AboutOrchids

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.

With beautiful, long-lasting blooms, orchids are overtaking traditional holiday plants like Poinsettias in popularity. Despite their reputation for being difficult, many commonly sold orchids are easy to grow, and can survive some neglect and abuse. Like Poinsettias, many people buy orchids in bloom, and throw them out when the flowers fade. But even when orchids are a disposable commodity, it helps to buy the right orchid for the conditions you can provide. With thousands of orchid varieties, there’s one to fit just about any holiday need. Here’s some orchid buying advice on top of this earlier post on orchid buying basics.

• For low light conditions common in homes and offices, try a Phal or a Paph. Both can keep their flowers for weeks or even months. Well-tended Phals may stay in bloom through the whole winter.
• For very bright light conditions, try a Cattleya, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, Oncidium, or Vanda.
• For cool or drafty rooms, try a Cymbidium, Masdevallia, or Odontoglossum. Some varieties of Dendrobium, Miltonia, and Paph can also grow in cool temperatures.
• For large, showy flowers that only need occasional watering, try a Cattleya.
• If it’s heading into winter where you live, many orchid varieties are dormant and won’t need much water. If you’re planning to keep the plant, slowly increase watering in spring.
• Young orchid plants may take years to flower, so buy blooming size, or mature, plants. They should have flowers or buds ready to open.
• Always provide high humidity for your orchid. Most home and office heating dries the air, which can make flowers wilt and drop quickly.

My good friend and fellow orchid nut Kim lives a few blocks away. She’s just on the other side of Dolores Park in San Francisco’s Mission District, and our microclimates are very close. Like me, she’s run out of room for orchids inside, so she enjoys cool growing varieties that can stay outside all year. For a recent visit, I actually remembered to bring my camera, and got some nice shots. The first set shows a purple Encyclia (an Epidendrum relative,) an orange Masdevallia with purple spots, and a purple Arpophyllum (with flowers similar to the related species that I keep.)

Next, this fascinating Coelogyne provides another great example that not all orchid beauty comes from warm, tropical jungles. This species is native to the foothills of the Himalayas, in a region stretching through India, Nepal, China, and Burma. The flowers have a great fringed lip, and they can last for months.

Finally, some of Kim’s non-orchid blooms include a waxplant and a bromeliad. With such wonderful flowers, it’s always a pleasure to hang out in Kim’s garden.

Sobralia flowers never fail to  impress. Many species in this genus have big blooms. With flowers as large as 10 inches (25 cm,) this species is one of the most remarkable in the family.

The flowers look like Cattleyas, but the similarities end there. Unlike Cattleyas, this Sobralia species likes heavy water and fertilizer, and doesn’t mind cool temperatures. Native to rainforests from Mexico to Costa Rica, it grows in a wide variety of conditions. It lives at elevations as high as 11,000 feet (3400 m.) That helps explain why it can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Mine lives outdoors on the deck all year, and I try to keep it on the dry side for its winter dormancy.

Sobralias like to be potted in small pots and dislike repotting. Their bamboo-like leaves grow on strong stems. Although this species can grow up to 7 feet (2.1 m) tall, my plant is only 1.5 feet (0.5 m.) The contrast of such a large flower on a short plant provides a striking effect.

If you’re looking for dozens of orchids that stay in bloom for a whole month and require no care, these orchid calendars are guaranteed to please. Which one should I buy? The 2010 Orchids Wall Calendar has stunning photos of different flowers every month. On the other hand, the Smithsonian Institution 2010 Orchids Wall Calendar is full of beautiful photos, too, with some unusual orchid varieties. Maybe I’ll just buy them both. After all, I can’t kill paper orchids.