AboutOrchids

Some orchid growers rely entirely on artificial light, while others, like me, use it to supplement lower sunlight levels in autumn and winter. No matter which category you’re in, you’ll find essential lighting info in Growing Orchids Under Lights. This American Orchid Society book focuses on practical light solutions for your home, office, or greenhouse. […]

How can an orchid be sinister? Orchid descriptions usually include words like beautiful and elegant, hardly the stuff of Halloween. Ghost Orchids, dead orchids, and weird orchids can spook you, but it’s the creepy Draculas that can scare you. Some Dracula varieties have a strange flower lip which looks, well, fleshy. You almost expect it […]

Check out the cover of this great 2011 wall calendar from the Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA.) I’ve blogged about the OCA’s great work to conserve orchids and their habitats. Now you can support them by buying this beautiful monthly calendar. It’s full of hundreds of photos of incredible scenery from Ecuador’s cloud forests, including lots […]

Why would a Florida biologist grow orchids when he’s trying to rescue panthers? Larry Richardson, chief biologist at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, explains that South Florida’s orchids love wetlands like panthers do. When the wetlands thrive, so do their plants and animals. Richardson says “it’s not much of a stretch likening panthers to […]

Centuries before the western world became fascinated with orchids, some eastern cultures were cultivating and revering them. For over 400 years, Japanese have grown fuu ran, the “wind orchid.” It’s known in English as Neofinetia, or the Samurai Orchid. This mini species is native to mountainside forests in southern Japan, southern Korea, and eastern China. […]

Most people prefer to keep their orchids alive, but some people are dead-set on killing them. If that’s you, then you’ll enjoy this handy list of tried-and-true orchid destruction tips. If you prefer to keep your orchids alive, avoid these common mistakes: Overwatering — This is a quick, easy, and common assassination method. Excess water […]

This month, every corner of the planet has orchid shows.  Schedules are especially busy across North America, the UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Even if your wallet is thin, you can bring your camera, and take home all the orchids at the show. October 1 – 2 Whangarei Orchid Society Show, Forum North, […]