Spring in Southwest Florida is a great time of year to start landscaping your orchids!
The longer days and higher humidity make for the ideal environment to start attaching orchids to your trees! The longer days mean they will have more time to photosynthesize, i.e. leaves/bulbs/eyes. The increase in humidity allows for root growth. It also slows down the water loss through the leaves (transpiration).
The ideal surface to mount should be rough, though they can be attached to smooth surfaces. The ideal light situation would be sunrise to sunset of a bright, filtered shade. Depending on the variety, they will be adaptable to other light situations, but you don’t want to burn them! The same time of day you may burn in the sun is the same time your plant could burn in the sun.
You can use many different items to attach your orchids, such as rope, twine, wire, etc… The most important thing is that your orchid is secure to the surface and does not wiggle.
Be sure to water the surface of the tree all around and behind the orchid to help support root attachment to the tree. It is best to water early morning and/or early evening.
Fertilizing is very beneficial for the health and growth of your orchid. So make sure you have a feeding regime in your plan!
