The Perry Orchid Rotation, Part 1 in the Houseplant Series

Am I turning into an old woman?  I think I might try to cultivate orchids.  At the first of November, my colleagues sent me this beautiful orchid:

Would you believe that this beauty only stopped blooming at the first of February?  3 solid months of BEAUTIFUL purple blooms.  I, for one, was totally shocked.  Of course, I’ve never been known as a green thumb so my shock might have come purely from inexperience.  Regardless, I think I might have found a new favorite website and maybe even a new hobby.  The American Orchid Society offers lots of great advice on how to successfully grow orchids at home and to be honest, it doesn’t seem like it’s that hard to do.

Tonight, I learned a couple of key things:

1.) Looks like I have a Phalaenopsis (fail-eh-NOP-sis) or Moth Orchid.  They are pretty dang common at grocery stores and such and apparently are treated a bit differently from other orchids.  The upside?  It’s super easy to keep them thriving.  If you are wondering what kind of orchid you picked up on impulse, check here.

2.) They like bright, indirect light.  I had my orchid on the dining room table where indirect light was aplenty until I decided that it was too gorgeous not to put on my mantle.  It thrived there for about 6 weeks so it must have been pretty content, right?  Well it turns out that this rich, dark green color on the leaves is actually a sign that it’s not getting enough light.  Orchids leaves should be a lighter shade of green.  Interesting given that the last time I saw a yellow-green on the leaf of one of my houseplants, I was putting that sucker out to pasture in no time.  Not so with orchids!

3.) They really do need a good soaking, as long as they are ready for water and allowed to drain well.  This depends a lot on the pot you use and the humidity in your house.  But really all you have to do is stick your finger down in the soil.  If it’s damp, you are ok.  If it’s dry, it needs water.  If you can’t decide, wait another day and then water.

4.) Fertilize weakly weekly.  The AOS recommends diluting any orchid fertilizer that you get from your local Home Depot down to 1/4 and using that weekly on your orchid plants.  Even I can handle that!

Even if you do all of that, your orchid is probably only going to bloom for 6 – 10 weeks a couple of times per year.  That is just not often enough for me.  So I decided to institute the Official Perry Orchid Rotation.  Here’s my plan … I want tall, graceful, blooming color on my mantle at all times.  So, when my orchid fades, like this one eventually did ….

I will prune and place in a sunny location and continue to water and fertilize as above.  Then I run out and get a blooming one for the mantle.  Nashvillians, Creekside Nursery on Harding Place near Harding Road was running an awesome special on orchids – just $14.99 for BEAUTIFUL ones earlier this week.  Run over there and see if there are any left!

How to prune:

Off-season orchids are going on my filing cabinet in my office.  This way they’ll get plenty of morning light (according to the AOS, this is perfect).  And I actually think a grouping of non-blooming orchids will look fabulous here the more I collect.  Those dense beautiful leaves are just spectacular, and see how I pruned it down just like the video taught me?

Stay tuned to see if these puppies actually bloom again!  Ever tried to cultivate orchids?  Have any tips for me?

posted by Julia on Feb 25th, 2010 in Decorating, Gardening, Plants & Flowers, Julia Original
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