Great Orchid Growers Treat their Plants Rght

Most folks can successfully grow orchids if they take the time to learn about the differences between the major groupings of these marvelous plants, as well as their varied needs.

Orchids come from a wide variety of environments which differ from one another in almost every respect. As a result, you will find that some species produce flowers early in spring, others in summer and yet others during the greay days of winter. Their respective times of beginning their seasonal growth also vary, but for convenience you may rest all of your orchids in the winter. The majority of these will begin pushing out shoots as soon as the earth begins warming up in the spring.

When orchids are in their growing periods (as opposed to their dormancy), they must be treated differently with respect to heat, based on where they originated. The orchids from the East Indies tend to require the most heat. Inside, maintain the air temperature around them at 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 70 degrees at day. Outdoors they will thrive at up to 75 degrees in the early spring, and temperatures as high as 85 or even 90 are acceptable during the high summer months. Nevertheless, you should shade the plants from the direct rays of the sun.

Wherever therefore any of these East Indian orchids are growing the atmosphere should be well supplied with moisture. This type of orchid must be misted frequently! You can also splash water over the paths and tables in your greenhouse or other growing area. Do this every morning and afternoon and it will cause a nice moist heat to rise.

Brazilian orchids actually come from a cooler climate, one in which the air is not nearly as moisture-saturated. They of course require less heat and less moisture but they do need a considerable degree of warmth during their growing season. The same thing goes for most of the orchids originating in Mexico. They should be artificially heated to about 60 degrees by night and from 65 to 70 by day early in the season. As days lengthen the temperature may be allowed to increase so that during the months of May through August the night heat may range from 65 to 70 and
by day from between 70 and 85.

Then there are the so-called cool orchids, which ideally should be kept in a separate growing area. These plants' native habitats are the Andean countries of South America, where they are found growing high up. These must have a somewhat cooler environment. Try 45 to 55 degrees in the winter and 50 to 65 in the summer. Wherever you grow them, you should see that they are well shaded from the sun most of the time. Too much heat is really dangerous to the family of cool orchids!

There are many other groupings and subgroups of orchids, too many to cover them all here. If you want to learn more, the best and most thorough guide to modern orchid growing, hands down, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded on the web. Now, there are lots of books about orchids but Mr. Howard's wonderful guide will provide a thorough immmersion in the subject. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of articles on many aspects of orchids.