one of the gifts we received for our housewarming was this beautiful orchid from my boss's wife(who is awesome). i am positive i will kill this thing within a month, as i have no idea at all how to take care of it. my friend emily walked in, and said--that's a lovely phalaenopsis! my reaction was more like--wha??? now that i know what kind of orchid i have, i have been reading all kinds of stuff online about orchid care, and trying to figure out how best not to kill it. how much water? how often? how much light? can i re-pot it out of its ugly green plastic pot while it's blooming? everything i read seems to say something different. emily offered some good advice from her parents, who turn out to be avid orchid-growers, but i will feel that i need more help. so, internet people, help me! if any of you guys know anything at all about these things, or if you can recommend a good book or a reliable website about orchid care, i would really appreciate it. i think this thing is lovely and peaceful, and it looks amazing with the greens in our kitchen and dining room. it's also VERY appropriate to project spectrum this month as well--i am trying something new! growing a pink and green plant. :)
5 comments:
A great source for information is the American Orchid Society's website [www.aos.org]. They have information online as well as books available for sale. If you have specific questions for which you can't track down answers, my Mom teaches several beginner classes for orchid enthusiasts through the AOS and has a supremely green thumb. She knows more than you (or I!) would ever want to know. This much I do know--don't repot it when it's blooming. Good luck!
managed to keep the one raina sent me alive for 6 months! it was even budding!!! then it died. you know this house, dry heat, cold spots, etc. one thing i learned, don't water too much, my mistake. spritzing yes, but not too much water. i had even repotted with special orchid bark. next time i will do that, but add the rock tray. have to work up the courage to try again tho ~you know i only keep the spider plants barely alive:) good luck~pseudo-mom
If you follow a few simple steps (you'll see them in your reading) the plants are easy to keep alive. I've always had trouble getting them to flower again.
Atlantic Avenue Garden Center has tons of orchids. They also used to babysit orchids. Meaning they would care for your orchid when it was done flowering and call you to come and get it when it was ready to flower again. I don't know if they still offer that service or not (or what it costs).
My boss gave me a gorgeous one this week for Admin Professionals day or some such and I have been scared to death that I will kill it! My Phalaenopsis is a sight to behold and I so want to do right by it and its FOURTEEN+ brilliant purple blossoms. (Gee, no pressure here. See how gorgeous I am? Don't you dare kill me!) I ran across this website http://www.orchids.uk.com/beginnersthree.htm and it seems pretty straightforward with the advice. Hope it helps. For both of us!
yo! girlfriend! it's MAY ! where's a new post with fresh pictures?
and yes, i am sooo publishing this comment!
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