Jewel Orchid - Care tips

15 essential tools for every plant parent

Jewel Orchid

The Jewel Orchid is obviously part of the orchid family Orchidaceae. She differs from other Orchids because Jewel Orchids are grown for their outstanding foliage rather than the flowers. The main reason for this is that Jewel Orchids are terrestrials. This means that she grows on land, where most other plants are epiphytic (living on trees). Another characteristic is that Jewel Orchids are crawling rhizomes. Meaning that she grows her stems horizontally and underground. These stems also develop roots and even stores food reserves! Wooh, quite a biology lesson here.

Jewel Orchid Care Tips

Caring for your Jewel Orchid isn’t that hard, but these plants are pretty fragile. Therefore it’s wise to always keep an eye on your beauty, to know which care the thrives on best, especially when it comes to watering.

Light and placement for Jewel Orchid

The Jewel Orchid is known for growing down low. Therefore she’s used to grow in places with less light. North facing windows should be perfect for her, because when you let her grow in indirect light, the chances of blooming increases! Be aware that you should protect her from direct light. Just like most plants, her beautiful leaves will burn in this light.

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Water

Because these Orchids are terrestrial orchids, they require constant moisture around their roots. This is pretty hard because this obviously increases the chance for root rot. Therefore you can water the plant and wait with watering until the soil is dried out. You can easily check this by putting your finger 2-3 cm in the soil. If the soil keeps sticking, your Jewel Orchid doesn’t need any water.

Nutrition

Special Orchid nutrition can be used to feed your Jewel Orchid. She’s not very dependent on food, so only a few (2-3) times during the growing season is more than enough.

Propagating an Jewel Orchid

We can imagine that you would like to propagate these beauties! The perfect method for propagating Jewel Orchids is through stem cuttings. Take a piece of the stem with upper leaves, pot it into a similar potting mix she comes from. New roots should grow within two months, exciting!

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Most common pest on Jewel Orchid

The most common pest on Jewel Orchids are mealybugs. You can easily recognise them as they look like white cotton clumps on the stem and the insects are small white bugs. Other insects that could bug your plant are scales, spider mites or thrips. Do you expect some uninvited visitors on your plant? Check our PLNTSdoctor page or the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Are Jewel Orchids toxic for pets or children?

Great news! These jewels are not toxic for pets or children. Another reason to add these beauties to your plant collection!

Buy your new Jewel Orchid at PLNTS.com

At PLNTS.com you can buy your Jewel Orchid online, like the familiar Jewel Orchid Ludisia Discolor, but also rare varieties like Macodes Petola and the Jewel Orchid Anoectochilus Chapaensis. Whether you like your Jewel Orchid big from the start or prefer to grow them from tiny BabyPLNTS into full-grown PLNTS - we’ve got you covered!