Orchids are the most fashionable flowers of this year forinterior decoration. If you are fascinated by their beauty, but are afraid not to cope with caring for these flowers, we will help you. The editors studied the issue of caring for orchids and compiled a small guide, which, we hope, will be useful to you, the Queen of Flowers, as someone said about the orchid. Roomble's editors were convinced of this from personal experience, and now we want to share it with you. In this article, we talk about how to care for this capricious, but very beautiful plant, even if you are a real “teapot” in floriculture, and also share wonderful photos of the editor-in-chief Oksana Kashenko from “Tropical Winter”. 
Adaptation period Anyone is stressful.And for people, and for animals, and even more so for plants. That is why, having got from the store to the house, your orchid must first go through a period of adaptation. How to organize it: set it apart from other flowers, do not fertilize the ground, try not to water and avoid direct sunlight on the orchid. The habituation period should last about two weeks. Why is it needed? First of all, so that the plant gets accustomed to the new environment, as well as so that you can determine the presence of potential flower pests. After the quarantine is over, gradually accustom the orchid to the sun and watering. 
Temperature A comfortable temperature regime for an orchid should be chosen based on what type it belongs to. So, orchids are:
- heat lovers - come from the tropics, they require year-round warm conditions (summer daytime temperature should be 15-32 ° C, and winter night - from 15 to 18 ° C);
- medium-temperature - mountain tropical species, are kept in cooler conditions (summer daytime temperatures range from 18 to 22 ° C, winter night - from 12 to 15 ° C);
- cold-loving - high-mountain or subtropical flowers, the lowest temperature (summer daytime - 22 ºС, winter night - from 12 to 15 ºС) is suitable for maintenance.
Our opinion:- As we found out, most of the species that are sold in our stores will feel comfortable at temperatures of 18-27 ºС during the day and 13-24 ºС at night. Lighting Correctly selected lighting is the main guarantee of the long life of your beautiful orchid. With enough light, it will bloom regularly, otherwise lifeless yellowed leaves await you. When organizing lighting for your orchid, follow three basic rules.
- Avoid exposing the flower to direct sunlight. Orchids love a lot of light, but it must be scattered.
- In summer, the flower should be darkened - this is necessary in order to protect it from too active sunlight and prevent a burn of leaves. This will help you with plastic or matte film.
- Remember the duration of daylight hours. The norm for orchids is 12 hours. If the natural light day is less than 10 hours, use additional artificial lighting.
Watering In their natural habitat, orchids are almostare never in water, and their roots do not like moisture stagnation very much. That is why, in the case of this flower, it is better to underfill than overflow. The orchid needs active moisture only during the period of flowering and intensive growth. You can water a flower in two ways: from above or by lowering a pot or basket into a container with settled warm water. 
Fertilizer Like many houseplants,needs feeding with nutrients. But it is necessary to fertilize it only during the growth period once every 2-3 weeks and in no case should it be touched in cold weather and in the resting phase. Fertilizers for orchids can be bought at any flower shop, and read the proportions on the packaging. Bona Forte, Pocon and Greenworld suit her. Remember that too frequent feeding weakens the natural immunity of the orchid, so you should not get carried away with the addition of fertilizers. 
Repotting Most orchids are not goodtransfer transplants, so it is worth doing them as rarely as possible. Please note that after purchase, this flower can live in the original substrate for two to three years, so you should not rush to "move", only if the orchid was not planted in sphagnum moss in the store. You can understand that a plant needs a transplant by the following signs:
- substrate donkey, a lot of free space appeared in the pot;
- roots changed color from green to brown or gray;
- decay of leaves began;
- orchid looks weak and faded.
Our opinion:- When transplanting, it is very important to be careful. The flower is taken out of the pot along with the soil, and if it is not possible to do this delicately, then it is better to donate the pot and cut it than to damage the plant. First aid Finally, we want to give a few frequently asked questions "What to do if ...", the answers to which we, of course, found. - What if the sheet is cracked in the center? - A fissure along the vein usually means overfeeding with nitrogenous fertilizers. To prevent this on other leaves, do not fertilize the orchid for at least two months and water it with clean water. - What to do if sticky drops appear on the orchid? - Most likely, this is a normal physiological process - transpiration. But sometimes such droplets can signal the presence of ticks or other parasites. To keep the plant safe, inspect it carefully, just in case. - What if the orchid has not bloomed for the third year? - If at the same time the roots and leaves are seemingly healthy, try feeding the flower with fertilizers, but only in the warm season, when the phase of growth and growing tops is in progress. Also remember that the orchid blooms during the dry period, during which it is necessary to provide maximum lighting and watering only when necessary - sometimes only once every 3-4 weeks. - What to do if the battery is too stuffy on the windowsill, and there is too little light farther from the window? - Try searching a flower shop for any flower stand. Including there you can find special coasters on the windowsill, which will provide the orchid with a safe distance from the hot air. 
Photos of Oksana Kashenko.
