WELCOME TO THE
Grower's Corner
Our much-loved Head Grower and his team have been helping our houseplants thrive at our New Forest nursery for decades. That means they know pretty much everything there is to know about orchids. Any questions?
Tips from the Growers
Our Nursery
At our nursery in the New Forest we've been growing flowering plants for 60 years. While this started out as little more than a few small glasshouses and a can-do-attitude, we're now the UK's largest grower of Phalenopsis orchids
Inside those glasshouses, all of our orchids are carefully nurtured to ensure they get exactly the right amount of heat, light, water and nutrients. Once they’ve grown to our exacting standards, they’re hand-picked, packaged with care and quality-checked by our team before we send them to you.
Ask the Grower
Does watering your orchid with ice really work?
It really does!
Not everyone agrees with using ice to water orchids but here at Love Orchids it's been tried and tested for years. Ice is the perfect watering method for people who often forget to water their orchid, with just a couple of ice cubes needed once a week. It has also been scientifically proven that ice doesn't damage the roots or affect the orchid in any negative way.
What's your favourite orchid?
That's a tough one.
Working with orchids for many years I appreciate them all, but I have to say a spiral orchid is one of my favorites. It's so clever how they can be trained around a stake, it really makes them stand out!
Do you grow any other varieties of Orchids?
Currently only phalaenopsis orchids
We are the UK's biggest grower of phalaenopsis orchids also known as 'moth orchids'.
Does watering your orchid with ice really work?
How do I mist my orchid?
The do's and don't of misting.
You should mist your leaves when they are wrinkly to re-hydrate if plant has really dried out. You can also Mist when roots are suffering to dry bark out to encourage root growth but maintaining plant’s turgidity. Mist the plant during hot spells and if humidity is getting low. Restrained misting can be used as a watering method if cannot do the Dunk and Drain method.
When misting don’t let water pool in crown or leaf axils as can cause rot. Don’t mist late in day as leaves must be dry at evenings and night, causing rot then if wet, mist mornings only. Don’t mist in winter as usually not needed unless in a very low humidity, high temp. room. Don’t mist flowers as can cause botrytis spotting rot.
What's your advice for treating mealy bugs?
Try spraying rubbing alcohol.
Try spraying rubbing alcohol solution directly on the mealybugs with a misting bottle or pump sprayer. You may also have to drip some alcohol into tight areas. If you’re trying to keep mealybugs from ever showing up in the first place; spray all of the things around your orchid, including window-sills, table tops and furniture. Text
What is the best growing medium and do you sell it?
We do!
The best growing medium for orchids is orchid bark, this can be brought on our website it's listed as orchid plotting mix. Orchids can't be planted using soil as the roots need to breathe.
One of my little orchids has grown a baby, can I take it off, if so how do I plant it?
A orchid baby is also known as a Keiki.
This means your orchid has a Keiki, a baby plant that has grown on the flower spike. It can be removed and potted to produce a new plant, if able, leave it on the flower spike as long as possible to produce roots.
If spike begins to yellow and die, cut off the baby plant and pot. Use a transparent pot and orchid bark to pot into, if unstable in pot, use some sticks for support. Then moisten bark, don’t over wet. Mist plant as required to maintain humidity again don’t over wet. Finally, place in a shadier spot if possible until roots appear at side of pot then return and grow on in original conditions.
JOIN THE ORCHID CLUB
Sign up to get access to surplus plants as well as free care tips and tricks