Orchids Fun, Frustrating, Dependable, or Finicky???

Category: House and Home Plants | Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 6:40 am

Orchids have gotten really cheap, at least the ones on the discount tables of some stores. A nice looking orchid under $5 could be a temptation. I can never pass up a perceived bargain, and have had many an opportunity to try orchids. Some grow/work for me and some have come and gone. Working for me means that they not only have to live, but they have to stay within certain space limitations. My home is only 800 square feet, so....plants have to stay small or move on to larger abodes.

Mixed planting/pot of Phalaenopsis ( photo / image / picture from Jewell _2009's Garden )

I never dreamed that moth orchids (Phalaenopsis or phals) could get so big! I love their thick fleshy leaves and the pink varieties that have flowers last for months. I picked up three phals on one of those "sale" tables. They did well in a south window (its very cloudy in the Pacific Northwest) and once I got their water requirements down (a good dunking and draining out in the bathtub every ten days) they began to flourish. Unfortunately they got a little big when their leaves got over a foot in length and six inches wide. Three plants crammed into my window sill began to keep our beloved sunlight blocked. A charity auction/plant sale was my rescue for finding a new home for them.

Onciduim Hybrid Orchid Sherry Baby ( photo / image / picture from Jewell _2009's Garden )

A very reliable orchid that I have had for years is an Oncidium. Its bulbous base makes it drought tolerant. I have not been successful with all varieties of this species. I quickly killed one with a pretty white flower. I can never tell how well or poorly plants will do. My old Oncidium with yellow and rust blossoms has reliably bloomed in November for 8 years. The blooms on this one are short lived compared to the phals lasting only 2-3 weeks once they are open.

Paphiopedilum Lady Slipper - bi-colored flower ( photo / image / picture from Jewell _2009's Garden )

My very favorite is the two varieties of Paphiopedilum, or lady slippers. They grow in more of loose soil versus the wood bark of the other orchids, and I treat them pretty much like I do my other house plants with a scheduled watering once a week on Sundays. They bloom regularly with flowers lasting a good long time and will rebloom on the new starts up to twice a year. I really like their mottled leaves also. The best part is paps are fairly easy to divide if they begin to get too big. For a house plant they have everything that I like in a plant: unusual qualities in the long lasting bloom, interesting foliage, and easy care and they don't get too big.

Paphiopedilum - Lady Slipper ( photo / image / picture from Jewell _2009's Garden )

I have a couple of other varieties of orchids that I have had for many years. They are either on the rebound or they are dieing. I am having a hard time telling the direction they are heading. I have definitely had more failures than successes with orchids, but the joys of the blooms lasts so much longer than any cut flowers. For this reason alone I simply have to give it a "try" when I find them on a "sale" table.

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eileen wrote on Fri May 01, 2009 10:07 am:

I love orchids too Jewell but I tend to murder more than I keep alive. At the moment I only have one purple Phalaenopsis that has managed to survive despite having me to look after it. It's three years old and doing well. I'm actually very tempted to buy more as the prices are coming down but I think they're possibly far safer being left on the garden centre shelves.

glendann wrote on Fri May 01, 2009 8:53 pm:

What wonderful booms but I would be the wrong person to care for them.

gardengater wrote on Fri May 01, 2009 10:56 pm:

Love them too, Jewell. Hope I can come to you for advice as I have just put 3 small ones in my little greenhouse. Yours are just exquisite.

lulu1107 wrote on Sun May 03, 2009 1:10 pm:

Wow...Gorgeous! I tend to be so practically minded about plants, demanding that they give me food back! Beauty IS a "food" in and of itself. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Jewell2009 wrote on Fri May 08, 2009 3:31 am:

gardengater, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I consider myself mainly lucky in the growing of orchids. I am never sure what I am doing right or wrong. I probably should have taken pictures of the two that I have that are struggling to survive and posted them also. That would have given a better picture of my skills or lack there of with orchids.

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