How to Plant Orchids With Other Plants

Gather a selection of plants to grow with your orchids that need to be grown in soil yet otherwise require the same conditions as orchids. Orchids need at least 12 hours of sunlight a day and in winter will often need a grow lamp to ensure they receive their quota. They also need to be planted in a place that has good drainage so they don't become waterlogged.

Prepare a flower bed by turning over the soil while mixing in a good helping of compost. Plant the seeds or seedlings that need to be grown in soil into the bed you have selected. Water them thoroughly and leave them to germinate. The flower bed needs to be in a position in the garden that has full sunlight. If the flower bed is located on a sloped area, this will work well as it will ensure good water drainage.

Once the plants have grown an inch or so, mulch the beds. The mulch keeps the temperature of the soil slightly elevated and consistent, and it prevents weeds from growing around your freshly planted seeds. The mulch also serves as the perfect host for your orchids.

Gather mulch that is strong enough for the orchids to cling to. Bark is strong, makes an excellent mulch, is readily available and most varieties of orchids are asepiphytes, which means they want to grow on tree bark. Strip a small amount of bark off the trees in the garden or purchase it from a garden store.

Place an inch-thick layer of bark in the flower bed around the existing plants. Hold your orchid bulbs over the bark so the roots hang down and place more bark all around the roots until the roots are planted within the bark and the bulbs are exposed on top. Water briefly. Once the orchids are growing well, provide them with a small amount of liquid fertilizer.