People love to grow orchids in their home, but too often they buy an Orchid only to fund it fading away after a few weeks. They might be able to grow the Orchid just fine in their home if only they had the right supplies. This guide will show you the best home orchid growing supplies that I've found create a beautiful environment tor Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium and Cattlyea orchids, and these Orchid supplies can be used with any Orchid types you can try.
Best Type of Sphagnum Moss
Spagmoss™ Premium New Zealand Sphagnum Moss
When you buy an Orchid from a store or order them online they are often packed in Orchid media that contains some sort of Sphagnum moss. I looked all around where I live (I live in a city of about 2,000,000 people) and none of the local stores carried the proper type of New Zealand Sphagnum moss that I needed.
This moss works for me because it remains moisture perfectly and for a long time. It cuts down on how often I need to water my orchids and keeps their roots moist for a very long time.
It's also a wonderful product due to its small size expanding to a big volume. It is packed tight and easy to ship but one brick can last most Orchid lovers a good amount of time and provides enough for several different plants to be potted or re-potted.
Find Spagmoss on Amazon by clicking here
Best type of Orchid Fertilizer
Orchid Love Organic Fertilizer
I looked high and low for a special Orchid fertilizer that would work for me and although so many people love the type that the University of Michigan sells, it is not easy to find online and I wanted something that contained a little more organic nature made ingredients.
To be honest, we started fertilizing our orchids with a so called “special” Orchid fertilizer that we bought at a local nursery. It was packaged nicely and said it was made just for orchids.
What we did not realize is that it was simply a 20-20-20 all purpose fertilizer that could be used on any type of houseplant that was packed as for orchids.
Did this work? Sure it did. Did I pay to much? Probably yes when I could just buy a container of Miracle Grow from Amazon or any retailer for less and it would have the same balance of nutrients.
I finally got the husband to order a fish based product called “Orchid Love” which I found on Amazon.com
At first, I was hesitant. Orchid love as a product isn't “cheap” but because of how concentrated it is, you will be not be needing to buy it more than once per year.
I mixed it and did a watering of my Phalaenopsis rescue orchids that I had on hand. These plants were healthy but had not done much besides give me the occasional new air root or leaf.
I was amazed that within a few days to a week I saw what I hoped were spikes (and not just new air roots), and after a little more time was jumping for joy that after the Orchid Love fertilizer they were actually spiking. It was not just one plant either. I saw three plants spike and flower within a few months of using Orchid Love, and to my amazement these continued to hold their blooms for up to five months after the flowers opened.
I've since recommended Orchid Love to anyone who is willing to give it a try and will be reordering soon. Check out some of the blooms it has helped me grow and CLICK HERE to check it out and order it on Amazon.com
Best Portable Gardening Mister
Rainmaker Pump Sprayer, 1-Gallon
I have owned a few different watering contraptions. I say contraption because some of these are easy to use and some impossibly complicated. Usually, the easier to use misting devices are not powerful enough to be used full time and the complicated ones a complete pain to use in general.
Rainmaker is a great gardening mister that I was not able to find in person where I live. Based on great Amazon reviews, I gave it a chance and was very pleasantly surprised.
If you are not familiar with these types of misting devices, they are powered by air that you generate by pumping a closed canister. This pressurizes the water inside and allows it to be sprayed out onto your plants.
First of all, it holds just over a gallon of water - this is 4 liters which is 4 kg or 8.1 lbs - and because the device is made of heavy duty plastic it is not terribly heavy for me to carry when filled up to full capacity.
It also sprays nicely, as a stream or a fine mist, and pumping it is not that hard either. It’s air pressure is enough that I do not have to constantly refill the pressure and can use it twice and sometimes three times before needing to re-pressurize it.
I tend to fill it with my Orchid Love fertilizer and it has never clogged for me. I will note that Orchid Love is liquid unlike a powder fertilizer. I have used a powdered fertilizer in this garden mister and had no problems with it, but your experience may vary.
Click here to check out the Rainmaker Pump Sprayer on Amazon.
Best Orchid Potting Mix
Sun Bulb Better Gro Special Orchid Mix, 4-Quart
The first thing that many Orchid enthusiasts do is learn how to repot their Orchids. If they got their orchid from a retail store like Home Depot or Lowes, there is a good chance that the store has conveniently placed a bag of Orchid “soil” or potting mix in the same area where they sell the plants.
They do what I did, simply pick up the bag and take it to the checkout. Use it to repot the Orchids and hope for the best.
There are a few problems with this method.
First of all, Orchids are epiphyte’s. This means that they do not actually grow in soil like a plant that has to be rooted in the ground.
It is normal for orchids to sit on a tree in the wild and have the roots grow around the tree’s branch or trunk as it catches rain water runoff filled with different bits of organic material.
Now, in the Philippines I am able to simulate this with my collection of Vanda orchids that hang and sway in the breeze, but my collection of phalaenopsis and dendrobium are not so lucky.
We can simulate this by clever and beautiful mounting techniques and by hanging pots outside, but it is not the same.
The next best thing? I found that the next best thing was to find an Orchid media that is coarse and allows for plenty of air to be allowed inside. This means that I am definately not packing the Orchid roots tight and I am instead trying to simulate what an Orchid might feel in the wild.
I have been using Sun Bulk Gro Special Orchid Mix for some time. The large bark and bits of perlite help to retain moisture but still have air be able to breathe through the root system.
You can read some more reviews and check prices for it by clicking here.
Best Orchid Pots
Slotted Clear Orchid Pots - Growers Assortment (8 pots - 2 each of 3", 4", 5" and 6")
This seems basic doesn’t it? But do you know what one of the absolute worst things you can ever do an orchid is?
Give it no room to breathe! Take a look at this video. This is a video of a rescue orchid that we picked up, and my husband is taking a few minutes to unpack it from the container it is shipped in.
As you can see, the roots are packed tight with no room to get any air whatsoever. These are called “air roots” after all.
The easiest way to boost the chances of your orchid surviving and thriving is to repot your orchid. This means you want to use something like the potting media I recommended above, and then be certain that you use a plastic pot with proper aeration like the assortment linked to here.
You can use these pots to place the orchid into a larger and better looking ceramic pot, but just try and leave a half an inch between the plastic pot and the ceramic or ornamental pot so that air flow can still get through to the roots.
As soon as I started doing this, my Orchids started reacting and looking happier.
Be sure to check these pots out and consider using something similar. I will have an article on how to create your own pots on the site soon so be sure to LIKE my facebook page to see it when I post it.
Click here to get reviews and prices for these pots.
What Gear do You Use? Let us Know in The Conversation Below
Do you have a secret weapon you use to ensure your orchids are beautiful? Do you have a product you swear by? Take a moment to let us know in the comments below, and if you have any questions, be sure to contact us and ask away so that we can help you, or ask here on the site so that others can see your questions and help you too!