Winter puts orchids to a hard test. While in their tropical home countries the sun shines for 7 to 9 hours even in winter, between Hamburg and Garmisch 2 hours of sunshine a day is the maximum. We will tell you here how you can maneuver the queen of flowers safely through the dark season.
Orchids need less water in winter
Plant lamps bring light into the darkness
The persistent darkness causes the biggest problems for light-hungry orchids in winter. While the low temperatures can be easily regulated with the help of the heater, the lack of light requires additional measures. You can compensate for the reduced light conditions with special daylight-quality plant lamps. Conventional fluorescent tubes and light bulbs from the hardware store do not cover the lighting requirements.
Maintenance program in winter
For Phalaenopsis and many of its conspecifics, winter time is also flowering time. Once the problem of the lack of sunlight has been solved, you can fulfill the other requirements for a healthy winter with this care:
- Fertilize flowering orchids every 4 to 6 weeks, dormant orchids not at all
- Water more sparingly or dive less often
- Spray more frequently with soft water due to dry heating air
Bowls filled with water are only partially sufficient to raise the low humidity in winter to a level that is bearable for orchids. Ideally, place a humidifier near the plants. In addition, please fill the coasters with expanded clay beads and water to generate more humid air locally.
tips
A terrarium serves as an ideal feel-good winter quarters for orchids. Equipped with daylight lamps, a heater and an ultrasonic air humidifier, the tropical beauties lack nothing during the tricky season. The orchids can either spend the whole year under these controlled conditions or move back to their traditional window position in spring.