From my perspective, my roots are everything. They are not just for anchoring me in place; they are my lungs and my mouth, absorbing water, nutrients, and air all at once. I absolutely despise sitting in heavy, soggy soil. It suffocates my roots, rots them, and will kill me. I crave a loose, chunky, and incredibly well-aerated mix. A blend of large-grade bark chips, sphagnum moss, and maybe some perlite is perfect. This allows air to circulate freely around my roots, lets water drain through quickly, and provides just enough moisture retention for me to drink my fill without drowning.
Watering is where most beginners misunderstand me. I am a tropical epiphyte, meaning I naturally grow on trees, not in the ground. My roots are designed to soak up rainwater quickly and then dry out. The goal is to mimic this natural cycle. Please water me thoroughly until water runs freely from the drainage holes, ensuring all my roots have access to moisture. Then, and this is crucial, allow my potting mix to become almost completely dry before watering again. You can check this by feeling the weight of the pot (light = dry) or by poking a finger into the mix. I would much rather be a little too dry than constantly wet.
I need light to create energy through photosynthesis, but my leaves are sensitive and burn easily under direct, harsh sunlight. In my native habitat, I am sheltered by the dappled light of the forest canopy. Please place me in a spot with bright, indirect light. An east-facing window is often ideal, or a south or west-facing window where the light is filtered by a sheer curtain. My leaves will tell you if I'm happy: they should be a healthy olive green. Dark, limp leaves mean I need more light, while yellowing or reddish-tinted leaves with brown patches mean I am getting far too much.
I thrive in temperatures that you humans also find comfortable, which is one reason I do so well in homes. A daytime range of 70-80°F (21-27°C) and a slightly cooler nighttime range of 60-70°F (15-21°C) is perfect. In fact, a drop in temperature of about 10-15 degrees at night for a few weeks in the fall is the key environmental trigger that tells me it's time to produce a flower spike. As for humidity, I prefer levels around 50-70%. If your air is very dry, placing my pot on a tray of pebbles with a little water (ensuring my roots are not sitting in the water) will create a more humid microclimate around me.
While my potting mix provides some sustenance, I need regular feeding during my active growth periods to support my large leaves and spectacular flowers. Please feed me a balanced, water-soluble orchid fertilizer, but diluted to half or quarter strength. A common mantra is "weakly, weekly." Fertilize me every other week during the spring and summer when I am actively growing leaves and roots. In the fall and winter, you can reduce this to once a month or pause altogether, especially if I am blooming. Over-fertilizing will damage my sensitive roots, so when in doubt, less is more.
