How to Grow Terrestrial Orchids

Choosing Terrestrial Orchids

• 1

  Buy terrestrial orchids in 4-inch to 1-gallon containers or as a tuber (a swollen piece of root).

• 2

  Look for plants at nurseries and mail-order businesses in spring and summer, and tubers in fall.

• 3

  Choose healthy-looking plants with signs of new growth in leaves and flower buds.

Planting Terrestrial Orchids

• 4

  Choose a site in the shade of a woodland garden with well-drained soil that stays moist throughout the year.

• 5

  Dig holes for the plants no deeper than they were growing in the containers. Space the plants 9 to 12 inches apart.

• 6

  Add a light application of organic fertilizer to the planting hole before you set the plants in.

• 7

  Mulch around but not on top of the plants with 3 inches of organic compost.

• 8

  Water well until soil is completely moist.

Caring for Terrestrial Orchids

• 9

  Remove old foliage in late fall, using bypass pruners to cut off the old stems.

• 10

  Mulch around but not on top of the plants with 3 inches of organic compost in early spring.

• 11

  Water well weekly until soil is completely moist in summers with no rainfall.