EL NIÑO® Desert Orchid

Light: Thrives in a spot that is situated in direct sunlight for a minimum of four hours and up to all-day exposure. Bloom count will be less in areas with insufficient sun exposure.Soil: Prefers well-draining soil.Water: Average water needs.Fertilizing: Not needed. Prefers poor to average soil and will not perform particularly well in nutrient rich mediums.Pruning: Unless you are trying to grow your El Niño as a small tree, pruning each spring is recommended, as it ensures the flowers form all over the plant instead of just at the distant tips. It can be cut back quite hard, to a foot or so from the ground, or pruned back to a few main branches which are then shortened to a few feet long. If you’d like to grow your plant as a small tree, remove any side branches that form up to the point where you want the “canopy” to start, and keep the trunk clear of any growth that may subsequently emerge.Other: When planted in zone 6 it may die back considerably if the winter is very cold. If this happens, prune back any dead growth when the plant starts leafing out. New growth will appear on viable branches, giving you a clear map of what growth to remove. Note that El Niño desert orchid is very late to leaf out in spring and may not show signs of life until later in the season, when everything else is already well underway. Don’t panic! It just needs time. Also be aware that it is much slower to break bud in spring on thick stems than on thin ones, so if you’ve pruned your plant back, it’s likely going to take more time to show signs of life than an unpruned plant. This is no cause for concern, and it will still grow and bloom just fine as the weather continues to warm up.