Always use a clean, sharp scissors to prevent spreading plant diseases. Clean the blades with hot water and soap, rubbing alcohol, or bleach solution. Cut 1/4 inch (6 mm) above the node. Another spike may emerge beneath the cut. Its flowers will be smaller and shorter-lived than the first set.

Although this method may add a month to your blooming season, it really drains energy from the plant. In the wild, unpollinated orchids drop their flowers, and start to make energy for next year’s blossoms. When forced to rebloom, the plant uses up its energy reserves. If you’d rather keep your orchid long-term and enjoy years of flowers, I would advise you to skip this process. Instead, let your Phal return to its natural growth cycle. Cut the old flower spike as close to the plant’s base as you can without damaging nearby leaves or roots. Healthy plants will grow and produce even more flowers next year.

It helps to have Dave’s macro lens, or a magnifying glass, to really appreciate these tiny stars. Each blossom is just a speck of color, only 3/16 inch (5 mm) tall, but still a fully formed flower. This mini can produce dozens of blooms at a time, so it’s easy to enjoy the mass of purple flowers even without a lens.

Native to coastal rainforests in Venezuela and Colombia, these orchids need daily water, constant high humidity, and good air movement. Small plants can dry out quickly in high temps or high winds, and Lepanthopsis has thin roots and no pseudobulbs. It may require daily attention, but I find it’s worth the trouble to have my own collection of little purple stars.

By growing keikis, orchids can reproduce without flowering and seeding. Some orchid varieties are more likely to make keikis. Besides the Phal and Arundina above, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, and Vandas often produce them. Keikis are exact genetic copies of their mother plants.

While a baby orchid may seem like welcome news, it often indicates a problem with growing conditions, and it appears in lieu of flowers. Common causes include overwatering, low light, prolonged hot temps, or lack of winter dormancy. In the event of a broken flower spike, some Phals and Epidendrums grow keikis from the flower spike just below the break. The keikis then grow their own flower spikes.

Not only are keikis potential red flags, but they also have a couple of drawbacks. First, the mother orchid probably won’t bloom while nurturing the baby. If your priority is flowers, remove the keikis promptly. Second, some varieties can take as long as 7 years to mature and flower. Others may flower in just a year, even while still attached to the mother plant. If you don’t know which category your orchid falls in, you may need a lot of patience.

If you want to keep your baby orchids, leave the keikis attached until they have 2 or more leaves, and their roots are at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Depending on your orchid variety and growing conditions, that may take just a few weeks or more than a year. Cut them off the mother plant with a sterile blade, and pot them separately. Congratulations, you have a baby orchid!

Anna’s Hummingbirds have nested in the back garden for years. This female paused on our roof long enough for Dave to take her picture. Orange grains of pollen scattered around a purple African Daisy implicate a sloppy insect visitor. In the next photo, Dave captured an unidentified bug in the folds of a flower, possibly guilty of munching a petal.

Bugs and birds aren’t the only ones who can find a meal in our jungle. Nasturtium leaves have a peppery taste, but we grow them for their flowers. Dave harvests our mint to make a heavenly mint syrup, a perfect sweetener for any summer beverage. Violet petals are delicious as a traditional French candy, and violet syrup is a tasty addition to desserts and cocktails.

Among the orchids in our urban jungle, this Zygo flowers several times a year, and the Epipactis still has blooms holding on. Finally, this (non-orchid) variegated Hebe has colorful foliage all year. Maybe its purple flowers gild the lily, but in a dense urban jungle, it helps to stand out.

Possibly the fastest growing orchid, this terrestrial replaces these tall stalks each year. New leaves emerge from the base of the previous year’s stalk (actually a pseudobulb,) and the new growth shoots up in just a few months. This species is native to the slopes of the Himalayas, and has a wide range from India east to Vietnam and north to China.

When new spring growth emerges after winter dormancy, Thunias need light watering and full sun. Too much water can rot new growth. Within a few weeks, the new stalks grow 6 inches (15 cm,) and should be moved into shadier conditions. By late spring, Thunias need heavy water and fertilizer to mimic the Indian Ocean monsoon in their native homes. After blooms that last a couple weeks, leaves turn yellow in the early autumn. At this point, watering and fertilizing should be reduced to a minimum. I keep this specimen cool and dry in winter, watering as seldom as once a month to keep the stalks from shriveling too much. If these varying seasonal care needs seem too daunting, just imagine the reward of seeing these gorgeous flowers hanging off a cornstalk.

If you’re wondering why I’m honoring the summer solstice with cool-growing Masdevallias, then you’ve probably never experienced San Francisco’s summer fog. While we often have sunny days and yes, even heat waves, the vast, chilly Northern Pacific is just a few miles away. Our natural air-conditioning makes these orchids some of our local icons. For those of you already sweltering in summer heat, don’t worry — there are lots of sunny-looking Vandas, too.

Orchid growers who keep plants outdoors know that bugs are inevitable. It’s easy to reach for the insecticide, but consider that you’ll kill beneficial insects along with pests. With predators gone, the pest population often returns unimpeded, resulting in an expensive and toxic cycle of chemical use. Without insecticides to interfere, Mother Nature can establish a balanced ecosystem. Beneficial insect predators keep plant eaters in check, and you only need to monitor that your bug-catching workforce is doing the job. In the event of a pest invasion, you can supplement natural predator populations by purchasing ladybugs or beneficial nematodes. If you feel that you need to use chemicals, choose pesticides that only target specific insects, like BT for caterpillars and mosquitoes, so beneficials won’t die with the pests. Let those good bugs stick around, and let Mother Nature work for you.

Also known as the False Ladyslipper, the Stream Orchid is not an air plant. It’s a terrestrial orchid that lives in moist soils along streams, on cliff faces, and in mountain bogs. The plant dies back during winter, and re-emerges from underground tubers the next spring.

Many terrestrial orchids are difficult to grow, requiring highly specialized conditions (yet another reason why you should NEVER remove wild orchids from their natural homes.) However, Epipactis gigantea is relatively easy to cultivate, and adapts to a wide range of conditions. I keep mine in regular potting soil, and keep the pot in a tray of water so it never dries out. It loves a good dose of compost fertilizer, which has helped my plant grow into a vigorous specimen. Certainly it seems right at home.

Those moth pollinators have long tongues, so the orchid completes its lure with a drop of nectar at the bottom of a narrow tube called a nectar spur. The flowers have evolved to entice the moth perfectly into position against the sticky yellow pollen. While the moth reaches to receive a nectar reward, it picks up or deposits pollen, and helps the orchid to reproduce.

This Angraecum has a graceful nectar spur up to 4 inches (10 cm) long, more than twice the size of the flower itself. As they develop, the unopened flower buds are dwarfed by their lengthening spurs. Blooms can last a month or more. Like most of its tropical African relatives, this species requires bright light, warm temps, regular water, and high humidity.

There were lots of Lady Slippers on display, too. The next photo shows a Paphiopedilum, or Paph, with the pouch that gives it a classic Lady Slipper shape. The second photo shows a Phragmipedium, or Phrag (pronounced “frag,”) another genus that falls in the Lady Slipper family. This species’ petals can hang down 2.5 feet (76 cm,) making them some of the largest flowers in the world. The third photo shows a Cypripedium, or Cyp (pronouced “sip.”) This species is commonly called the Kentucky Lady Slipper, and has a native range that stretches from Louisiana and Texas north to Ohio.

A few members of the bizarre Bulbophyllum family were also on display. Many flowers from this genus have unusual shapes and moving parts. Some species have foul scents to attract pollinating flies. Admire the flowers, but stick your nose in at your own risk!

Of course, most of the orchids smelled just fine. Other varieties on display included a Laelia, a Masdevallia, and another Vanda. Maybe I’ll need to rethink this orchids-with-ice thing after all.