How to care for Cattleya orchids in summer
Let's share knowledge about caring for Cattleya orchids in summer and green plant flowers, including some tips for maintaining them. Let's learn about it together.
Cattleya orchids are often considered as beautiful and noble flowers for the Chinese New Year. Many people buy Cattleya orchids with large flower buds or blooming, which can be placed directly in the living room for appreciation.
However, after the flowers have bloomed, many people don't know how to care for them. After the New Year, many people discard their Cattleya orchids, thinking they won't bloom again and there's no point in keeping them. Actually, there are four essential elements to caring for Cattleya orchids, and all are necessary for the flowers to bloom abundantly. Have you achieved these key points?
First, good ventilation is necessary for Cattleya orchids.
Many people think that ventilation for indoor plants is just about opening windows, but actually, ventilation is about allowing air to circulate. If the air in your room is stagnant, even with the windows open, the ventilation is not good. Caring for Cattleya orchids and other orchids requires high ventilation. You can add an electric fan on the balcony, and for those who grow succulents, adding a fan or an exhaust fan can help the air circulate. After watering, it helps evaporate excess water and carry away the surplus. If the air is not circulating, it's easy to get waterlogging and root rot. Of course, if you have outdoor conditions, placing it in a semi-shaded area outside is also very good.
How to care for Cattleya orchids in summer
Second, they need ample light.
We know that most orchids prefer scattered light or semi-shaded environments, such as being placed in a bright area indoors. Orchids don't require much light, with the exception of black orchids, which are the most shade-tolerant and have the lowest light requirements. Other orchids don't need direct sunlight, but Cattleya orchids have harder and broader leaves, making them highly tolerant to light. More exposure to the sun won't burn their leaves, but during the summer, they should be shaded from the intense midday sunlight, as direct exposure can cause problems. Let them get sunlight before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. in the summer. This will help their leaves grow straight and lush, and enhance their blooming ability. If the light is too weak, they can easily get soft rot or black rot, and the plants may fall over.
Third, the soil must be breathable.
We know that the most important aspect of caring for orchids is that the potting soil must be loose and breathable. Most people use special soil for orchids, and Cattleya orchids are no exception. If the soil has poor breathability, it's hard to keep them alive. We can see that when repotting, the soil matrix for orchids is very loose and breathable, with a lot of granular soil added. Granular soil refers to things like red brick particles or peanut shells, which contain nutrients and have excellent breathability.