize but can't if I agreed with everything. That's why I like Nelsons channel too. But I do get annoyed with the rubbish most orchid growers believe I will be honest.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Hey, thanks for watching and the comment. I agree that there is still a lot we haven't figured out yet about orchids. I also watched the Veritasium video on blue LEDs and thought it was crazy its only been within the last few years our LED technology has progressed to where it is today. For our inside growing area, we use the full spectrum LED grow lights, and they seem to really help since our house is pretty dark inside. It's interesting that you mention the fertilizer EC. At the nursery, we try and keep the EC of water/fertilizer/any chemicals at or below 1.5. We actually prefer the water to be around 1 or less with fertilizer, but if it gets a little higher, we don't fret until it gets close to 2.0. We try and never spray something that hot. The vandas seem to be the most prone to root tip die back, and it does seem to be connected to high EC values in our opinion. That's the reason the nursery we work at has switched to using mostly RO water so that we can add full strength fertilizer into the injection system and keep the EC below 1. I think the reason so many people prech about using ¼ strength is because water quality can be so variable if it's from municipal or ground water. The nursery has used and still does use well water sometimes, but the water coming out of the ground during the dry season already has an EC of .8 or even .9. That doesn't leave any room for fertilizer and if they average Joe doesn't know their well water is already that hot and they add full strength fertilizer they are immediately using a fertilizer with an EC of 2,3 or even 4. That's a recipe for disaster, in my opinion, if they don't do a good job of flushing their roots well with water in between fertilizer applications. I tested my own personal municipal water with Palmers 14-2-14 at label rate and the EC was 2.2 and I had a tds of 1450. I couldn't believe I'd been using such hot fertilizer this whole time. The pH was good with fertilizer at around 6.6. It could have been a little lower, but that's fine for now. I don't get too much root tip die back even though the electrical conductivity is pretty high with fertilizer, but I also don't fertilize near as often as I should.

[@AnaEiseman]

Thanks for the info. What would be your opinion on my issue of constant lower leaves yellowing and dying (year round). A cross on all my orchids specially vandas. I water them daily (if not raining). In summer I was supplementing with cal-mag for that reason but really didn’t address issue. Tank you

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thanks for watching. Lower leaf drop that doesn't progress up the rest of the plant is usually a response to some sort of external stimulus, especially if it's throughout your plants. If it was one or two, it could be due to a vascular disease like Rhizoctonia or Fusarium, but if it's happening consistently, I'd say something like temperature, light, or water is out of whack. Some leaf drop is to be expected, but consistent leaf drop, especially on vandas, is usually caused by temperature stress or lack of water. Make sure you're using gold quality water and fertilizing weekly or bi-weekly with an even number formula or something like 14-2-14 that has lower phosphorus but not absent. If you only ever use cal-mag that doesn't have the major 3 elements, then it may be a nutritional issue. Most fertilizers will work, but it's best to use less of them but more frequently.

[@AnaEiseman]

@@IngramOrchidsandMore great thank you for your input. Yes I fertilize weekly (not in winter) with 20/20/20 plus I was adding the cal-mag. I am going to try watering longer. It’s not pretty and very annoying 🤨🤨😫😫😫😫

[@cherylpenn4509]

Thanks for the video from S. Africa. Does the sun through the glass burn your orchids leaves???

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

No glass here, just screening. The patio screening diffuses the light enough to keep stuff from burning, but outside the screening, we burn stuff all the time. I usually move stuff before the burns get too bad, but a bit of sunburn here and there is bound to happen when growing outside.

[@tprav]

Do you sell orchids online?

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

The nursery we work for has an online website. www.palmerorchids.com

[@steveortez2613]

Hay don’t feel so bad when I first started I used to kill plastic fake Orchids 😂

[@steveortez2613]

I made a crucial mistake when I first started of buying species cattalya seedlings trying to be a purist orchid grower and because they were cheaper not understanding that they take about 4-5 years to bloom out of 30 seedlings I still have 22 going on 3.5 years and as they grow they get stronger

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Seedlings seem enticing to new growers, but if you aren't ready for the long haul commitment it takes to grow them well and bloom them it can be discouraging so I recommend newbies start off with near blooming size or blooming size. I killed a lot of small seedlings when I first started, but many are still in our collection to this day. It's more rewarding to grow them from flask or seedlings because you feel a sense of accomplishment when they do finally bloom. Thanks for watching.

[@PC-zg3eo]

Great video!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thank you so much for watching! 💚