I feared orchids for years, assuming they earned their “hothouse flower” nickname honestly. And after they drop their flowers, you can make most orchids bloom again: with a month of temperature fluctuations (10 degrees between day and night is ideal), regular fertilizer, and patience.
I feared orchids for years, assuming they earned their “hothouse flower” nickname honestly. And after they drop their flowers, you can make most orchids bloom again: with a month of temperature fluctuations (10 degrees between day and night is ideal), regular fertilizer, and patience.
Photography by Mimi Giboin.
Photography by Mimi Giboin.
Lady’s Slipper Orchid
Lady’s Slipper Orchid
A similarly speckled Paphiopedilum Yi-Ying Twinkling Stars is $25 from Orchids. Care and Feeding: Low light, humid air, and bark to grow in will keep a Lady’s Slipper happy.
A similarly speckled Paphiopedilum Yi-Ying Twinkling Stars is $25 from Orchids. Care and Feeding: Low light, humid air, and bark to grow in will keep a Lady’s Slipper happy.
A Lady’s Slipper orchid gets its name from its lower pouch-like petal shaped like a slipper that attracts pollinators.
A Lady’s Slipper orchid gets its name from its lower pouch-like petal shaped like a slipper that attracts pollinators.
For a similar lacy-flowered orchid, an Oncidium spachelatum ‘Sunbeam’ is $25 from Odom’s Orchids. Care and Feeding: Preferring cooler temperatures at night, oncidiums are happy on a windowsill away from heating vents (if the sun is too bright, shield the plant with a gauzy fabric shade).
For a similar lacy-flowered orchid, an Oncidium spachelatum ‘Sunbeam’ is $25 from Odom’s Orchids. Care and Feeding: Preferring cooler temperatures at night, oncidiums are happy on a windowsill away from heating vents (if the sun is too bright, shield the plant with a gauzy fabric shade).
Oncidium Orchid
Oncidium Orchid
With ruffled petals, oncidiums typically bloom in shades of yellow, white, pink, or red.
With ruffled petals, oncidiums typically bloom in shades of yellow, white, pink, or red.
With similar white and burgundy coloring, a Burgundy Miltonia Orchid in a five-inch ceramic cachepot is $84 from White Flower Farm. Care and Feeding: This orchid enjoys being misted daily; its flat-faced flowers earned it the nickname Pansy Orchid.
With similar white and burgundy coloring, a Burgundy Miltonia Orchid in a five-inch ceramic cachepot is $84 from White Flower Farm. Care and Feeding: This orchid enjoys being misted daily; its flat-faced flowers earned it the nickname Pansy Orchid.
Pansy Orchid
Pansy Orchid
Known for its lovely perfume, a Miltonia orchid is the one that smells like Hawaii. Close your eyes and hear gentle waves as they wash over the warm sand at your feet.
Known for its lovely perfume, a Miltonia orchid is the one that smells like Hawaii. Close your eyes and hear gentle waves as they wash over the warm sand at your feet.
Moth Orchid
Moth Orchid
For a similar flower, a White Moth Orchid in a five-inch cachepot is $59 from White Flower Farm.
For a similar flower, a White Moth Orchid in a five-inch cachepot is $59 from White Flower Farm.
It is amazing, really, that Phalaenopsis orchids are sold at the supermarket, the big-box shop, and possibly even your gas station’s convenience store for a few dollars.
It is amazing, really, that Phalaenopsis orchids are sold at the supermarket, the big-box shop, and possibly even your gas station’s convenience store for a few dollars.
Sharry Baby Orchid
Sharry Baby Orchid
An oncidium, Sharry Baby has striking, speckled chocolate-colored petals; an Oncidium Sharry Baby in a 5 1/2-inch ceramic pot is $85 from White Flower Farm.
An oncidium, Sharry Baby has striking, speckled chocolate-colored petals; an Oncidium Sharry Baby in a 5 1/2-inch ceramic pot is $85 from White Flower Farm.
Design Tip: With flowering stalks that can reach dramatic lengths of up to four feet, ‘Sharry Baby’ has the same visual impact as a large-leafed houseplant.
Design Tip: With flowering stalks that can reach dramatic lengths of up to four feet, ‘Sharry Baby’ has the same visual impact as a large-leafed houseplant.
A chocolate-colored Oncidium ‘Sharry Baby’ is $36.99 from Kawamoto Nursery via Amazon.
A chocolate-colored Oncidium ‘Sharry Baby’ is $36.99 from Kawamoto Nursery via Amazon.
A hybrid descended from phaleanopsis, ‘Spirit’ has a lipstick-red center and will bloom for two months or more. Fertilize it every second time you water it with a half-strength dilute.
A hybrid descended from phaleanopsis, ‘Spirit’ has a lipstick-red center and will bloom for two months or more. Fertilize it every second time you water it with a half-strength dilute.
Spirit Orchid
Spirit Orchid
Keep orchids in their plastic nursery pots, inside a larger decorative container. To water, lift out the plastic pot and water it with a room-temperature flow from the kitchen faucet.
Keep orchids in their plastic nursery pots, inside a larger decorative container. To water, lift out the plastic pot and water it with a room-temperature flow from the kitchen faucet.
On a windowsill with a western exposure (I lower the shades in the late afternoon when the sun gets too hot), I have (from left) a pink Doritaenopsis hybrid, a fragrant pansy orchid, a white moth orchid, a Sharry Baby, a Lady’s Slipper, and a yellow oncidium.
On a windowsill with a western exposure (I lower the shades in the late afternoon when the sun gets too hot), I have (from left) a pink Doritaenopsis hybrid, a fragrant pansy orchid, a white moth orchid, a Sharry Baby, a Lady’s Slipper, and a yellow oncidium.
Finally, get more ideas on how to plant, grow, and care for various houseplants with our Houseplants: A Field Guide.
Finally, get more ideas on how to plant, grow, and care for various houseplants with our Houseplants: A Field Guide.