AboutOrchids

If that beautiful orchid you received as a holiday present is now causing you panic attacks and nightmares, take a deep breath. With some basic care info, you’ll realize that many orchids are tough plants, and their finicky reputation is a myth. It will help to identify your orchid to determine its specific light, temperature, and water needs. The most common orchids sold today are Moth Orchids or Phals, so they’re a good place to start.

It’s quite possible that your gift orchid started its life in Taiwan, the world’s leader in commercial orchid production. This great article from the San Jose Mercury News (article no longer available) tells the story of Taiwan’s growing orchid industry, and how mass production technology has brought down prices. Orchids that may have cost thousands of dollars a few decades ago now sell in garden centers and grocery stores for just $10-$15. In addition to lowering prices, Taiwan’s growers have created many tough hybrids capable of being shipped around the world, and able to survive abuse and neglect. Is that holiday present looking a little less scary now?

Combat the winter blahs with a quick tropical getaway to an orchid show. You’ll enjoy beautiful and exotic flowers, meet local growers and experts, and be able to take home blooms that can last for months. As if you needed another reason to visit magnificent Longwood Gardens near Philly, their upcoming Orchid Extravaganza lasts through the end of March.

There’s no better reminder than the harsh winter weather that many orchids have entered a dormant season. Corresponding to a dry season in the wild, members of these common orchid families are resting like a bear in a cozy den. Resist the urge to water until you see their pseudobulbs start to shrivel. Do your daily plant check with a spray mister instead of a watering can. Depending on growing conditions, many varieties only need water once or twice a month.

• Cattleya
• Cymbidium
• Dendrobium
• Epidendrum
• Miltonia
• Odontoglossum
• Oncidium
• Vanda

The following orchid varieties do not experience a dry season, but with lower light levels and cooler temperatures, it’s ok to give them a little less water also.

• Masdevallia
• Paphiopedilum
• Phalaenopsis

It’s always worth repeating that orchids need good humidity, but the dry air of home and office heating provides an extra challenge. Low humidity can cause blooms to wilt quickly. Dry air also invites pests, especially spider mites and scale.

Finally, consider adding extra light to compensate for the weak winter sun. That should keep you busy, but remember that repotting season is just around the corner.

On the longest night of the year in the northern half of the planet, we mark the winter solstice. With short days, many holidays celebrate this season with lights. Changing day length occurs because the earth is tilted as we orbit around the sun, so you could say that we’re celebrating the fact that we’re tilted. Whatever your cause for celebration this holiday season, please enjoy Dave’s recent rainy-day photos from our garden.

If you’re a gardener like me, you probably only need to know that starting tomorrow, the days get longer. Even though I’m fortunate to live in a mild climate with year-round gardening, short days and chilly temps still limit the blooms. These roses have lasted later into the season than past years, but soon they’ll drop their petals and rest for winter.

Other solstice blooms include this orange Epidendrum, a red Abutilon, and a sweetly scented Viburnum. Enjoy them as a promise of the return of the sun, and have a  Gleeful Knishmas.

AeroGarden is my kind of modern appliance. It may be the size of a coffee maker, but instead of a hot beverage, it produces fresh flowers, herbs, and even vegetables. Besides doubling as your own personal, wintertime light and nature therapy, AeroGarden allows anyone with a little counter space to have a clean, automated indoor garden. There are several different models and sizes, and I have just a few shown below. My friends who have them think they’re great, and Amazon customers give them good reviews. There’s no messy soil, and the built-in computer tells you when to add water and nutrients. I can even imagine the lighted platform holding a few orchids once you’re done growing flowers and herbs.

With a San Francisco rainy winter kicked into gear, the Cymbidiums in the back garden have bloomed right on schedule. About 50 Cymbidium species are native to an area from India to Japan, and south to Australia. They have been symbols of virtue and friendship in China since Confucius praised them 2500 years ago, and the Chinese have cultivated them for centuries. Many varieties suited to our moderate California climate come from the rainy slopes of the Himalayas, and grow in cool temperatures.

Orchid growers have created thousands of Cymbidium hybrids in various hues of pink, red, brown, yellow, green, and white. Hybridization allows orchid breeders to combine the best traits of different varieties, making these hardy plants even tougher. Some kinds can survive a light freeze, although they may lose their flowers to the cold. The two hybrids shown in these photos can hold their large sprays of blooms for months during our mild winter. Pests and winter rains may damage some flowers, but they still light up the garden on cool, gray days.

Besides regular water, Cymbidiums like heavy fertilizer, and these hybrids love our homemade compost. In order to bloom, they require bright light, and need cool nighttime temperatures in autumn. Here on the California coast, the evening fog cools them off to guarantee winter flowers. Don’t worry if you want to grow them but don’t match our climate — there are other warm growing Cymbidium species and hybrids that don’t need a cooling period.

If you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift, check out Moth Orchids: The Complete Guide to Phalaenopsis by Steven Frowine. This beautiful book is the definitive text on the most popular orchids in the world. With hundreds of gorgeous photos and excellent illustrations, Frowine provides a thorough and enjoyable text on the entire Phal family. Along with Phal species and traditional hybrids, the book shows the results of exciting advances in orchid breeding that have created new colors and dazzling patterns. The book contains detailed care info and a month-by-month calendar of moth orchid culture. There’s also a list of fragrant varieties, and great extra Phal tidbits, like how to make an orchid corsage. On top of all this, Moth Orchids helped me to identify my mini Phal, which came without a name tag, as a hybrid named Phalaenopsis Sogo Twinkle ‘Stars’. Highly recommended!

Continuing the topic of mini orchids, here’s one with a name that’s bigger than the plant itself. Trichosalpinx may be a mouthful, but it’s an easy orchid to grow. Its tiny reddish-purple flowers bloom in tightly packed clusters. Each flower is just 1/10 inch (2.5 mm) tall.

Dave’s macro photography skills make it possible to really appreciate this mini Masdevallia relative. Whatever the plant lacks in stature, it compensates with perseverance. This species is a frequent bloomer, producing flowers for months at a time. It’s native to cloud forests from Nicaragua south to Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. In cultivation, it likes consistent watering, warm temperatures, and high humidity.

With tiny flowers that emerge under the leaf, this Trichosalpinx can sometimes bloom without me realizing it. Even when it’s hiding its flowers, however, new leaves provide great color. Young leaves start with a reddish-purple tint, and then fade to a light green.

A new discovery from a jungle high in the Andes wins the title for the world’s smallest orchid. Noted American botanist Lou Jost has found a new species of Platystele whose flowers are just over 1/16 inch (2.1 mm) wide. The flowers are so small that the petals are only one cell thick, and are translucent. Another species of Platystele, which is a Masdevallia relative, held the previous record.

Dr. Jost works for Ecuador’s EcoMinga Foundation, a non-profit conservation group dedicated to preserving Ecuador’s astonishing biodiversity, much of which is still unknown to modern science. He stated that “It’s a very exciting feeling to find a new species. People think everything has been discovered, but there’s much more to be discovered.”

He found the new orchid growing among another orchid’s roots. He had collected the larger orchid several months earlier, but didn’t see the miniature one until it bloomed.

There aren’t many orchid shows in December, so for those of you who need another orchid fix, I’ve listed some classes and special events happening at the American Orchid Society in Delray Beach, Florida. The wonderful AOS Botanical Garden remains open to visitors despite the financial difficulties of these times, and it’s worth a visit any month of the year.