AboutOrchids

Our summer garden is in full swing, with lots of great blooms. There are plenty of big flowers, like these giant lilies. When a neighbor had some old bulbs destined for the trash, Dave rescued them and stuck them in the garden, hoping they would survive. Imagine our surprise when the plants grew 6 ft. (1.8 m) tall with blooms the size of dinner plates. They have a wonderful scent, also.

On the other end of the size spectrum, these tiny Jewels of Opar flowers are only 1/4 inch (6 mm.) I grew these from seeds which were a gift from Dave’s Mom. They’re not very fond of our cool coastal climate, but they seem happy enough indoors, sitting in a sunny, warm window.

I’ve never understood why this Agapanthus is commonly called “Lily of the Nile” when they’re native to South Africa, nowhere near the Nile. No matter the misnomer, they love the California climate, and reliably provide beautiful blue blooms every year. The orange and yellow flowers belong to Mexican Asclepias, better known as milkweed. We originally bought these to try to attract Monarch Butterflies, but haven’t seen any caterpillars eating their leaves. The beautiful, long-lasting flowers more than compensate for the lack of Monarchs. Finally, Dave spotted this orchid seedpod on our San Francisco native orchid, Epipactis. The brown part on the bottom is the flower, which dries up after pollination. I’ve grown this plant for years, but it’s never been pollinated before, so I’m eager to see if the seeds are viable. It may take a few months for the seedpod to mature, but I’ll keep you updated.

The best methods to fertilize orchids are constant subjects of debate. Many orchid experts subscribe to the maxim “weakly, weekly,” meaning that a weak mixture of fertilizer given on a regular basis can go a long way to improving orchid growth and blooms. With my own orchids, I’ve used specialized orchid fertilizer, diluted regular plant fertilizer, and time release fertilizer (not at the same time, of course!) They’ve all worked fine for me over the years, so when I tried using homemade compost, it felt like a radical experiment.

Compost is, after all, rotting stuff. Orchids are sensitive to rot because they live in high humidity, where rot flourishes, and also because rotting stuff can block essential air flow to orchid roots. Even though I have a few books that mention the use of compost for orchid fertilizer, when I first tried it, I was worried that the plants would simply turn to mush. I started with a weak solution of compost tea, and when I saw the good results, I cautiously tried straight compost. Despite my fears of exposing my orchids to rotting material, homemade compost has worked better than I ever expected. After a good shot of compost, some of my orchids, like this Laelia and Zygo, will quickly put up a new flower spike and bloom within a few weeks. My Cymbidiums, Sobralia, and Vanilla quickly start growing new leaves. My Phals and Epidendrums also love the nutrient boost.

I haven’t yet had any problems with orchids rotting, and excess compost doesn’t cause problems like excess artificial fertilizers. Too much artificial fertilizer can burn roots and leaves, and while overdoing the compost won’t damage the plant, there is a downside. With excessive compost, some orchids put out new growth that remains weak and soft, and ultimately dies back. For instance, after a dose of compost, my Dendrochilum starts with new growth, but then some new leaves fall off. The rest of plant isn’t hurt, but nothing’s gained either.

If I’ve inspired you to try using compost on your orchids, I suggest you test with a small amount or weak compost tea first, and wait a few weeks before trying any more. Making your own compost is really very easy; as the saying goes, compost happens. Whether you live in a small apartment or a large farm, you can find great info about how to make your own compost here. Orchids can bloom wonderfully with many fertilizers, and compost is not at all a requirement for growing orchids. But if you have the opportunity to try it, I recommend that you add some compost and stand back!

A major emphasis of this blog is demonstrating that orchids are easy to grow and flower, but we’re all human, and mistakes are always going to be part of the process. Many mistakes can be fixed, but unfortunately some may be fatal. These photos show my Sedirea in happier times, before it died a few weeks ago. I always try to treat such experiences as learning opportunities, so that I don’t repeat the same mistake with another orchid.

This little charmer has a strong, sweet scent. It’s native to temperate forests of Japan and Korea, and it can handle a wide range of temperatures. Mine seemed happy living outdoors in our mild climate for the past few years. I kept it shaded for spring and summer, and moved it into brighter light during winter’s weaker sun. This year when I moved it back into shade for spring, I put it alongside a larger orchid, my Zygo. In shadow of the larger pot, it was fine for light, but not for water. I didn’t notice that the larger pot was blocking the Sedirea from the hose until a heat wave, when the leaves flattened and shriveled. It was all downhill from there, despite my attempts at resuscitation with extra water for a few weeks.

While I won’t be enjoying these blooms again in my garden anytime soon, I do get to take away some lessons. First, Sedireas need regular water, and second, I have too many orchids to keep track of them anymore!

You might laugh if asked if you eat orchids. So you’d probably be astonished to learn that you might be eating orchids everyday, possibly hundreds or even thousands of them. There could be orchids in your kitchen right now, and you might eat them at every meal. That’s because natural vanilla extract comes from the Vanilla orchid. Those little black specks in vanilla ice cream are orchid seeds, and part of the fascinating story of an unusual orchid.

The vast majority of orchids are not edible, but a few kinds are. Vanilla is, by far, the most valuable orchid food product. It’s also the only orchid that grows as a vine. There are dozens of different Vanilla species from tropical areas of the world, but the one that is usually grown commercially is called Vanilla planifolia. This plant is native to southern Florida, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and parts of South America. Originally cultivated by native peoples in Mexico, it’s now grown in many tropical areas around the world as a crop. The ancient Aztecs used it to spice up their chocolate drinks, and now it’s used in everything from ice cream to baked goods, and even for perfumes and tobacco flavoring.

While the flowers may look like Cattleyas, Vanillas are more closely related to Epidendrums. The flowers stay open less than a day, and are pollinated by hand when in cultivation. After pollination, seedpods start to form, taking as long as 9 months to mature on the vine. To develop their rich flavor, the seedpods are picked, dried, and cured, in a complex process that takes several months more. The difficulties of cultivation and curing make vanilla the second most expensive spice, after saffron. Madagascar and Indonesia are the world’s largest vanilla producers.

Healthy Vanilla vines are heavy and can stretch over 100 feet (30 m.) These tropical vines require warm temperatures and regular watering, so they’re not easy to grow at home. Commonly called vanilla beans, the dried and cured seed capsules are slender and brown. If you’ve ever used one in the kitchen, you know that when you cut it open, there are thousands of small black specks, which are the seeds. You can enjoy their delicious flavor and scent, but since they’ve been dried and cured, the seeds won’t grow. Synthetic substitutes for the flavor have been used for decades. In the USA, bottles labeled as “vanilla extract” are authentic orchid products, and bottles labeled as “vanilla flavoring” are artificial.

Whether you’re an orchid lover or a chef, there are plenty of reasons to love vanilla. I bet you’ll never look at a bowl of vanilla ice cream in the same way again.

The typically elusive ghost orchid, made famous in the bestselling book The Orchid Thief and the movie Adaptation, is readily visible for those near Naples, Florida. For decades, some orchid lovers have braved mosquito and alligator-infested swamps, only to leave disappointed without even a glimpse of the rare and unusual beauty. Now, a trip to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary provides an easy way to see a great specimen blooming in the wild, all from the comfort of a public boardwalk. The sanctuary does recommend that you bring your binoculars, since the plant is high up in a tree. This bizarre orchid has stunning white flowers and no leaves (the chlorophyll is in the roots.) Although it is endangered in its natural habitat, ghost orchid plants which are legally grown from seed can be purchased from reputable vendors like this one.

The Orchid Conservation Coalition (OCC) is a grassroots organization devoted to raising awareness and money for orchid conservation. The OCC directs donations to conservation groups all over the world, including those working in the Amazon and other orchid hotspots. As a coalition of individuals, orchid societies, businesses, and non-profits, the OCC provides vital support for protection of orchids. Some of their innovative programs include 1 % for Orchid Conservation and the Living Orchid Collection, and they also organize an expert speakers bureau.

Recently, the OCC celebrated a victory by helping the endangered Rosella Spider Orchid of Australia. After reading about the threat to this orchid on the OCC’s website, a philanthropist stepped forward with a large donation. Many more victories like this are needed around the globe. Individuals can support the OCC by volunteering, encouraging orchid societies and businesses to join their programs, and spreading the word about the urgent need for orchid conservation. The OCC also links to non-profit conservation groups which can accept donations directly.

At an orchid show several years ago, I spotted a neglected plant on a back table for only $3. Since it had a flower spike starting to grow, it seemed like a great bargain to me, and I bought it. The orchid was this beautiful Miltonidium, which has bloomed repeatedly for me, so I definitely consider it a smart investment.

This orchid is a hybrid, a human-made cross between a Miltonia and an Oncidium. Like all plant hybrids, it combines traits from both parents. With dozens of small, fragrant flowers, it also exemplifies “hybrid vigor.” The term hybrid vigor refers to the tendency of hybrid plants to be easy to grow and bloom, and also tough enough to survive difficult conditions. These characteristics make hybrids excellent choices for orchid beginners, since they are more forgiving of mistakes than species. Hybrids can also have larger, more frequent, and longer-lasting blooms.

This large spray of flowers may be a nice demonstration of hybrid vigor, but it also makes the orchid top-heavy and prone to tip over. I keep the plant within a heavy ceramic pot, and I’ve even tried to weigh it down with a rock on the flowerpot, but it can still topple. Even with some slightly bruised flowers, I couldn’t ask for a better bargain.

From Chattanooga to Honolulu to Warrawong, orchid shows are a fun way to see beautiful tropical blooms, meet local orchid experts, and otherwise feed any orchid addiction. Don’t miss these great events taking place all over the globe.

It’s always a pleasant surprise to find stories in the news about orchids, and lately I’ve seen a handful about native orchids blooming in Britain and North America. This recent article from the Times of London provides a great account of how native British orchids are thriving this year. Although less well-known than their tropical cousins, temperate orchids are fascinating in their own right, and many are just as beautiful as any showy Cattleya or Phal.

This article also provides insight into how poorly understood many of these temperate orchids are. Often, little is known about their precise growing requirements, or why they’re plentiful in one year and absent the next. Unfortunately, some overly-enthusiastic orchid growers can take an article like this as permission to do some local orchid hunting, and they return home with a plant yanked out of the ground, or some unusual cut flowers to sit in a vase. Sadly, this is one of the major dangers to the survival of these orchid species. Without the plant or the flower, the orchid cannot reproduce, and will soon perish. Plants that are removed from the wild for personal collections rarely survive, since even expert growers cannot duplicate the necessary natural conditions. All of these native orchids are also protected by law, and removing or damaging them is illegal. If you’re fortunate enough to spot a wild growing orchid, take away only pictures and memories, and leave nature to care for itself.

Orchids need healthy leaves to survive and thrive. If your orchid’s leaves look unhappy, take this list of common problems as a starting point to your diagnosis. Notice that some symptoms appear several times for different causes. For instance, certain signs of overwatering and underwatering are the same.

It helps to pay attention to the look and feel of your orchid’s leaves when the plant is healthy, so then you’ll have a good frame of reference to recognize a problem. While any one of these symptoms can indicate a problem, not every dark spot or yellow leaf is cause for concern. For example, older leaves (those lower on the plant) may yellow, develop spots, split down the middle, or fall off entirely. This is okay, as long as healthy new leaves are growing.