Coffee grounds on orchids, 3 reasons why you should do it now
Pour coffee grounds on your orchids. Here are the three benefits of this simple procedure. Let’s see together how and why it works.
The world of gardening is extremely vast and full of different terms to know. Anyone with a green thumb knows this well. To cultivate a garden or simply to take care of all the plants that we choose to decorate the house or balcony requires a series of knowledge, ideas and awareness that are accumulated over time through experience, practice and study. Taking care of the plant world and all its plants is one of the most complicated things: it requires a certain constancy, regularity and precision . It is wrong to offer the same care to everyone without distinction. Each plant needs individual care. Surely there are more “independent” plants that require the least effort. However, many other plants require special and precise care, otherwise they risk their early death. There are a series of measures and precautions for our plants that we are not aware of and that can be a real panacea. One of them involves the use of coffee grounds. Let’s see together how they work.
All care and methods for flowering orchids
Today we’ll talk to you about the coffee grounds method in relation to a particular flower: orchids . Orchids have always been the most popular ornamental flowers. They make our home and outdoor environments beautiful, harmonious and colorful . They are very fascinating plants also because of their origins: they are found in tropical or subtropical areas of Asia and America. Many species of orchids also grow spontaneously here in Italy, especially in the hilly and mountainous areas. Those that come from very hot and tropical areas are mostly epiphytic , that is, they cling with their roots to the roots of other plants, which thus serve as a support for them. The others, however, are called terrestrial because their roots sink into the ground. The leaves of orchids are very peculiar, ribbon-shaped or oval and arranged alternately. Over the years we have been able to observe the proliferation of species of orchids that also come from places with colder climates and have adapted to the European climate. Botanists have also created orchid hybrids that are much less delicate and easier to reproduce. For this reason, today they are very popular and inexpensive flowers, we find them almost everywhere. Caring for orchids does not require incredible effort, but it does require constancy and dedication. We must take into account their needs for water, sun, fertilizer , pruning, etc. For our orchids to thrive and grow, watering is a fundamental requirement, as is exposure to sun and temperature. The orchid soil must be watered every four days, taking care to keep it moist in the meantime. A good solution is to fill a plate with water and place it under the vase: the absorption will be constant and gradual. Exposure to light must be at least 8-10 hours a day, but not direct sunlight.
Coffee grounds and orchids: here are the three benefits of using them
As for fertilization , there are many different solutions and today we offer you an unbeatable one. We must use a product that costs us nothing: coffee grounds. Let’s see together how and why we should do it. We have just seen how to care for orchids with the right dosage of water and light. A third fundamental element for the correct growth of orchids is fertilizer. Most people resort to buying non-natural fertilizers, spending a lot of money on liquid fertilizers sold in specialized stores, which are usually unnecessary expenses: there are dozens of different solutions that require the use of natural and inexpensive products. One of these is coffee grounds. Every day we prepare a lot of coffee and throw away the coffee grounds without knowing that they can be very useful to us. Using coffee on orchids has as its first advantage the great help of this product, which has proven to be a truly excellent fertilizer for indoor plants. It manages to provide them with adequate nitrogen and phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. A second advantage of coffee is that it can stimulate the growth of plants and also makes them immune to many diseases . It is rich in nutrients that are very useful for orchids. The third advantage is the significant savings: no more wasting money on expensive chemical products that are offered to us as the only solution. You just have to pay attention to the dosage : an excessive amount of coffee could be harmful. Here’s how to prepare it and how much to use.
How to prepare coffee grounds and turn them into fertilizer
For your orchids, you can make a liquid fertilizer from coffee grounds. The first thing to do is put the coffee grounds in a container with two liters of warm water. Then everything must be carefully mixed and left to rest for one or two days in a place without sunlight. Then you can filter the mixture and use it as a solution for watering orchids. We recommend doing this fertilization every 21 days when it is spring and the first buds appear; in summer, every seven days . In winter, it is better not to fertilize them because they are in the vegetative rest phase . Another way to fertilize orchids with coffee is to make a potting soil by mixing a quarter of coffee grounds with three quarters of regular potting soil. With this trick you will increase the beauty of your beloved orchids: nutrients are the key.
Warning: if your plants are infested with insects such as aphids or scale insects, we advise against using coffee grounds. In fact, you could make the infestation worse. In addition, we strongly recommend that you let the soil-coffee mixture dry before using it, since putting it in wet conditions can lead to the appearance of various types of mold. So let it dry well in the sun and apply it in a central layer, neither on the roots nor on the top. It is not important to have a green thumb: with the tricks listed above, anyone can take excellent care of their plants without having to resort to impossible methods.