AboutOrchids

If you didn’t make it to last weekend’s Pacific Orchid Expo in San Francisco, you missed an incredible show. This year’s displays featured thousands of varieties of extraordinary flowers. With so many photographic treats in every direction, it was tough to know which way to turn.

Brilliant colors and rich fragrances beckoned from dozens of displays. Flowers as large as dinner plates always command attention, but sometimes it’s the tiny blooms which make people bend closer to exclaim their astonishment.

I’m still sorting through our photos, and I’ll certainly have more to share. If you didn’t make it to this year’s remarkable show, don’t miss it next year!

The San Francisco Orchid Society invites you to Pacific Orchid Expo 2014, starting with tonight’s opening gala. The show continues through Sunday. It’s the largest show in the country, with 150,000 orchids on display or on sale. Tickets are available online or at the door.

Sometimes I hear a question like “Why go to an orchid show when they’re in every supermarket?” Those orchids near the produce aisle are just a drop in the bucket of the most diverse flower family in the world. Consider these photos from last year’s Pacific Orchid Expo, with nine varieties so different that it’s hard to believe that they’re related. Just try to find any of these in a supermarket! Every year, the Pacific Orchid Expo does a great job of highlighting this astounding diversity. Don’t miss it!

The Wall Street Journal has taken an interest in orchid pots. As air plants, orchids love a moist breeze across their roots. Flower pots with holes in their sides, in addition to bottom drainage holes, have better air circulation. With small openings, lattices, or slits, these pots are ideal for many orchids. Whether a container is an expensive antique or an inexpensive plastic, extra air holes help keep roots happy. Long used by orchid experts, these open designs have become more common, and many garden centers and websites offer a wide range of choices. Holey pots are great for orchids.

With their beauty and elegance, it’s easy to see how orchids are challenging roses as valentine favorites. If you receive one as a valentine gift, check the care tips below the eye candy to help your orchid grow and thrive.

What kind? –  Identifying your orchid can help you understand its care needs. Most orchids sold today are Phals, or Moth Orchids. Other popular varieties include Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, and Paphs.

Light – Place your orchid where it receives bright light. Many types enjoy some direct sun, especially over winter when light levels are lower.

Humidity – All orchids need high humidity. Dry air wilts flowers and attracts pests. Raise humidity by grouping plants together, or placing orchids in a bathroom or kitchen. Use a spray mister or a cool mist humidifier. Keep flowerpots raised on pebbles above a tray of water, always keeping the pots above the water level.

Watering – Use room-temperature water. Completely soak the pot, and then let all excess water drain out of the holes in the bottom. Don’t let the plant sit in water for an extended time, or its roots may rot. If wrappers, ribbons, or decorative containers block holes in the bottom of the flower pot, you’ll need to remove them to allow drainage and air flow.

Cut orchid flowers – Give orchids the same care as other cut flowers. Place them in lukewarm water, and keep out of direct sun. Change the water every couple days.

It’s no wonder that so many botanical gardens feature orchid displays over winter. These exhibits offer the warmth and beauty of a tropical vacation. And don’t forget the displays listed previously in this earlier post and this one, too.

February 13 – March 10
Explore “Mille et une Orchidees”, where a thousand and one orchids greet visitors to the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. This exhibit celebrates the best of France’s orchids, including 160 native French species.

February 15 – March 16
At the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Orchid Show surrounds guests with beautiful colors, lush nature, and warmth. Besides 10,000 orchids, the event also features an orchid marketplace, a café, and live music on Tuesday mornings.

February 22 – April 27
Enjoy an Orchid Symphony Exhibition at the US Botanic Garden in Washington DC. This joint exhibit of the US Botanic Garden and Smithsonian Gardens highlights the best of their orchid collections.

February 28 – March 29
Oklahoma City’s Myriad Botanical Gardens hosts an Orchid Show. Hundreds of orchids join tropical plants, tall palms, and waterfalls in the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory.

Orchids have become valentine favorites, both as potted plants and as cut flowers. Potted plants, however, can inspire worries about their care. Cut orchid flowers have the same beauty and elegance without the worry. As cut flowers, orchids make the perfect valentine gift.

Phals, Cattleyas, Cymbidiums, Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, and Paphs are often sold as cut flowers. Many types have sturdy blooms which can last for weeks. Fragrant Cattleyas and Oncidiums can even keep their scents after they’re cut.

When buying cut flowers, blossoms should appear fresh. If they’re already brown or wilted, they won’t live much longer. Closed buds should eventually open unless they are too small. Even if they do not mature and open, they still add interest to the display.

Follow these tips to help cut flowers last longer:

• Once at home, re-cut the flower stems. Make clean, angled cuts to take one half inch (1.3 cm) off the bottoms.
• Place them in a vase with lukewarm water.
• Blooms last longest in clean water, so change it every other day. Remove any leaves or flowers which are submerged.
• Keep the vase in a cool area out of direct sun.
• Orchids don’t like dry air, so it helps to have high humidity.
• There’s no need to add fertilizer.

February’s orchid shows are well timed, both for Valentine’s Day and for gardeners eagerly awaiting spring. Two of the world’s largest shows occur this month, one in Tokyo and the other here in San Francisco. Big or small, these shows all offer great chances to enjoy incredible flowers, meet local experts, and find orchids for your collection.

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In addition to my earlier list, these botanical gardens also host winter orchid exhibits. All of them are great destinations for a cold winter day or a special valentine.

February 1 – March 9
Escape from winter at the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Orchid Mania 2014. Along with stunning flowers, the event includes an interior design showcase, a special photography session, and an orchid doctor available for questions on Saturday afternoons.

February 1 – March 23
Head to St. Louis to see remarkable orchids from a world-renowned collection. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s orchid greenhouses date back to 1876, and currently house over 7,000 orchids. The show displays some of the garden’s best specimens, and turns the Orthwein Floral Display Hall into a lush, tropical oasis.

February 3 – February 28
Discover exotic orchids at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden. The Glasshouse Range hosts the February Orchid Festival as the perfect antidote for a British winter.

February 8 – March 9
Visit Kew Gardens in London to warm up at Orchids 2014. Orchids and other tropical flowers fill the Princess of Wales Conservatory. You can also choose from several guided tours and orchid courses.

February 8 – March 15
Immerse yourself in a tropical rainforest for an Orchid Escape in Indiana. Orchids are among the waterfalls at the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden in Evansville. Enjoy a special “Romance in the Rainforest” preview gala on February 7th.

February 8 – April 13
The Atlanta Botanical Garden features Orchid Daze: Lasting Impressions. Exhibits celebrate orchids along with the art of Van Gogh, Monet, and Gauguin.

In London, the world’s preeminent botanical garden invites you to escape winter by enjoying a tropical orchid festival. The Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is never colder than 70°F (21°C,) and it’s getting ready for “Orchids 2014: A Plant Hunter’s Paradise.” The festival runs Saturday, February 8th to Sunday, March 9th. You can buy tickets online at Kew’s website.

Go behind the scenes with Kew’s Tropical Nursery Blog to explore the festival’s preparations. Many of the exhibit’s plants are imported from greenhouses in the Netherlands, which is one of the world’s orchid-growing capitals. Kew’s horticulture team visits the Netherlands in December to look at the latest hybrid varieties. Moth Orchids arrive in London three weeks before the show, and continue to hold their blooms throughout the month-long display. On the other hand, Vandas arrive last. Since they need very strong light, Vandas need to stay in well-lit greenhouses until the week before the show. Other orchid varieties on exhibit come from Kew’s own Tropical Nursery. They include many rare and unusual species. This annual event promises to dazzle again, and it’s a great excuse to come in from the cold.

As air plants, many orchids grow roots outside their pots. Popular varieties like Phals and Vandas prefer to grow this way. However, some people find exposed roots unattractive. “Can I cut off my orchid’s roots?” is a common question. Usually the query includes an explanation that the roots stick out of the pot, look ugly, or detract from the flowers. I’ve even heard complaints that they look like snakes. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t cut off healthy orchid roots.

Like all plants, orchids need their roots. It is ok to remove dead roots. Always use sterile blades when cutting the plant. To test if a root is living, wash your hands, and then squeeze the root very gently. If it feels mushy or hollow, it’s dead. If the root is firm, it’s alive. If it’s very dry or shriveled, water well before giving it the gentle squeeze test.

Orchids roots are happy to be free of their pots as long as humidity is high. Besides absorbing water and nutrients, some orchid roots can photosynthesize, and need exposure to light. Cutting off roots strains the plant, and will hamper any future flowering. While a healthy plant can handle losing a few roots, it won’t survive losing them all. New growth may sprout for only a limited time each year, so an orchid may not be able to recover quickly from root loss.

The photos above show mounted orchids, demonstrating how the plants adapt to life in the air. Their unusual roots are part of their jungle mystique, defying logic by living freely in the breeze. It’s a sight that orchids, and orchids lovers, cannot live without.