Orchid growers come across many difficult choices when caring for their orchids. Perhaps one of the most difficult is deciding on how much to water the orchid. This is probably the most common mistake novices make.

It is very hard to judge the right time and the right amount of water to give to your orchid. Probably the biggest mistake people make is over watering the orchid. Very rarely do people under water, as with light people tend to over do it.

Different orchids require different amounts of water but what they all have in common is that they don't like having their roots submerged in water as their roots will rot and die.

Even then, the orchid will require different amounts of water depending on the season. In the summer when it is hot your orchid will require more water than in the winter.

Tap water is ok for the orchid but rainwater is much better. Try leaving a couple of watering cans in the garden to catch the rain so that you will have a constant source of water for your plants.

You could feed your orchids with extra nutrients if you don't feel that they aren't getting enough naturally. There are many different types of plant feed available from the very weak to the very strong. I would recommend that you find specialist orchid feed which is usually available at most garden stores. If you can't find one then ask a store assistant which they recommend of those that they do stock. If you are still struggling then you can use general fertilizer as long as it isn't too strong.

Another difficult decision to be made by the orchid grower is when to re-pot. Again the frequency of the re-potting will vary depending on the orchid but they will all require potting for one or all of these possible scenarios:

- The compost may have begun to decompose and therefore lost its nutritional content.
- The compost may have become waterlogged due to over watering
- The orchid may have out grown its current home.
When you re-pot you need to use compost which allows water to drain away easily. This will help prevent the roots sitting in water and rotting.

The size of the new pot is very important. On most occasions the size of the new pot will be the same as the old. You should only increase the size of the pot if your orchid was too large for its old pot. The roots of your orchid like to be snug.

These two areas of orchid care often provide challenges for even the most experienced of orchid growers, so you are in good company. I have only touched the surface of these two topics so please read more material for further information.