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November 25, 2006
The Case of the Reluctant Orchid Grower
Master Gardener article 11/25/06
On a snowy January morning, I was surprised to find a FedEx man at my front door. He handed me a big box bearing the words, “LIVE PLANTS.”
The mystery was quickly solved. My friend, Helen, a longtime grower of orchids in Idaho, had tired of my lame excuses for refusing to grow her favorite plants. Taking matters into her own hands, she had shipped two phalaenopsis to me.
I phoned to thank her. “You’ll love them,” Helen said.
“But I don’t know a thing about growing orchids,” I protested.
“It’s easy,” she said. “The secret is water! Stick with a strict watering schedule, once a week, no matter what! And give them half as much as you think you should.”
“That’s it?” I said timidly. “Just water?”
Helen laughed. “Oh, there are a few other things. On alternate weeks, put orchid food in their water.
“And remember, orchids don’t like to get their feet wet. Never set their pots in saucers of water.”
Resolving to give it my best shot, I read a book about basic orchid care. Next I bought some Grow-More orchid food, which is conveniently color-coded for various varieties.
Upon learning that phalaenopsis prefer muted light, I purchased shade cloth from Charley’s Greenhouse Supply, cut sections to fit the nearby window, and anchored the cloth in place with binder clips from an office supply store.
I followed Helen’s instructions, always using distilled water, no saucer water, feedings in alternate weeks, and a half-cup for each medium-sized pot.
In a matter of weeks, I was amazed to see vigorous flower stalks form, followed by sprays of exquisite flowers.
Even more surprising, each flower lasted for many weeks without withering. I measured one spectacular flower stalk 30” long that contained 51 blossoms.
Both phalaenopsis have flowered semi-annually during the five years since that snowy January morning.
As Helen predicted, I couldn’t resist trying other varieties. My dendrobiums and cattleyas prefer brighter light, and also produce many frequent long-lasting flowers.
My most recent acquisition, a delicate little orchid from Home Depot, has a unique name: Lc. Hwa Yuan Angel AM/OSROC. It blooms with a single flower at a time, pure white edged with a band of royal purple.
Orchids like to have their leaves sprayed with a fine mist, and I use an occasional neem oil solution to discourage insects. Also, I re-pot the plants now and then with a good quality orchid medium, readily available in Flagstaff stores.
An excellent source of much more orchid information is the Hobby Greenhouse Association at www.hobbygreenhouse.org.
By June King
The author is a free-lance writer, a longtime resident of Flagstaff, and a member of the Hobby Greenhouse Association. For more information about the Master Gardener program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our website: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at November 25, 2006 6:00 AM