How to water orchids in winter and autumn: how often to carry out the procedure at home, as well as other tips for flower care

Orchids are whimsical beauties that require special care in winter and autumn. The main difference is made by the frequency of irrigation, the intensity of moisture of the substrate.

Compliance with the rules of watering, corresponding to the autumn-winter time, will be the guarantor of the health and beauty of home orchids. Let's find out exactly how the irrigation regime changes during this period, which water is better to use and consider other important points.

Features of the condition of the flower

First of all, the fact that orchids exist of different species and these species have their own special biorhythms. Depending on this, the plant may reside in different states in the autumn-winter period. Based on these features, a watering regime is built.

According to this criterion, they can be divided into three main groups - with a pronounced period of rest, with an unexpressed and moderately expressed rest period.

In autumn, the plant begins to prepare for sleep, and in winter hibernates.

Why is special care required at this time of the year?

For orchids hibernating in winterstarting in the fall, watering is reduced, and in the winter season they completely dry the soil.
For orchids with a moderate rest period watering begins to gradually decrease from mid-autumn and in the winter it is reduced more significantly, but not removed at all.
For orchids without dormancy watering is continued according to the generally accepted unified scheme, without significant changes. Unless with an overdried winter climate of the apartment, you will need to increase it, and during the autumn rains, when the climate is wet, you can reduce watering.

How often?

After the substrate and roots have dried, watering should be done. The intensity of irrigation, as mentioned above, is reduced. For winter and autumn watering, less water is used.. It is important to create such a ratio of soil and water so that the moisture dries out during the day, a maximum of two.

Consider the frequency of watering on the example of phalaenopsis. In winter, it is watered every 14 days, and in the fall - once every 7 days. It is advisable to draw up an individual watering schedule based on varietal characteristics and indoor climate. To do this, you need to learn how to accurately determine the drying of roots and soil.

The difficulty here is that the soil dries unevenly. The upper and lower layers dry faster than the middle, therefore it is better to check the soil for drying in all ways:

The weight of the pot is reduced. You need to remember the weight of the freshly watered plant by taking the flowerpot in your hand. After a few days, re-weigh the pot on your hand. When it becomes much easier, then it is time to do a new watering procedure.
Pull the upper layers of soil from the edge and use your finger to palpate the middle ones to the level of moisture.
Gently insert a thin stick of wood, such as a knitting needle, into the middle of the pot. Periodically check by taking it out of the substrate. When it becomes dry, then the time has come for the next watering.
Growing orchids in a transparent pot will make it possible to determine the soil moisture level by color. Wet soil is darker, and dry roots have a greenish color, while dry ones are silver or gray.

The basic rule is that the light intensity and temperature directly proportionally increase the moisture demand of the orchid and vice versa.

More information about the frequency of orchid watering at home can be found here.

What water to use?

Water with minimum hardness and necessarily clean, settled is required.
Increasing the softness of water can be achieved by boiling after passing the entire volume for irrigation through a cleaning filter.
For the same reason, distilled water is used in pure form or in combination with ordinary water, in equal parts. There really is one “but” - distilled water is purified from all useful trace elements. In principle, this disadvantage is compensated by fertilizers.
The use of hard water will create an ugly coating on the foliage and roots in the form of whitish and reddish spots. They remove it by washing the affected parts with milk or kefir, or a little acidified with lemon water.
When watering with a shower, it is impossible for the temperature of the liquid to be above forty degrees. It must be borne in mind that there are species of orchids for which such watering can be detrimental, especially for plants at rest.
Solutions with fertilizers are not used at this time. For orchids that do not fall asleep, they make complementary foods with ordinary liquid fertilizers.

We talked in more detail about how and how to water orchids in a separate article.

Step-by-step instructions for home use

September to end November

Watering with a shower. This method is only good in cases where tap water is soft or medium hard. In situations where the water is hard, you can spill the plant with previously prepared liquid from a watering can with a nozzle.

A flowerpot with an orchid is placed in a bath, under a stream of warm water 25-35 ° C.
Spilled with a soft shower for two minutes.
Then the excess water should go through the drainage holes in the pot.
For this, the plant is left up to the complete absorption and draining of excess moisture.
After the procedure, about an hour later, you need to carefully pat the core and sinuses between the leaves with a napkin so that the orchid does not rot. For winter and fall, this is a necessary measure, do not neglect it.

Spraying in the winter is not done, only if it is necessary to remove plaque and at the same time apply hot water spraying.

December to early March

Soldering by immersing the flowerpot in water:

Pour into a basin or in a bucket of water 20-35 ° C.
A flowerpot with a plant is placed in it.
Keep it for 5 minutes. If soldering occurs in the fall, then the time is increased to 20 minutes.
After that they take out the flowerpot and leave it for some time to drain off the excess volume of water.
If the procedure is done with several plants, then new water is taken each time.

You can familiarize yourself with these and other ways of watering orchids here.

General rule

It is better to choose the morning time for watering the orchid in the pot, since the plant more actively absorb water during the day, with full lighting. With evening watering, drying out the soil will take longer.

You can learn more about the rules for watering orchids at home here.

Possible problems

If, after watering, immediately place an orchid near the window, then the moist soil will begin to cool actively, since autumn and winter are cold times. Hypothermia of the plant causes various diseases. To prevent this, you can put a piece of insulating material, for example, dense foam, under the bottom of the pot.
In the autumn-winter period, the risk of the bay increases.
Excessively dry air can be used when heated by batteries. If this is not taken into account when watering, then the plant will begin to hurt.

Conclusion

In recent years, orchids have confidently mastered not only greenhouses, but also ordinary apartments. Growing these flowers has become fashionable and prestigious. The problems that flower growers encounter mainly occur due to the banal non-observance of the rules of care and watering. With careful attention, you can successfully grow orchids at home.