AboutOrchids

As cut flowers and live plants, orchids are more popular than ever for Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year. No matter whether you’re celebrating love, the Year of the Tiger, or both, here are some orchid buying tips:

• Moth Orchids and Lady Slippers are great choices since their blooms can last for months, and they can survive low light levels often found in homes and offices.
• Cattleyas are the classic corsage orchid, with large, elegant flowers. Most have strong fragrances, and their blooms can last for weeks.
• Look for freshly opened flowers, with no shriveled buds. If the blooms are already open, it’s tougher to tell how long they’ll last. If there are a few unopened buds, you’ll be able to enjoy watching the flowers unfurl.
• On live plants, leaves should appear healthy and firm, not floppy or too soft. A few small blemishes may not indicate any problem, so if the plant seems to be in good shape, don’t make that an automatic disqualifier. Avoid plants with yellow or black leaves.
• For care purposes, it will really help to identify your orchid. Look for a plant with a name tag, or ask the vendor. It’s not necessary to know the exact name, just the family of orchids to which it belongs. If you can’t identify it, follow these generic orchid care guidelines.
• Bows, ribbons, and wrapping paper eventually need to be removed when watering so they don’t block essential drainage. Orchid pots must have holes in the bottom for water and air to flow through.

Explore posts in the same categories: Buying Tips, Fragrant Orchids, Misc

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Buying Tips, Fragrant Orchids, Misc.

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