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What are the affects of an orchid
flower grown in different types of
soil?
Vivian Vo
Science Fair
I decided to do my
experiment on orchids.
Through out my life I have
been surrounded my
hundreds of orchids. My
grandparents loved these
plants, they had hundreds of
orchid plants. Why not do my
experiment on this.
Place Picture of
grandparents Garden
HERE
An orchid grown in a fertile soil will
grow better than a plant grown in different
types of soil. An ideal way to grow an orchid
plant is to give it the right type of soil that
will help the orchid survive. An orchid
plant’s growth can be greatly affected if the
soil was not the right type for the orchid. The
texture and type of soil could affect how
much water the plant can take it which is
important for the plant to support its life. If
an orchid had fertile soil; which can hold
more water, then the plant would be a
healthier plant.
Of the many soil combinations chose to use
sand, clay, fertile, and swamp mud. Sandy soil has
the largest particles which are made of weathered
rocks and minerals. This soil allows the liquids to
drain though it very easily, sometimes more than
needed which could dehydrate plants in the warmer
and hotter seasons. Clay soil is made of fine grained
material so fine that there are less air space making
the liquids stay for a longer amount of time since the
draining is slow. This causes harm to the roots of the
plants because of water logging. Fertile soil which is
considered to be made of good organic and inorganic
materials bits of minerals and rocks that were
weathered down with composted materials. This
type of soil is considered to perfect soil for planting
most plants. Swamp mud is a wet soft earthy matter
found at the bottom of a pond or along the banks of
rivers.
The scientific name for orchids is orchidaceae. There are
thousands of species of orchids than can be grown
anywhere in the world besides Antarctica. Orchids are
perennials so they live for at least three years. Orchids
can be any color except black. They can even be
speckled or striped. An orchid flower is made of seven
main parts, the three inner petals and the three out
petals, plus the stamen. The orchids that I used in my
experiment were provided to me by my grandfather
whose hobby is to cultivate orchids. I was giving twelve
different orchid plants of the same species. Since my
experiment will last for a period of seven days I was
told to only water the plants once due to the seasonal
changing.
The experiment was tested over seven days.
I was provided with twelve orchid plants of the
same species then divided into four groups;
sand, clay, fertile, and swamp mud. Each
group will have three orchid plants grown in
that type of soil. The independent variable is
the type of soil being used to test each plant.
The dependant variable is the health of the
plants due to the type of soil it is grown in.
• 12 orchid plants
• 12 pots
• Water (watering
pot)
• Sand Soil
• Fertilized soil
• Clay Soil
• Swamp Mud
1. Put four orchids into each of the three
soil types.
2. Observe the plant’s growth while
giving them all equal amounts of water
and sunlight daily.
3. Take down observations about plant’s
growth.
Notes: The approaching
winter weather may affect
the experiment; keep the
orchid plants alive as long as
possible.
Safety Instructions: Do
Not ingest Soils.
Even though I was told to
only water the plants once for the
experiment, the plants quickly
dried up so I continued to water
them daily.
For I recorded a change
about each plant or what
happened to each plant. For
each day a graph was made.
The plants are in a great
condition, the same condition
from when I got them; all the
leaves are green and they seem
to be healthy.
There was no difference from day
one except the plants show smalls
signs of dehydration but it was not
very noticeable.
First few plants start showing
stronger signs of dehydration
and over watering; their leaves
start to yellow.
More plants of the sandy and clay type of soil
start to show signs of dehydration; leaves
start to fall.
More plants are starting to
show signs to dehydration
and more plants of the
swamp type of soil are
getting too watery.
All the clay soil type plants fall
into the dehydrated category, all
the swamp type soil plants fall into
the drowning category.
All the soil types fall into its
own category. Fertile soil
stayed in the same category the
whole time; no effect. Sandy
and clay soil all fell into the
dehydrated category while the
swampy type of soil all fell into
the drowned category
The plants were all well and healthy on the day
one. (Bottom)
Leaves started to yellow on days three, four, and
five. Some had fallen off. (Top and Bottom Right)
•The leaves have turned a golden color
and had fallen. (top left and right)
•The plants that were placed in the fertile
soil practically stayed the same since the
day experimenting started. (Left)
The type of soil that a plant is grown in can
affect a plant greatly. The soil must be compatible
with the plant type to prevent problems such as
dehydration or over watering. For an orchid the
best type of soil for this plant is a more fertile
soil, this way enough water is kept in for the
plants and the excess water can drain out to
prevent dehydration or over water for the
plant.
1.
“Soil.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2011. 823-825.
2.
“Orchids.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2011. 573-576.
3.
Davis, Barbara J. Minerals, Rocks, and Soil. Chicago, IL: Raintree, 2010.
4.
Williams, Norris H. "ASSEMBLING THE TREE OF LIFE: ORCHIDACEAE -HOME PAGE."
Florida Museum of Natural History. University of Florida Herbarium, 17 Aug. 2011.
Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herbarium/orchidatol/>.
5.
Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography.
2006. 19 Oct. 2011.
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/title_page.html