AboutOrchids

Summer has been heating up the northern half of the planet, and it’s important to remember that orchid care instructions are always subject to change. If you follow a too-rigid watering schedule, then you may notice your orchid suffering about now. On hot summer days, orchids need extra water. Plants in homes and offices may respond to longer daylight hours with a growth spurt, and also need an extra drink or two during the week.

So how often do you water? Well, there’s no single answer. Instead it depends on several interrelated factors, like light, temperature, humidity, air movement, and what orchid variety you have. High light, hot temps, dry air, and strong winds each increase an orchid’s thirst. Warm growers like Phals, Paphs, Oncidiums, and Dendrobiums will flourish with additional soakings. Always check that your flower pot drains completely, and orchid roots do not sit in water.

No orchid website or book can compete with your own observations, experience, and knowledge of local growing conditions. Pay attention, be flexible, and your orchid will reward you with amazing blooms.

A keiki is a baby orchid that grows as an offshoot of its mother plant. Keiki is the Hawaiian word for baby or child, and it’s pronounced “kay-kee.” Besides their Hawaiian name, they’re sometimes called aerials or plantlets.

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!

While the rare and elusive Ghost Orchid can pop up in some unusual places, the most reliable spot to see one in bloom is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Florida. This July, one happy plant is again visible from the comfort of their boardwalk. With 14 flower buds that will open over the next month, local biologists have nicknamed this specimen the “Super Ghost.” Most Ghost Orchids have a maximum of 3 blossoms per year, but this plant reliably has at least a dozen. It already had a single out-of-season bloom in March.

This Super Ghost has inspired local businesses to offer Ghost Orchid specials. Hotels, restaurants, and even a nearby Seminole Casino give discounts to orchid tourists who show their Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary receipt. Ghost Orchids may be rare enough, but it’s much rarer when one can help orchid lovers to save money.

With a small deck and backyard garden, Dave and I have a limited amount of green space in our San Francisco apartment. We make up for lack of square footage with plant density, and in our mild climate, there’s always something growing and blooming. But our urban jungle really comes alive in summer. Among this season’s blooms, we have a rich red Abutilon, an intricate yellow St. John’s Wort flower, and colorful succulent blossoms.

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.

Winter in the Southern Hemisphere brings lots of orchid shows in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Orchid lovers in the USA and UK may need to look a little harder, but can still find some summer shows to scratch that orchid itch.

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As summer begins, this news article describes wild orchids blooming across Northern California. There are photos of the Stream Orchid, Epipactis gigantea, growing in the wild, and info about other lesser-known, but still fascinating, Golden State species. The article includes a good summary of orchid care basics for more commonly grown varieties.

Wild orchids are also blossoming in the UK, and an article in The Telegraph of London details some fascinating British natives. There’s a list of good locales to explore for wild orchids. No matter what country you’re in, enjoy the orchids, but leave them be; it’s illegal to remove orchids from the wild or cut their flowers.

And finally, it’s back to California for a news story about orchid scholarships in Salinas. Matsui Nursery is the largest commercial orchid nursery in the USA, and many orchids in homes and offices across North America have come from Matsui’s greenhouses. The owner’s Andy Matsui Foundation awards 18 college scholarships every year to deserving Monterey County students. As North Salinas High School Principal August Caresani said, “Mr. Matsui is growing dreams….”

If you saw a Thunia without flowers, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a cornstalk. When it’s in bloom, however, there’s no doubt that it’s an orchid. Thunia flowers look like Cattleyas that haven’t opened completely. The 5 inch (13 cm) wide blooms hang in clusters, pulling down the tops of their 4 ft. (1.2 m) tall stalks.

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.

To honor today’s summer solstice, here are a few sunny-looking Masdevallias. While we enjoy long hours of daylight in the northern half of the planet, plants enjoy the ability to photosynthesize a little longer. Incredible flowers like these are the result. Even if you’re having a hectic Monday, I hope you can take a few moments to savor these mini-miracles as promise of the possibilities of summer.

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.

What does the infamous prison at Alcatraz have to do with conservation? The Garden Conservancy is a non-profit organization that helps to preserve important gardens, including the ones around the former prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Founded in 1989, the Garden Conservancy has helped Alcatraz and more than 90 gardens in the USA to keep growing. Alcatraz Island is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and its exceptional gardens are becoming as popular as the historic prison itself. Other conservation projects include the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, California, Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills, New Jersey, and the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, South Carolina. In addition to preservation projects, the Garden Conservancy sponsors annual Open Days programs at hundreds of private gardens across the country, many of which are not otherwise open to the public. With horticultural and financial support, the Garden Conservancy is saving important botanical landmarks, and helping outstanding gardens to survive and thrive.

When trying to fight insect pests, remember that some of your best allies are other insects. For every aphid, mite, or beetle munching on a flower bud, there are hungry ladybugs, dragonflies, and spiders looking for lunch. These and many other beneficial insects work for free, have no toxic side effects, and only wish to be left alone to go about their business.

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.