I had always believed that orchids were exceedingly difficult to grow – tender, delicate, and temperamental – and so expensive as to be entirely out of reach of the average person. But I have learned that none of these things are true.
Orchids Plants
Orchids are within the means of any of us. There are reasonably priced and expensive plants, and because the plants remain handsome and increase in size from year to year, they are an investment that brings thrilling dividends.
As for their reputed delicacy, the fact is orchids are remarkably tough and hardy. Indeed, they are freer from disease than any other plant I can think of.
Growing Orchids
The chief requirement for orchid growing is to learn the conditions under which they thrive in their native haunts and to approach those conditions as closely as possible in the home or greenhouse.
Perhaps the most important condition is proper to fight. Orchids, like African violets, want light but not the glaring sun – in other words, filtered sunlight.
Orchids: Native Habitat
Keep in mind that their native habitat is jungle “rain forests,” where dense tropical vegetation allows only filtered sunlight to penetrate.
Try growing an orchid plant next to your African violet, in a window with a north or east exposure, and watch it grow!
But if you must use a window where the sunlight is too strong, filter the sun with Venetian blinds, or place the plant so that it receives maximum light but not direct sun.
Greenhouse for Orchids
In the greenhouse, the glare of the full sun can be cut by using roller blinds or painting shading outside the glass, especially on the south and west sides.
Although a mixture of white lead and gasoline is recommended, I simply use a light coat of white enamel paint, then stipple it with a sponge.
Second, the only importance of light is humidity. In tropical jungles. the air is very humid, so it follows that moisture in the air is necessary. The why of this is readily seen.
Epiphytes Orchids
Orchids are epiphytes, usually growing upon logs or stumps lepi means above or on. ph vie means phmt).
Their roots are mostly aerial, and they take their nourishment mainly from the moisture in the air (possibly also from minerals in the decaying humus with which their roots come in contact, although they are not parasites, as is often thought).
Humidity for Orchids
In the greenhouse, humidity is achieved by hosing the floor and benches in the morning. at noon and in midafternoon.
As this moisture evaporates into the air, it creates the needed humidity.
In my own greenhouse, I have a small automatic humidity system geared to an adjustable temperature dial, which throws a fine mist spray under the inmates when the temperature reaches a certain point.
This is a tremendous help because I am away all day and can’t do the sprinkling needed in hot dry weather.
More sprinkling is needed on hot, dry days than on dull, cloudy ones.
Humidity Aid in the Greenhouse
Another humidity aid in the greenhouse is to place puns of water on the floor. particularly in front of or on top of the beater.
I keep a pan of water directly in front of my electric heater, and the amount of evaporation from this pan is surprising.
Growing Orchids at Home
If you’re growing orchids in the home, you can achieve humidity by placing the orchid pot in a saucer of gravel and keeping the gravel moist.
But do not allow the water to touch the pot, for orchids must not be set in water or allowed to become soggy.
Good Drainage For Orchid Plants
Good drainage is essential. Pot watering of orchid plants is needed only about once a week.
Doesn’t orchid growing sound unbelievably simple? It is!
If you have windows that afford good light and the night temperature doesn’t fall below 58° degrees Fahrenheit, you can grow orchids just as easily as you can grow African violets.
The Similarity of Iris and Orchids
Having been an iris grower for several years, I’m interested to note the similarity in structure between orchids and iris.
Like iris, orchids have rhizomes, and the buds come up through the stems similarly.
An interesting feature about orchids is that they have thickened sterns called pseudo-bulbs, which are storage places for food and moisture during dry seasons in the jungle.
Orchids Not Grown in Soil
Another surprise to those unfamiliar with orchids is that they are not grown in soil. Remember that in the jungles, they grow on trees or stumps, not on the ground.
The potting medium for most orchids is osmunda fiber (roots of tropical ferns). This is a very porous coarse material, so water drains right through it.
From this osmunda fiber and from the air, the roots of orchids derive the nourishment they need.
Orchid Families
Some orchid families, however, require compost with the osmunda. These are called terrestrial or semi-terrestrial orchids.
Terrestrial Orchid: Cypripedium or Lady-Slipper
The compost is usually a mixture of sphagnum moss and a form of leaf mold. A well-known terrestrial orchid is a cypripedium or lady-slipper.
Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with the hardy form of lady-slipper, which grows wild in the woods of many regions.
Choosing Your First Orchid Plants
In selecting your first orchid plants, choose species whose requirements of light, heat, etc., are similar so they will do well together.
Some orchids require cooler conditions than others, some more shade, etc.
So unless you have facilities to suit varying types, it’s best to choose orchids requiring similar conditions.
In my greenhouse are cattleyas, epidendrums, and oncidiums, all of which taste like.
Intermediate House for Greenhouse
My greenhouse is an intermediate house—the night temperature ranges from 58° to 63° degrees Fahrenheit, and the daytime temperature from 60° up to 70° degrees Fahrenheit.
A small humidity indicates both temperature and relative humidity.
For all orchids, the humidity should be about 80% percent of the temperature, and a dial of this sort makes it easy to keep a check on this.
Orchids: Cattleya
The cattleya is generally looked upon as the monarch of orchids. Its bloom is the most gorgeous. extravagantly beautiful achievement of the flower world.
In color, cattleya blooms range from pure white through lavender shades to deep old rose.
Cattleya Dowiana Aurea
There’s also a golden species with velvety red lip known as Cattleya dowiana aurea, from which many gorgeous yellow hybrids have been produced.
Cattleya Mossiae
My first cattleya to bloom was Cattleya mossiae, an exquisite, ruffled flower of opalescent lavender blotched on the lip with magenta.
It bloomed in April and stayed perfect for more than a month.
Cattleya Labiata
Cattleya labiata is now in bloom in my greenhouse, and it is said that it often blooms in both spring and fall.
It is a luminous rose with a violet lip and orange spots on a yellow throat. In growth, this plant is outdistancing everything else in my greenhouse!
Cattleya Gaskelliana
Cattleya gaskelliana, purple violet touched with white, is another popular species that usually bloom in early June.
There are many more cattleya species and countless striking hybrids in all colors.
Related to Cattleyas
The lading is closely related to the cattleyas, gorgeous in color and native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil.
They have been crossed with cattleyas to produce the brilliant hybrids known as laelio-cattleyas.
I have Laelia anceps, a winter-blooming species shaded purple, pink, white, and yellow.
Popular Orchids: Epidendrum
The epidendrum is another popular orchid genus that does well under the same conditions as laelias and cattleyas.
The color range is wide, and many have a delightful fragrance. However, the blooms are smaller than those of cattleyas.
I have several species:
- Epidendrum atropurpureum, mahogany, and green, which is spring- and summer-blooming
- Epidendrum aurantiacum, red-orange and winter-blooming
- Epidendrum cochleatum triandrum, the black orchid, a Florida native and near year-round bloomer, and
- Epidendrum fragrans, creamy white and summer- and fall-blooming
These are just a few, but they give a glimpse of the diversity of this charming family.
Another Orchid Plant is Oncidium
The oncidium is another orchid that does well with the above-mentioned types. In describing it, I couldn’t do better than to quote from Rebecca Northern’s book “Home Orchid Growing”.
Nature seems to have caught dancing rays of light, flickering patterns of sun and shadow, little fairy forms not seen by man, and made them into friendly, whimsical, thoroughly delightful little flowers.
There are some 300 species of oncidiums, and their native habitat ranges from Florida and the West Indies down to Brazil.
I have four species:
- Oncidium cavendishianum, yellow red-spotted flowers, spring-blooming;
- Oncidium bicallosum. yellow shaded brown-green, .winter-blooming;
- Oncidium leucochilum, yellow-green marked with dark brown, blooming variably; and
- Oncidium varicosum rogersi, yellow marked with red-brown, winter-blooming.
This has been hut a bird’s eye glimpse into an orchid world of vast diversity and endless beauty, a world inhabited by some 15,000 known species and probably vast numbers still undiscovered in jungles.
But I hope this glimpse has opened your eyes to the tremendous adventure that can be yours, if you will but give orchid growing a try.
44659 by Rosalie Claire Tempest