How do I care for my Howeara?

Howeara is our stunningly beautiful pet-friendly Luxury plant of the month for September 2019. Here's how you can best look after it.

Native habitat
The Howeara is a hybrid plant, with ancestry in South America.

Light and position in the home
Your Howeara will enjoy bright but not direct light. An easterly or westerly-facing window is best. Too much light will cause bleaching of the leaves.

Watering and Humidity
Always avoid letting the soil stay soggy for extended periods and the use of cold water. Allow the soil to approach dryness but not completely dry out, and then water/submerge until the soil is damp again. As an Orchid your Howeara will appreciate higher humidity (5070%). Try sitting it on a watered tray of pebbles, or if you do mist it, ensure you do so early in the day.

Flowers and foliage
Extending out from the deep and narrow, dark green leaves, you will find a branched stem where many small, dark, red or orange flowers will appear. These blooms can last up to 2 months and the plant itself may re-bloom 2-3 times a year.

Temperature
This plant enjoys slightly higher temperatures than many houseplants. Daytime temperatures should be between 18-25 Celcius. Avoid anything colder than 16 celcius if you can.

Did you know?
Your Howeara is a unique type of Orchid created especially by us Humans. It is a genetic mix of several types of Orchids that are native to South America and the surrounding areas. The most commonly used Orchids in creating this hybrid are Oncidium, Rodriguezia, and Leochilus.

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If reading all this has made you hungry for a Howeara, check out our amazing Indoor plant subscriptions here. And for added incentive, we're donating £1 from every new subscription sold in September 2019 to the WWF's The Amazon is Burning! emergency appeal.