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So in this video, you're going to learn how to care for this beautiful blue orchid
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And I am going to mention four real blue orchids that can be found in nature
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where man has not manipulated and has not genetically induced a darker indigo color
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So I went to the supermarket this morning, and I bought something on an impulse by, which I usually don't do
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I'm usually very calm and controlled and think about it and manage my bus
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budget, but this I could not pass up, even though I knew I was going to regret this later
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So let me introduce you to my newest edition, a blue orchid
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Now why do I say that I'm going to regret this later
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Because even though at first, look at those mesmerizing colors, this dark, deep, rich blue
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that just pulls you in and makes you want to just look at the
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orchid forever. I mean, look at that. Isn't that just awesomely amazing? No, I am going to regret this because
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right there is where they injected blue dye into a white phalanopsis orchid. Now, here's this one
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and here, let's get these roots out of the way. Here is the second one
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So on each flower spike, they injected blue dye into this orchid
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The older blossoms are going to be this dark, rich blue, while the younger ones are going to be a lighter blue color
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Now, this will last, because it was injected in the flower spike
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this will last for one blossom only. Next time, next year when this reblossoms
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or if it reblossoms twice a year, it's going to blossom a white phalanopsis
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So I'm going to regret it because, yes, I paid a heck of a lot of money for this
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to be a white felonopsis. Nothing against white felonopsis. I just think they're plain
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My opinion only. but I had to have it. So the first step you get when you have this orchid, this beautiful blue orchid
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is you're going to read the instruction card. Now on the instruction card, it will say right on the cover
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water with five ice cubes a week. Now when you buy a mini phalanopsis, it says water with three ice cubes a week
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This one says five. Well, it says five because look at the size of that pot
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It's amazingly huge. If you want your orchid to bloom next year and keep alive and keep healthy, well, first you're going to ignore this
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Now, you already know that this is going to re-bloom next year or it could re-bloom in the next six months, but it will not be blue
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So you already know that, already prepare your heart so you don't have a huge deception
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Well usually phalanopsis grow in a tropical climate There is high humidity They grow attached to trees They grow attached to the bark where they going to blossom out and their roots are going to hold onto that bark They
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not going to be a parasite in the sense that they're not going to suck nutrients out of the bark
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They're just going to hold onto that bark. That way they can be higher up in the tree to the sun because
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Because in rainforest, we usually have this idea that the soil on the rainforest is extremely
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rich in nutrients. It's not. It's really not. It's so thick on the canopy of leaves that the sun doesn't penetrate them all the way down
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to the ground. So the sunlight that reaches the soil is only about 20%
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So when the orchid attaches itself higher up on the tree, it's going to receive that adequate
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light, they like bright light but they don't like direct sun. So you want to keep this orchid
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on a window seal that has like a sheer curtain that's going to get sun in the morning hours only
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and probably only around the maximum two hours. So if you have an east facing window where sun
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can come up early in the morning and just shine on those leaves, you don't want to put the sun
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where it's getting on the blossoms because that's going to make them fade sooner. You're going to
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want the sun on the leaves and on the roots because orchid roots photosynthesize. They're different
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than household plant roots. So you're going to keep this orchid in a east facing window
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You are going to want to keep it away from direct hot sunlight. If your sun that's coming in on the
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east facing window is extremely hot and you touch. this leaf and it is just hot to the touch, it's getting way too much sun and it's going to sunburn
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Orkin leaves sunburn because of heat and because of direct light. So you want a bright space
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you want a space that sun will get to it, but not direct sun. If you don't have that like I don't
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when I bought my house, I had, I don't, I mean, I love the neighborhood, but I really didn't think about
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orchid lighting you don't think about that stuff when you buy a house so after i moved in i was like yes
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where am i going to put all my plants nowhere i have a grow light they're not that expensive and they
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do great for my orchids so i have to grow all mine totally indoors that works too
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watering your biggest problem is going to be because on the card that it comes with the information
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card. There's a huge picture right here of ice cubes. Now think about how this orchid was grown in
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nature. It's in a tropical climate. It's never seen a day of cold weather in its life. Orcans grow
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on every single continent except where there are glaciers. They don't like cold water. Now will
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this method work Yes obviously it will work Is it the best method Now see there a difference between watering with ice cubes and your orchid living and giving the best orchid care that
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you can to make this blue orchid really thrive. So you're not going to use ice cubes. You're just
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not. First, when you put ice cubes on there, it says water with five ice cubes. Well, if you water with five ice cubes
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it's only going to hydrate the place where the ice cube sits. You're going to want to take this orchid to the sink
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or you're going to want to water it inside a bin, put it in a plastic tub
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and pour water around the whole pot except for the middle of the orchid, the crown
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If you have a just-add ice orchid, their potting media is going to be a little bit different
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Let me see if I can, yeah. See, it's like this brownie stuff
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cake like peat moss is actually what it is mixed with some other things and this
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medium will retain much more water than any of the others in sphagnum moss orcid
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bark pearlite charcoal this is actually the worst media to be watering in because
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it absorbs so much if you get your water and pour it on here like this it will
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absorb almost all that water. If you put tap water on here, it comes with a whole bunch of minerals
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that the orchid doesn't like, especially chlorine. So get your tap water, if that's the only water
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you have, get your tap water, leave it out of the, leave it like in a bucket overnight. That chlorine
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will evaporate and the other minerals stay, but the chlorine will evaporate. So at least it's not
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that harmful. If you start to see your leaves turning yellow, like a deep yellow, that's probably
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because you've got too many chemicals in your water. After the blooms fall off, because you're
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going to want to, I mean, just enjoy these amazing blooms for the most amount of time that you have
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So after they fall off, repot, you're going to want orchid bark and sphagnum moss, purlite, and
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charcoal or activated carbon. You're going to want those four. Depending on your climate
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you are going to need a humidifier because in their natural habitat, orchids do stay in a relative
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humidity of higher than 40%. And our homes with the heating system and the air conditioner
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are around 27 to 33%. If you don't want to invest in a humidifier
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You can use a humidity tray. But in this case, since the orchid pot is so big, the humidity tray isn't going to add that much difference
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Because humidity trays are only going to make a difference about two inches from the top of the tray
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If you had a mini-fowl, the humidity tray would make a lot of difference
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So you have your watering you have your lighting you have your repotting every two years and you need a fertilizer Every fourth time you fertilize you water
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you'll need to add a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of orchid fertilizer
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This will keep the plant healthy and strong. If you don't want to use store-bought fertilizers
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there are a whole bunch of other methods you can use, but take it slow
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You know, first get your watering right, first get your lighting right, the humidity right, then you can enjoy your orchid for a long time
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Why is it so hard to find blue orchids or blue flowers in nature
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Less than 10% of all flowers have a blue pigment in them in nature
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That is why it is so hard to find these blue flowers naturally
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But there are three naturally blue orchids in nature. Phelimitra crynight is a naturally blue orchid with no purple, no lavender tones to it
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It's the darkest blue that will naturally cause in nature. Sometimes you can go to an orchid store online and say, hey, we've got this indigo orchid
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That has been manipulated, and it is true blue, but it's not one that nature came up with by itself
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one that man interfered with. Thelometrocrineite grows in New Zealand and Australia
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and they do not have that lavender or purple tones to them. They are a natural indigo color
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The second blue orchid is the Boella Coelestes. That is grown in the southern Andes region
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and it is extremely hard to grow. You have to know what you're doing to care for one of these orchids
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The third naturally grown orchid that is blue is the blue Vanda
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Now you can find these online to buy and sell. They are a little more complicated than your phalanopsis orchids
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They will require more care, more research to provide those extra conditions that the Vanda likes
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But they can be grown indoors. Help
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Hey, hey, hey, no. My cat's scratching itself. Shaking the whole table
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Now she's taking a bath. Now she's going bye-bye. Bye midnight. So you have your watering, you have your lighting
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you have your repotting, and you'll want to use a fertilizer. Hey, no, get off
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Are you done? Yes, please leave. Thank you
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I'm Amanda Matthews and thank you for watching this video at Orchidaria
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If you want to know if blue orchids are safe for cats, go to this video up here and if you
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want to know if they're toxic for dogs, go to this right here
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And in each one of these videos I'm going to explain not only the blue orchid but other household
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plants that can be dangerous for your household pet
