Orchids are epiphytic as well as terrestrial herbs, from both tropical and temperate parts of the world, with exceedingly showy, irregular flowers.
My appetite had been piqued! The cattleya plant I bought for five dollars the year before had given me two handsome orchids with a minimum of care while sitting on my kitchen window sill. What other orchid would grow in the house? A reliable dealer suggested Lycaste aromatica, not as big or showy as the … Read more
Orchid hunting is usually synonymous with steaming jungles, not a Maine forest. But like their tropical cousins, some of our own native orchids have to be hunted down in their natural habitat, as garden cultivation is difficult and often unsuccessful. Only by seeing them in their natural setting can one fully appreciate their beauty and … Read more
Among the cultivated orchids the dancing ladies or dancing dolls are probably the daintiest and loveliest. Belonging to the genus Oncidium, they have long, graceful sprays of bright golden yellow flowers, which vary in size from less than an inch to several inches across. The large lip of each blossom resembles a full, swirling skirt, … Read more
So you can’t grow orchids without a greenhouse? Well, here’s the news for you. Some orchids are happy to house guests. Cypripedium maudiae magnificum makes an excellent starter plant, and success with it will lead you to conquer new worlds. You won’t think the color combination of media startling, but you’ll find it pretty enough. … Read more
Whether you call them lady-slippers, fairy-slippers, or moccasin flowers, these choice woodland orchids are appealing. Their common names are derived from the pouch-like lip of the flowers, which are held on graceful stems well above the leaves in late spring. Like most orchids, the flowers remain fresh for several weeks, especially if pollination does not … Read more
It is a fact that several plants will bloom with no light except that ordinary fluorescent lights. I tried the experiment last winter despite much advice against it. Everyone I asked said plants would not thrive and bloom without some daylight. But I had various plants bloom in the partial or complete shade, which responded … Read more
When we tell our friends that we grow orchids, they look at us with pity, as if to say, “It’s only temporary insanity – they’ll get over it.” We are not country dwellers blessed with a greenhouse and the ideal conditions supposedly necessary for growing these exotic plants. We live in a New York City … Read more
Roy Fields was a specialist in orchid seedlings. A native Floridian, he makes his home in the village of Miami Shores, where he grows orchids on a plot that is 140 square feet. Raising plants from seed is nothing new to Roy Fields; as a boy, he experienced great delight in planting seeds from choice … Read more
We do not recommend an accident as the first step towards orchid-raising. But Major William E. Scudamore of New York City is thankful today that a speeding taxi winged him and indirectly introduced him to the exotic jungle plant. That was 9 years ago when the Major and his wife, a former architect, decided to retire. … Read more
There is more interest today in orchid growing than at any time in the past, and each year more and more amateur growers are induced to take up their culture. Nonetheless, the long-established impression that orchid culture is much more difficult than other plants still deters many would-be enthusiasts from undertaking to grow them. There … Read more