What is this and how do I look after it please?

[Goldmandra]

I received this as a lovely gift on Sunday but it has no instructions or labels of any sort.

I usually kill houseplants quite quickly and quite unintentionally.

Please help me to keep this one alive.

It's an orchid. Water it once a week by standing it in a sink of water. They are beautiful!

www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/creative-projects/how-to-care-for-orchids/225.html

Thank you for that link. I'll have to watch it later when I can have sound on my PC.

It's in a very small pot inside that big one you can see - like a tall yoghurt pot. It is OK to leave it in that?

Oh and how long does it need to stand in the sink of water?

Thanks

The best way to water it is by holding it under the tap, the water should run through the plant and the pot, it shouldnt stand in water.
Feed it with orchid feed and keep it in a north facing light spot. They don't like to dry out and the roots like air.

Thanks

Googling orchid feed

I just water mine in the pot once a week and they seem fine... they like plenty of light, but not strong direct sun which can burn the leaves.

When it stops flowering, don't panic - it's not dying! Just chop the stem off above the last little node thing at the bottom, keep it in a light place and eventually it should grow a new stem and flower again.

The best way to water it is by holding it under the tap, the water should run through the plant and the pot, it shouldnt stand in water.
I beg to differ with this - if you wet it this thoroughly, the roots will rot! Orchids really, really don't like being over watered. If you stand the pot in water, it will only take it what it needs.

I read somewhere the way to water orchids is to put an ice cube on it once a week and let it melt. I tend to buy one of those orchid feeders you stand in the pot and let that do its thing.

After lots of dead orchids in our family, my mum started tipping a tiny bit of water left over from an overnight drinking glass every so often her orchid is beautiful and so many flowers on it.

I put mine in the bathroom, because they like the steamy atmosphere. I water it only occasionally (when I remember) and it does just fine.

The flowers should last ages - but they will die off eventually. When this happens I find that a period of drought actually seems to stimulate new flower growth. I found this out by accident when I forgot to water.

You can get pink babybio orchid food from garden centres, which you are supposed to water down and feed to them on a fairly regular basis, but I usually forget.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, while they look delicate, they are actually pretty robust. Enjoy

Oh, and another thing - these orchids grow naturally in trees in the forest. So they are used to living under quite a dense canopy and they don't like direct sun. They will need light in the winter, though.

Don't they need special orchid compost, not ordinary stuff? So if you move it to a larger pot, get the correct growing medium.