How to Keep an Orchid Alive

As I mentioned in a post the other week, we have owned an orchid for almost five months now and I'm proud to say that it's still alive. To me, this is quite the accomplishment seeing as I've never owned a plant before and orchids are quite fickle and not the easiest plants to take care of. They say you should own and take care of a plant before owning a pet or having a child, so I've taken my job as an orchid mom quite seriously. Okay, not too seriously, but I've tried hard to keep it alive. Although I'm by no means an orchid expert, I've had people ask on Instagram about how I keep it alive so I thought I would share those tips with all of you today.

When I first got the orchid and announced it on my Instagram account, I was told by many people that the way to water it was by giving it a couple of ice cubes a week because they are extremely fickle when it comes to being watered. I tried this method for the first two weeks but I quickly realized that the ice cubes weren't working very well. The reason for that is because I believe there are two different ways that the orchids can be potted which is important to factor in when it comes to watering. Orchids generally are potted with moss or bark chips, and mine is potted with bark chips. That said, when I used ice cubes, the melted water would be absorbed by the bark chips at the top and therefore the the water wouldn't make it's way to the bottom near the roots. That said, these are the steps that I take to water the plant. 

• I only water it every 1 - 2 weeks (or when the bark in the pot is completely dried out).
• To water, I take the orchid plant and put it under the faucet and run room temperature water directly over the bark for about 30 seconds. The container the orchid is in should have holes in the bottom of it so you should see water run through the container. 
• By running water over the bark for 30 seconds, it allows the bark to absorb water and slowly release it over time to the plant. 
• Keep the orchid out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can kill the plant. 
• I keep the orchid in indirect sunlight. My orchid used to sit in our guest bathroom, but now it sits on a garden stool in our family room in front of the window BUT out of direct sunlight. 

Like I said earlier, I by no means an orchid expert, but this is just the steps I take to take care of it and so far it's been working. What are your favorite ways to take care of an orchid? I'd love to hear in the comments section below!

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