How to Grow Slipper Orchids
- 1). Select a potting mix that lets excess water pass through quickly while retaining just enough moisture to keep the environment moist for the roots. Fir bark mixed with perlite or coarse sand, for example, is a good growing medium.
- 2). Grow the lady's slipper in a 4- to 6-inch pot. If the plant outgrows it, do not increase the size of the planter. Instead, divide the orchid. Pull the leaves gently apart in groups of three until they become separated from the main clump. There should be roots attached to the bottom of each leaf cluster that you pull. Replace the potting soil every two years with a fresh batch whether you need to divide the plant or not.
- 3). Water this orchid species consistently to maintain the soil always moist. Pour water into the planter until excess flows out of the drainage holes.
- 4). Place the planter in indirect light with some shade. If the orchid leaves wilt and become dark green, the plant needs more light. Install light fixtures with a total of four 40-watt fluorescent tubes and two 40-watt incandescent bulbs 6 to 12 inches above the lady's slipper. Leave the lights on during the day.
- 5). Fill a plant tray with pebbles and add water to it. Set the orchid pot on the rocks to provide humidity to the plant. The pebble layer elevates the planter preventing the soil from absorbing the water through the drainage holes.
- 6). Raise mature slipper orchids at 70 to 85 degrees F in the day. Drop the thermostat to 55 to 60 degrees F at night. Add 10 degrees to the temperature ranges if your orchid is still a seedling.
- 7). Feed the plant a 30-10-10 fertilizer if it is growing in fir bark. If the plant is in another medium, apply a 10-10-10 formula. During the warm growing season, dilute the nutrient to ½ strength and water the plant with it biweekly. Alternatively, prepare the feed at ¼ strength and apply it to the lady's slipper every time it needs watering. Regardless of the option you choose, drench the soil with plain water every 30 days to leach accumulated fertilizer salts. In winter, feed the plant once monthly.
