Spring Orchids

Cattleyas

With warmer temperatures and the sunlight increasing spring cannot be far away. This is when many cattleyas bloom. And as you know, cattleyas are the known for their fragrance.

On some of the plants you may see a yellow sheath which is protecting some of the buds. This sheath can be removed to allow the orchid to bloom. Be careful when it is removed so the bud isn’t damaged. You will be rewarded with a wonderful flowering orchid.

Light in the spring will play tricks on us. It is nothing to have bright days following a day of rain. With the bright days comes a chance for the plant to become “sun-burned” and damage the looks of the orchid. It is advantageous for the cattleya to have some partial shading so this can be prevented.

With the days getting longer this means the plants will require perhaps more watering and also will need more fertilizing. It should be done every week with a weak solution of fertilizer. What is meant by weak? Instead of following the directions for full strength, cut the fertilizer used in half. This gives you a half-strength solution which can be used weekly.

Once the season has past for the winter bloomers you should re-pot if it necessary. For orchids re-potting need only be done every 2-3 years.

Phalenopsis

This is the month you will see your phals be at their peak for blooming. There are wonderful displays of wide arching phal and the blooming can go on for over a month with the flowers staying for 2-3 months. Now is when you will need to do some careful staking of the spikes. It will not only help the plant but will display it so the flowing arches looking fantastic.

Remember again, more water and fertilizer are needed during the blooming season. The plants metabolism really revs up during this budding time.

Diseases are another potential during the blooming season. Especially, mealy bugs and scales. This may be spotted by the slimy exudates they leave on the branches. Treat these early so they don’t destroy the flowers or the treatment doesn’t harm the flowers.

Paphs / Lady Slippers

For our paphs, especially those that are summer bloomers, it is a good time to see if they need to be re-potted. Also, check for disease on these orchids. Mealy bugs are the most frequent visitors. It is great time to treat the plants. Most plant lovers set up a time, usually weekly or monthly to thoroughly look at the orchids for any sign of disease. If you do this on a regular basis your plants will certainly be able to treated early and easily.

The longer light of the day gives more energy to paphs. You will see the spikes develop and the buds start with the help of longer days. It’s great to see how these wonderful orchids grow in front of your eyes.

Vanda Orchids

Orchids are a very popular flowering plant for gifting and for growing. Most orchid genera and species are wonderfully fragrant, and beautiful.

One of the more popular Orchids due to the unique flower shape , colors, and very pleasant fragrance are Vanda Orchids.

The Vanda Orchid has about 80 different species, is a monopodial orchid (they grow from the tip of the plant), and is found mostly in China, Northern Australia, the Himalayas, and Indonesia. They grow wild on the trunks and branches of the jungle trees, and sometimes rocks. The flowers of these plants grow in clusters at the tip of the plant, and are a long-lasting flower.

Vanda Orchids love sunlight, and require 3 to 4 hours daily in order to flower properly. With steady watering, sunlight, humidity, a little fertilizer, and light soil/compost, these plants will grow and flower beautifully. You can place them in a hanging wooden basket with very little soil over the roots.

The proper temperature for optimal growth and flowering is 65 degrees or higher. It is possible for the Vanda Orchid to survive temperatures as low as 38 degrees, but damage will occur to the flower and root tips. It is best to keep the temperature above 50 degrees for these plants.

These plants are considered heavy feeders meaning a mix of fertilizer should be given to the Vanda Orchids for proper care. Try not to smother the roots of these plants with soil/compost. The soil/compost should not be tight, but rather more loose. That is why the slat wooden basket is the best planter for them. These Orchids will grow fast, and flower quickly if the proper care is taken when growing them.

Vanda Orchids are beautiful, unique, fragrant flowering plants that are easily grown and cared for using porous soil/compost that will not smother the roots. Making sure it gets a good dose of sunlight, and humidity will allow this plant to flower and thrive. Fertilizer should be used about once a week for proper feeding these hungry plants. Make sure to keep the temperature above 50, and make sure there is plenty of good air circulation in very warm conditions.

Orchid as an Exotic Flower

Next to the rose, orchids are the plants most in exact in both the reserved and commercial marketplace. No yard family has as many different plants as the orchid family. Orchids are known to grow in most, every part of the world with the exemption of Antarctica and the deserts.

Most African orchids are pallid, while Asian orchids are commonly multicolored. Some orchids grow only one flower on each stem, while others can have more than a hundred blooms on a separate spike.

When not in tint, orchids very much resemble crazy grasses and, or palms. They can be grouped according to the way they retrieve their nutrients. The adulthood of the species are found in sultry, tacky broad leaf forests or mountains. These orchids attach themselves against other plants, commonly grass. However, they are not considered to be a parasite.

Then there are a few species that grow logically on rocks or on very unstable soil. Both of these species gets their nutrients from the atmosphere. Such as pour water, litter, humus, and even from their own over bandanna. Orchids are also ones of the most adaptable bury groups on earth. Some Australian orchids grow utterly underground.

Those orchids we plant in our gardens are known as terrestrial plants and are planted in the soil just like most any other flower. If your matter isn’t conducive to mounting orchids, you can still grow them in a hothouse. Be unwearied, however. The seeds of an orchid are awfully tiny. Under relaxed circumstances, the seeds can only evolve with the use of the special fungi. It takes anywhere from one to ten time for an orchid plant let to mature.

The paradigm placed in the home for upward orchids is a light opening, boundless from drafts, where your plants entertain indirect sunlight the morning and daylight. (A south view is best.) In iciness, give orchids all the light potential. The equivalent to a smart south-facing graphic. With treat large windows or especially intense sunlight, the light may be adjusted down by poignant plants 18 to 36 inches from the window. Plants in the home command a greater light intensity because they entertain light from only one route, while in a greenhouse they greet light from many sides.

One orchid genre is commercially important other than for the worth of the flora. The vanilla orchid is worn as a flavoring, and indeed is the well of vanilla. The underground tubers of terrestrial orchids are ground to a powder and worn for cooking. Interestingly enough, the Coca-Cola Company is the world’s prevalent abuser of vanilla. Because vanilla is such a work intensive crop due to having to hand-pollinate the plants, it is most apposite to small family farms.

The bouquet of orchids is frequently used by perfumists. With these exceptions, orchids have near no commercial help other than for the enjoyment of the flowers.

Both stifling and subtropical orchids are offered at nurseries and through orchid clubs across the world. There are also extremely a few orchids which grow in colder climates, though these may be more awkward to find. The National Orchid Gardened in Singapore is considered by some to be among the finest collections of orchids in cultivation open to the communal.

Orchids have now become a major bazaar throughout the world. Buyers bid hundreds of dollars on new or improved hybrids. As mentioned past, they are now one of the most popular cut flowers on the souk. Though orchid hybridization has been happening for many being, only lately has new technology made it into what it is today. Thailand is the principal country in the orchid-export world, with one of the few natural white orchids.