It is a good idea to preserve orchids in water to have magnificent blooms for as long as you want. So, if you are fond of having orchids around and showing them to your friends in your Facebook group excites you, you should preserve them.
Our team of gardeners will assist you to see more into that because this task is more than growing them in a simple potting mix.
How to Preserve Orchids in Water Easily in Simple Steps?
To preserve orchids in water in simple steps, do not overwater or underwater them, keep your orchid away from direct sunlight, place the vase in a humid area, prepare homemade bleach and lemon-lime mixture for their longevity, trim the stems, take measures to prevent the vase from falling over.
1. Ensure to Water it Right
Orchids are far from boring or basic, or easy because they detest standing in water, or the same water, for days, especially when growing in vases. So when growing orchids in water, remember to replace the water every two days to make preserving easier. Fill your container or the vase with a quarter cup of water, equivalent to three ice cubes, for the orchids to sip on while you are on the verge of going on with the rest of the process.
Adding excessive water to the vase can harm your orchid; adding less water will make preserving it difficult too. Just because orchids do not like water, it does not mean that these plants do not need it to survive; on the contrary, ensure that you are filling it properly. However, too much water might cause the orchid to show white spots on its leaves.
You must water orchids to maintain their attractive flowers. You can easily tell that the water you added to the vase is less once the leaves, stems, and flowers lose their vibrant colors and turn gray or yellow, and without the right amount, you would see that it is such a quick period of time even in terms of how long do cut orchids last without water.
2. Keep the Orchid Away From Direct Light
Even though these plants are ones that are native to tropical regions, it is also true that they cannot tolerate direct and bright sunlight. To preserve your orchids, you must keep them away from direct sunlight. Place the orchids near a window that receives filtered sunlight throughout the day to meet their sunlight needs, making the blooms long-lasting.
You can also try to place them in a spot where they will receives natural light most of the day. It is not wise to grow orchids in direct sunlight; they will lose color, wasting all your efforts preserving the striking blooms.
Orchids like Phalaenopsis orchids grow well with low sunlight levels. Keep your orchids near an east-facing window for the best sunlight intensity. Placing them near south-facing windows might be too harsh, but adding a sheer curtain can fix the problem, or you can place the orchid away from the window to avoid drastic impacts.
Similarly, the west-facing windows are too warm for orchids, but with some filtering, you can make it suitable for your orchids to produce long-lasting flowers. Most orchid growers do not recommend placing orchids near north-facing windows as they are too dark for the orchids, meaning your orchids will produce blooms, but they will not last long.
Orchids are temperature-sensitive plants, so place the orchid pots or vases in a room where you can regulate the temperature with a thermostat; 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night and approximately 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.
3. Place the Vase in a High-Humidity Area
Another common mistake that orchid owners make is placing the vase in a room with dry air. Since orchids love high humidity, they fit perfectly in locations like a bathroom with showers. While most flowering plants displease humidity, your orchid will love to stay in a steamy bathroom.
For instance, you can buy some Athena’s garden fresh cut orchids 10 stems if you wish to have a proper humidifier that is significantly made for this purpose, and the plants will stay healthy and not wilted.
4. Prepare Homemade Mixtures and Add Them to the Vase
After making arrangements for their water, light, and humidity needs, the next step is to prepare mixtures like bleach or lemon-lime to preserve the beautiful plant blooms. Wash your vase with soapy water, so it is free of impurities, and let it dry; then, add one can of lemon-lime carbonated drink in a pitcher as the right orchid mix for the water medium. Add one tablespoon of sugar, seven to eight drops of hydrogen peroxide, and one liter of water to the pitcher.
Fill the cleaned vase with your homemade mixture until it reaches the stems midway. Now, you must cover your container and set the remaining mixture aside for refilling when needed. It is important to check the water level every couple of days and freshen the reserved mixture to keep the orchids fresh and blooming for a long.
Alternatively, you can use a bleach mixture to preserve the orchids in water. Add one teaspoon of sugar, chlorine bleach, and one-quart lukewarm water in a pitcher for the orchid roots to stay stable. Then, go ahead and squeeze a lime or lemon and add two teaspoons of the juice to the mixture.
Place the cut orchid stem in water and fill the vase with the prepared bleach mixture until it reaches the orchid stems in the middle. Like the lemon-lime mixture, you can preserve the bleach mixture for later use; moreover, you should also know where to locate the plant beecause different chemicals that are in the air can weaken it. For instance, keep the orchids far from fruit or fruit bowls, and they are sensitive to ethylene gas produced by ripe fruits, especially bananas. The delicate orchid petals react badly to the emitting gas.
5. Trim the Stem
If your orchid’s stem has been hanging outside the vase for a while, it would be best to cut an inch off. The best time to trim it is when there is still at least one flower. This is the same process, even if you are aiming to know how to care for a single stem orchid because it would also need to be trimmed at the exact given time, although this one is significant because you do not have to water it too much and keep the crown area dry.
The cut orchid stems in water will help the water to reach the flowers faster, causing long-lasting blooms, thereby making preserving the orchids in the water a success. Ensure that you cut the stem at an angle that increases the surface area for the water intake.
Find a node under the lowest flower for healthy and green flower spikes and trim one inch above that node. In case of unhealthy brown spikes, it would be best to cut them to the orchid’s base. However, if your orchid is double-spiked, cut one of the spikes to the base of the plant because this would be a way that it would grow.
6. Do Not Move the Orchids Excessively
Since orchids are sensitive plants, they do not like being moved around too much, and this is a main factor if you wish to know how to make orchid flowers last longer. They get comfortable where their growing needs are fulfilled and can shock into shock when you change their location abruptly, even when the shift is for their betterment.
In this case, the shock leads to faded flowers, wasting your efforts to preserve the orchids, and is mostly due to the shift in sunlight, so it would help if you expose them to less sunlight than before at the initial stage of the movement. Do remember that not every orchid leaf received the same amount of sunlight in the previous location; some received more, while some must be shaded.
The unshaded leaves are more vulnerable to sunburn. After moving the orchid, wait a few days before adding or replacing the orchid water in the vase. Monitor the orchid’s behavior for two weeks if there are major problems.
7. Add a Weight to the Vase’s Bottom
Orchid blooms are heavy, so it would be best to add some weight to the bottom of the vase, so it does not topple over. If the vase falls over, you will have to repeat the orchid care, and there is less guarantee that the fallen flowers will grow like they used to, meaning fewer chances of them lasting long.
Spreading the orchids evenly around the vase will keep it stable; after doing so, you can use double-sided tape to stick the vase where ever you place it. If you wish to learn how to arrange orchids in a vase, you can begin by cleaning the vase thoroughly with soapy water, rinsing, and letting it dry.
Cut the orchid stems diagonally and with sterilized pruning shears and place them in a cleaned flower vase. This is why you must ensure you add weight to the vase’s bottom, as the orchid blooms are heavy and easily topple over, and when you see them once the vase has exceeded its lifespan, you can always opt for ways how to preserve orchid bouquet.
