Orchid Care for Beginners

Unveiling Life: A Petal-Painted Symphony of Renewal (12/19/2023)

(Updated on 12/19/2023)

This document details the full orchid life cycle, encompassing hibernation and the opening of a bud signifying a new cycle.

Figure 1.  Orchid varieties

Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colorful and fragrant.^[1]

The orchid flower is typically has an outer whorl of three sepals, an inner loop of three petals, a single large column in the center, and an enlarged bottom petal called a lip or labellum (see Figure 2). The overall flower shape is characteristically bilaterally symmetrical (the left and right halves of the blossom are mirror images), a necessity for reliable pollination by bees.

Figure 2.  Basic structure of orchid^[1]

Orchid Care

There are more than 20,000 species of orchids, and contrary to popular belief, they are extremely easy to look after, yet many homeowners flounder by overwatering or putting orchids in the wrong place.

Lighting

Orchids do not like direct sun. They require low light levels, but they do need sunlight. It is possible for them to survive in offices but they may struggle. Avoid placing your orchid on windowsills because of the direct light.

Temperature

It is best to keep your orchid between 60 F and 80 F.

Fertilizer

It is not necessary to add fertilizer to your water or feed your orchid. At the greenhouse, the growers sometimes give low amounts of fertilizer and your orchid has plenty of energy to continue its bloom cycle.

For our orchid in 5 inch pot, we water them weekly using the cup shown

Watering

Orchids do not require water often and do not need a lot.^[2]

When giving water using the measuring cup (see Figure 1), be aware about the size of orchid you bought. Mini orchids in 2.5 inch pot need 1.5oz of water weekly. Orchids in 5 inch pots instead need 3oz of water per week.

Trimming Stems at the End of Bloom Life

At the end of your orchid's bloom cycle, the blooms will begin to wilt and fall off. This should start with the oldest (lower) flowers first. Based on grandmom's advice, this is the time for you to cut them down at the stem base.^[2]

To prepare your orchid for the flower break you should remove wilted flowers and keep the stems as long as they are still green. The plant will send all energy from the stems back into the roots. Only when the stems are getting brown you should cut them down at the stem base.

The following caring tips were given by a grandmom as you can see in the below pictures.  Note that she never repot her orchids.  If you plan to repot, be very careful not to damage the roots.

This orchid plant has been grown for around 7 years with each cut represents one year 

Yesterday (07/17/2023) grandmom had cut off two stems from the below orchid plant

To prepare this orchid for the flower break, trimming was done

A velvety green bonnet swells with anticipation, cradling a hidden surprise (12/10/2023)

Like a tiny sunrise, a vibrant bloom explodes from the bud, painting the air with its radiance (12/19/2023)

References

1. Anatomy of an Orchid
2. Orchid Care

13-Steps for a Long Healthy Life

Here are 13-steps for a long healthy life summarized from [1] by @ColinKeeley on Twitter:^[2]

1. Our Goal
• Lifespan is the number of years you live
• Health span is how long you’re healthy enough to do the things that matter to you
• Longevity means maximizing health span and lifespan
• Our goal is to live longer and live better and it all starts with prevention...
2. Avoid Icebergs
• Medicine 2.0 (medicine today) deals with problems after they present themselves.
• Medicine 3.0 focuses on prevention over cures.
• We are trying to avoid icebergs in the distance
• It is better and easier to avoid the first heart attack than treat it after
3. The 4 Horsemen
• There are four major killer diseases: 1. Cardiovascular disease, 2. Cancer, 3. Neurodegenerative disease, 4. Type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction
• Metabolic health is the common thread
• Exercise is our best prevention
4. Exercise
• Exercise is "by far the most potent longevity drug”
• Weekly:
• Weight training 3 days
• Zone 2 training 3 hours—Zone 2 training to stimulate mitochondrial function
• VO2 max training 1 day
• Get as fit as possible to prepare for natural decline with age
5. Marginal Decade
• You want to intentionally train for the activities you care most about continuing into your later years
• Build up the strength and stamina while young to combat the predictable decline as you age
• Want to ski at 80? You better be in top 1% condition at 50
6. Diet
• Avoid fads. Attia recommends Keto (hard) or Mediterranean diet (easier). More monounsaturated fats & less carbs.
• Avoid Standard American Diet: • Highly refined carbohydrates • Processed oils • Added sugar
• Eat more: • Real food • Avocados • Olive oil • Protein • Nuts
7. Diet Questions—Are you undernourished or overnourished? Are you undermuscled or adequately muscled? Are you metabolically healthy or not?
• Most have poor metabolic health, are over nourished, and are undermuscled.
• You want to reduce energy intake while adding lean mass.
8. Heart Disease
• Everyone 18+ has some degree of heart disease. Accumulating every day.
• Get your ApoB and Lp(a) tested. Those matter more than cholesterol.
• Goal: ApoB 20-30 (baby level)
• Impossible to get there with diet and exercise alone. 80% of his patients take statins.
9. Sleep 
•  Poor sleep impacts everything. It gives even seemingly healthy people "old-man blood": hormone and inflammatory levels of someone decades older.
10. Cancer
• Cancer is closely linked to metabolic dysfunction. Get healthy to avoid it.
• This chronic inflammation creates an environment that induces cells to become cancerous.
• Otherwise aggressive early screening is our best defense. Late detection is a death sentence.
11. Neurodegenerative Disease
• Most difficult of the horsemen. Medicine 2.0 can't do anything for us.
• What's good for the heart is good for the brain. Exercise & sleep are our best weapons.
• Exercise maintains glucose homeostasis and healthy vasculature.
• Sleep heals the brain.
12. Metabolic Dysfunction
• Basically an issue in your body's fuel processing. On a spectrum.
• Heart disease, cancer, and dementia are all built on metabolic disease. Each one is amplified by metabolic dysregulation.
• Exercise, diet, and sleep are our weapons here.
13. Emotional Health
• Emotional health issues are one of the biggest roadblocks to longevity in his patients.
• If you are not happy, why would you want to live a long time?
• Take care of your emotional well-being just like you would heart disease.
• It's ok to admit you need help.

References

1. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia and 
2. Thread by @ColinKeeleuy on longevity
3. Exercise and Its Benefits (Travel to Health)
4. Exercise for Bone Health (Travel to Health)
5. Travel to Health website (link)