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

Notes: The approaching winter weather may affect the experiment; keep the orchid plants alive as long as possible. 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. 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 “Orchids.” World Book Encyclopedia Davis, Barbara J. Minerals, Rocks, and Soil. Chicago, IL: Raintree, Williams, Norris H. "ASSEMBLING THE TREE OF LIFE: ORCHIDACEAE -HOME PAGE." Florida Museum of Natural History. University of Florida Herbarium, 17 Aug Web. 19 Oct Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography Oct