Orchids are one of the most beautiful houseplants due to their unique flowers, and if you want to keep them looking their best it is important to know what to feed them.
The flowering period for orchids tends to be in early spring and is it essential they get essential nutrients to support their growth and get bigger blooms.
All plants need a balanced fertiliser made up of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to thrive but other nutrients such as calcium will help orchids grow.
John, a houseplant expert and founder of Care For Your Orchids, has shared that a simple way to ensure orchids have enough calcium is to feed them a homemade fertiliser made out of eggshells.
He said: “Saving eggshells and using them as orchid fertiliser is the cheapest and most efficient way to get calcium to your orchids.”
Calcium is one of the key nutrients for structural support on a plant and will make an orchid healthy and more resistant.
Orchids need calcium to grow strong flower spikes; if they do not have enough calcium, their buds are more likely to dry up and fall off prematurely.
Feeding an orchid calcium also helps it grow more robust roots, which helps the plant to absorb water more efficiently.
How to make a homemade eggshell fertiliser for orchids
To begin, gather up any used eggshells and give them a thorough wash. You need to make sure all the eggy yolk residue is gone from the eggshells because if any is leftover it can attract pests to your houseplant.
Then you need to crush the eggshells into small powdery pieces as large eggshells will not be able to release nutrients as efficiently.
John said: “Crush the egg shells into pieces as small as possible, or use a pestle and mortar to grind them into a powder. Sprinkle it on the bark in the pot.”
You can also use a blender to crush the eggshells into a powder if you have one, but there is also one other simple way to make an eggshell homemade fertiliser.
John said: “A more labour-intensive way is to boil 10 eggshells in half a gallon of water and let them steep for eight hours. Strain out the eggshells, [then store the water] in a covered container and use weekly.”
Make sure the water is not hot when you water the plant and that there is no eggy leftovers in the water. If you decide to use eggshell water as a fertiliser agent, you should always keep an eye on the orchid afterwards.
If you notice the leaves becoming crispy at the tops, or a white crust on the plant, then that is a sign the orchid has been over-fertilised.
However, if you feed your orchid an eggshell mixture once a week it should grow bigger and more abundant flowers for you to enjoy once spring arrives.
