As you see, orchids could most probably be the easiest plant to be grown in your garden. Why? I’ll explain….

What do orchids require? Orchids are not fussy plants. They are generally wild plants and they do not require soil to live. Orchids can grow on their own (on rocks, on dead woods, on branches, on plastics), without even having soil. All you need is a pot, or a plastic pot, fill it with broken pieces or charcoals, chipped woods, coconut husks, broken tiles, broken pots, or red bricks. Try to get a rough, clay pot. Place the orchid on those raw materials and see the results within a week. Orchids will grow well as their roots will crawl all over the pot overnight, grabbing whatever is in the way, holding everything firmly, all that done in order to keep itself firm on the pot or ground. Orchid roots are very strong, thick and they hold things firmly. Most orchid roots grow very fast and they might even grab hold of the pots. If that happens, there is nothing you can do if you might want to transfer it to a bigger pot. All you can do is just break the pot, and put the whole thing in a whole new bigger pot. You might also want to try tying an orchid to a piece of branch and after a week, you’ll find it grabbing on the branch itself. As I say, orchids can live on it’s own, without soil, or any other things, which means, it will grow and look like an ‘octopus’ standing on it’s own root. Orchids are independent on where they grow on. It’s best if you hang the orchid on a pole or a beam. Orchids are meant to be hung and not to be planted on the ground.
Their roots may pose a problem as they seem to grow like hairs. You might want to trim it if you find it annoying but don’t go to the extent off trimming it too much.

Temperature:
Orchids can thrive in horrible conditions and is also able to cope with drastic temperature changes. They can resist temperatures from 15 degrees Celsius to 30+ degrees Celsius. However, it is recommended that a temperature of 18-28(night/day) degrees Celsius would be much better for it to live healthily. Orchids are tough plants and their thick moisten filled leaves enable them to cope especially in hot climates. Try giving it a natural habitat as orchids are tropical climate plants. If you are unable, don’t worry, just give your orchid some time to adapt to the conditions around but try not to let it freeze.

Disease:
Basically, orchids don’t easily get affected by diseases. The only common disease would be the leaves turning yellow or have black spots. Sometimes you might find their stem a little skinny, sorta shrivled kinda look. Basically, they lack of nutrients or sometimes, too much nutrients. What is important is that you’ll just have to look out for snails which feed on the roots of orchids. Besides that, watch out for tiny weeds, which look like algae covering the roots and body of the orchids. They sometimes cover all the roots, and suck out all the nutrients from the orchids. They are parasitic and should be discarded by using tweezers, and a lot of your patience. Dipping the whole plant in the water allows easier removal of the parasite plants. I certainly would not recommend you using weed killers. They are too dangerous and you risk your orchid’s life!

One of the orchid sellers in my area once told me that using GUINNESS STOUT was good as a fertilizer. He told me to mix a tablespoon of Guinness stout with 500ml of water, and spray on the roots of the orchids. This method substitutes the use of fertilizers. I took his advice and my orchid seems to bloom and grow well. I guess Guinness stout is not only good for you but also good for the plants. Besides that, my dad uses cow dung! I’m sure it sounds gross and you might be wondering why he uses such disgusting thing! Well, there is some cow straying around near the foothills, which is also near my house. If there are cows, there’s dung too. My dad took some dung and dried it up over the fire, chopped it into tiny bits with the spade and used it as fertilizers.

He tends all of them everyday and once he’s back from work, he never forgets to water them. Now my house is almost filled with orchids, and I believe once I’m back to my home after studying abroad for a few years, I could hardly recognize my house as I predict it would turn out to be an orchid jungle. I then would have to use combat knives to cut my way through to reach my main door.
Most of my plants in the garden are being slowly substituted by orchids, as roses and others do not really grow well in my place.