Orchid Care--Orchid Growing Made Easy

A specimen phalaenopsis orchid covered with blooms is really something to see. it takes only a few years of good care to get your plants up to size where they can begin to show off their potential. It helps to start with a good quality mericlone that has been preselected by breeders for vigorous growth and blooming. Then make sure you provide the right environment for your orchid plant to thrive. Also, don't let it bloom for too long every year. After 2 months of blooms, cut the spike off and let the plant have a rest!

The phalaenopsis orchid below is a multifloral with smaller more numerous blooms than typical moth orchids. This year it has 70 blooms on two spikes! If you scroll down this page, you'll see a photo of it blooming last year, with 'only ' 40' flowers. Learn more about how I grow phalaenopsis orchids.

I was in San Francisco last week and visited the wholesale flower market in downtown SOMA.Its open to the public during regular business hours on certain days and there are several orchid vendors. I saw large phals in full bloom for $12-15 and many oncidium hybrids for as little as $10! There were also a smattering of other orchids available,such as cattleyas and paphs. Of course I couldn't bring any think in bloom back east with me, but if you live in the bay area, take advantage of the opportunity to pick up some gorgeous orchids in bloom!

This cymbidium orchid hybrid was too irresistible not to purchase. It has lots of good-sized striped dark yellow flowers that are fragrant too! The plant is relatively compact (for a cymbidium) and is blooming in a 4.5" pot with nice upright foliage. This hybrid is warmth-tolerant which means you don't have to live on coastal California to grow it!

This one should do fine with out Washington DC summers. Cooler nights throughout the year, are always good for our orchids and they need really bright light too. For now, I'm going to enjoy the late fall display that should last for a month or two!

Well the long warm days of summer are winding down. Most plants start to slow down too and orchids are no exception. So why is this good? Well there are a number of reasons:

1. High summer heat can stress many orchids, especially those that like it on the cooler side. If your orchids looked stress, now they'll have chance to recover.

2. Most orchids like a significant difference between the daytime and night time temperatures. We tend to start getting cooler nights about now, and the wider temperature differential will help your orchid plants.

3. Many orchids require cooler nights to initiate their blooming cycle, phalaenopsis in particular. If your phals have not bloomed, for a while but are otherwise healthy, place them near a cracked window at night where the temperature falls to 55-60 degrees. In most cases, that will result in a bloom spike! Some orchids also respond to a shorter day length.

Remember, that when temperatures get very cool at night, you'll need to turn the heating on, or bring orchids back indoors. I'd bring most of my orchids in when it drops to about 60 at night. The exceptions would be odontoglossums, cool growing encyclias and epidendrums, masdevallias, cymbidiums and nobile-type dendrobiums. These orchids will happily enjoy cooler night temperatures down to about 50, which will also initiate flowering in temperature sensitive types. Be sure to give your plants plenty of light and warmer temperatures during the day, but they will probably need less water and fertilizer as we head to winter.

Phalaenopsis(phals or moth orchids) are among the easiest and most rewarding orchids to grow. If you're just starting out with phals, here are our top five survival tips(for your orchids, that is):

1. Some like it hot-temperatures between 65(night) to 85(day) are fine.
2. Keep your phals moist(not wet) at all times and repot annually.
3. Give them bright indirect light and try to maintain at least 50% humidity.
4. Feed with a blossom booster orchid food-more in summer, less in winter.
5. 55 degree nights for a few weeks in the fall will get your plants to flower.

Many orchids can be grown and flowered on a windowsill whether in your kitchen, or living room. The main factor determining what orchids you'll be able to grow is the amount of natural light available. Always choose the brightest windows in your home that are not shaded by nearby trees and buildings. If you only have clear northern exposure, or even partially obstructed Eastern exposure, you may still be able to grow some orchids. If you have some outdoor space, many orchids will enjoy a summer vacation outdoors in bright indirect or dappled sunlight.

Windowsill growing requires no special fixtures, other than a humidity tray on which to place your potted plants. Supplemental artificial light, especially in winter, may be needed in northern exposures.

Keep your plants as close to the glass as possible especially in northern/eastern exposures. If you have Southern exposure, you can be more flexible and adjust the distance depending on the light needs of your orchid.

After light, maintaining adequate humidity is probably the biggest problem in windowsill growing, especially in the winter months. Group plants, and spray them often with a water mister to help increase humidity-50% or higher is ideal. Be sure to keep moisture-loving orchids well watered at all times. (TIP: Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilums like to be kept moist. If the orchid has what looks like a bulb, or a bulbous stem, it probably likes to dry out a bit between waterings). Watering and fertilizer will also need to follow a more natural seasonal schedule with greatest frequency during the brighter warmer summer months and less during winter.(TIP: Use a blossom booster orchid fertilizer most of the time).

Insect pests can be gently washed or scraped off your plant, or treated with a natural insecticidal soap or horticultural fine oil. Be sure to carefully read all instruction labels on insecticides and only use those recommended for indoor use.

So what can you grow? Lower light orchids include Phalaenopsis(moth orchids) or Paphiopedilums(Asiatic slipper Orchids). They should do fine in eastern exposures, possibly even unobstructed northern exposures though you may not get as many flowers. With brighter Eastern exposures, you should be able to also grow Oncidinae intergenerics (these have names such as Colmanara, Miltonia (Pansy orchids), Miltassia, or Oncidium). Bright sunny southern exposures will give you the greatest flexibility and allow you grow sun-loving cattleyas and dendrobiums.(TIP: Remember to keep all orchids out if intense direct sunlight-dappled sunlight is best). All the orchids listed above should grow well in temperatures ranging from 60 degrees at night to 75 during the day.

TIP: Here's a quick way to tell if have enough light grow orchids. On a bright clear spring day, hold your hand about six inches above your orchid in indirect sunlight and look to see if a shadow is cast on the leaves. A light shadow indicates that only low-light orchids may be grown, while a stronger more distinct shadow indicates that there is enough light to grow higher light orchids.

Remember, these are just tips to get you started. Visit my website on Orchid Care for more detailed information.

The National Capital Orchid Society will present its 62nd annual Orchid Show at the U. S. National Arboretum from Oct 10-12, 2009! Plan to visit, bring friends, see thousands of orchid plants in bloom, see top-quality orchid art, and add to your orchid collection. This is one of the best bloom seasons for orchids, so come prepared for a wonderful selection of orchids to see and buy!

Visitors will receive, with purchase, a free copy of the NCOS Guide to Growing Orchids, with 60+ pages of information on how to grow and flower many types of orchids.

For more information please visit www.ncos.us