Orchids For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond This Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: Welcoming Orchids into Your Life 5 Chapter 1: Discovering the World of Orchids 7 Understanding What Makes an Orchid an Orchid 8 Knowing Where Orchids Come From 9 Seeing Why You Should Grow Orchids 10 Deciding Which Orchids to Bring into Your Home 11 Identifying Orchids by Name 12 Species orchid names 13 Hybrid orchid names 13 Recognizing What Makes an Orchid an Award Winner 16 Growing Orchids Easy As One, Two, Three 17 January 17 February 18 March 18 April 19 May 19 June, July, and August 20 September 20 October 21 November and December 21 Chapter 2: Choosing the Right Orchid for You 23 Figuring Out Where to Shop 23 Specialist orchid growers or suppliers 24 Your local garden center 24 Orchid shows 24 Online orchid suppliers 25 Home centers and discount stores 26 Considering Your Environment 26 Taking temperature readings 27 Measuring your light intensity 29 Asking yourself these questions 33 Growing Tropical Orchids Outdoors 33 Knowing What to Look for in an Orchid 34 Choosing a healthy plant 34 Deciding between a blooming plant and a young plant 36 Choosing seed-grown orchids or orchid clones 36 Selecting orchids with a sweet scent 36 Isolating Your New Orchid after You Bring It Home 37 Chapter 3: Having the Right Tools on Hand 39 Focusing on Cutting and Pruning Tools 39 Pruners 39 Knives and blades 41 Considering Potting Tools and Supplies 41 Potting tools 41 Potting supplies 43 Identifying Watering Accessories 45 Water breakers 45 Water-flow regulators 46 Hoses 46 Watering cans 46 Sprayers and misters 47 Fertilizer injectors 47 Deionization and reverse osmosis units 48 Looking At Humidifiers, Heaters, and Ventilation Equipment 49 Humidifiers 49 Ventilation 51 Heating 51 Thermometers and hygrometers 51 Chapter 4: How I Love Thy Orchid: Enjoying the Orchid’s Beauty 53 Caring for Orchids in Their New Home 53 If the plant is in bloom 54 If the plant is not in bloom 54 Staking and Grooming Your Blooming Orchids 55 Figuring out how to stake 55 Helping your orchids look their best 57 Displaying orchid plants in your home 58 Arranging orchid flowers 60 Part 2: The Basics of Orchid Parenthood 67 Chapter 5: Providing the Right Growing Environment 69 Let There Be Light! Recognizing Natural Light Sources 69 Exploring the ins and outs of light 70 Listening to your orchids 72 Comprehending Some Basic Light Terminology 76 Considering Artificial Light Sources 77 Fluorescent lights 77 High-intensity-discharge lights and high-intensity commercial LED lights 80 LEDs — The new kids on the block 80 Figuring Out Which Type of Lights Are Your Best Option 82 Knowing How Much Light Your Orchids Need 83 Growing Orchids Under Lights — Tips and Tricks to Remember 84 Humidity: Orchids’ Favorite Condition 85 Providing Ventilation — Fresh Air, Please! 88 Ceiling fans 88 Oscillating fans 88 Muffin fans 89 Looking Closer at Orchid Temperature Requirements 89 Too-low temperatures 89 Too-high temperatures 90 Giving Your Orchids a Summer Vacation 90 A shade house 91 A portable greenhouse 92 Some orchids enjoy hanging out 93 Chapter 6: Watering and Fertilizing Orchids 95 Understanding the Art of Watering Orchids — Water, Water Everywhere 95 The type of pot 96 The type of potting material 96 The age of the potting material 97 Whether the orchid is pot-bound 97 The growing environment 97 The temperature 97 The amount of ventilation 97 Whether the orchids are growing or dormant 98 The type of orchid 98 Knowing What Works — Watering Your Orchid 98 Using the pot-weighting method 98 Watering your orchids — Tips and tricks 99 Over- or Underwatering: Roots Tell the Story 100 Figuring out whether watering is the problem 100 Rescuing and resuscitating your orchid 102 Considering Fertilizers — Not Magic Potions 104 Knowing what to look for in orchid fertilizers 104 Identifying types of fertilizers and how to use them 107 Chapter 7: The ABCs of Potting Materials, Containers, and Repotting 111 Choosing Potting Materials 111 Knowing your potting material options 112 Figuring out which potting materials are best 113 Getting your hands on some not-so-secret recipes 114 If mixing your own isn’t your thing 115 Getting your potting material ready to use 116 Giving Your Orchids a Home: Potting Containers 116 Repotting Orchids without Fear 118 Knowing when you should repot 118 Orchid potting — step by step 118 Chapter 8: Two, Four, Six, Eight, Let Your Orchids Propagate: Multiplying Your Orchids 123 Dividing Your Orchids 123 Giving Babies a New Home 125 Producing New Plants from Cuttings 127 Growing Orchids from Back Bulbs 128 Chapter 9: Keeping Your Orchids Pest- and Disease-Free 131 Preventing Problems Before They Start 131 Besting the Bugs 133 Identifying common orchid pests 133 Finding safe and effective pest-control measures 137 Identifying Fungal and Bacterial Infections 140 Noticing when your orchid is sick 141 Handling a sick plant 141 Part 3: The Best Orchids for Rookies 143 Chapter 10: Moth Orchids: The Best Choice for Beginners 145 Examining Why People Grow Moth Orchids 146 Understanding why they’re so popular 146 Making them even more appealing: Hybrid moth orchids 147 Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Beauty of Moth Orchids 148 The Leaves 148 The flowers’ shapes 148 Flower colors 149 Scents 157 Size — Small is beautiful 160 Answering the call of the wild 162 Oh, Give Me a Home : Cultural Requirements 164 Chapter 11: The Quintessential Orchids: Cattleyas and Their Relatives 167 From the Jungles to Your Home 168 Focusing on some selected cattleya species 169 Recognizing some selected species that used to be called Laelias 171 Looking at other cattleya relatives 173 The Queens of the Ball: Cattleya Hybrids 178 Pristine whites 179 Purples, pinks, lavenders, and blues 179 Hot reds and oranges 180 Sunny yellows 181 Cool greens 183 Bring out the clowns: Splash petals and flares 184 Fashionable art shades 185 Exploring the Miniatures: The Minicatts 186 Identifying the key players 186 Naming some of their prized children 188 Chapter 12: Lovely from Flower to Root: Lady’s Slipper Orchids 191 Slipping into a Lady’s Slipper 192 Seeing what lady’s slippers have to offer 192 Giving your lady’s slipper a good home 193 Getting lady’s slippers to bloom 193 Straight from Nature: Bumps, Warts, Hairs, and All 193 Paphiopedilum bellatulum 194 Paphiopedilum callosum 194 Paphiopedilum delenatii 195 Paphiopedilum dianthum 196 Paphiopedilum fairrieanum 197 Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum 197 Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum 198 Paphiopedilum spicerianum 199 Paphiopedilum sukhakulii 199 Paphiopedilum venustum 199 One Step Removed from Nature: Primary Hybrids 200 Some superior primary hybrids 201 Marvelous Maudiaes 204 Huge and round: Modern hybrid lady’s slippers 208 A different kind of slipper orchid 209 Chapter 13: Dancing Ladies: Oncidiums and Their Relatives 213 Taking a Closer Look at the Ladies 214 Oncidiums from the wild 214 Hybrid oncidiums 216 Miniature oncidiums or tolumnias 218 Pansy Orchids: Miltonias and Miltoniopsis 219 Growing them with success 220 Miltonias 221 Miltoniopsis 222 Other Members of the Club: The Oncidium Alliance 224 Orchid spiders: Brassias 224 Butterfly orchids: Psychopsis 225 Sigmatostalix 226 Trichopilias 226 Mixing It Up 227 Trying to make sense of these orchids 228 Identifying a few popular ones 229 Chapter 14: Considering Some Significant Others 235 A Huge and Interesting Lot: Dendrobiums 235 Naming the most popular dendrobiums 236 Considering some other Dendrobiums 238 Listing some popular hybrids 240 Weird and Wonderful Relatives: Bulbophyllum 241 Orchid Miscellanea: All the Rest 243 Angraecoids 243 Catasetums 246 Cochleanthes 247 Coelogynes 248 Cymbidiums 248 Lycastes 250 Vandas and some of their close cousins 250 The small-growing vandas 251 Zygopetalums 254 Chapter 15: Hardy Orchids That Laugh at the Cold 257 Focusing on Exotic and Easy Terrestrial Orchids 258 Chinese ground orchids 258 Calanthes 259 Spiranthes 260 Identifying Hardy Slipper Orchids — Not Easy, But So Worth It 261 Easy-to-grow North American natives 262 More adventuresome hardy slippers 264 Dipping Your Toe In — A Few Others to Try 265 Part 4: The Part of Tens 267 Chapter 16: The Ten (or So) Easiest Orchids to Grow 269 Moth Orchids 269 Lady of the Night 270 Maudiae Type Lady’s Slipper Orchid 270 Cockleshell Orchid 270 Sharry Baby Oncidium 271 Twinkles Oncidium 271 Mari’s Song Cattleya 271 Fan-Shape Orchid 271 Phalaenopsis Dendrobium 272 Chapter 17: Ten Common Reasons That Orchids Die (and How to Avoid ’em) 273 Overwatering 273 Underwatering 274 Too Much Light or Heat 274 Leaving Orchid Foliage Wet Overnight 275 Too Much Fertilizer 275 Improper Use of Pesticides 275 Insect Infestation 276 Purchase of Sick Plants 276 Poor Water Quality 276 Inadequate Ventilation 277 Chapter 18: The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Orchids 279 Are Orchids Difficult to Grow? 279 Why Should I Grow Orchids? 280 Do I Need a Greenhouse to Grow Orchids? 280 Are Orchids Expensive? 280 How Long and How Often Will Orchids Bloom? 281 What Makes an Orchid an Orchid? 281 Are Orchids Fragrant? 281 Where Can I See the Best Collections of Orchids? 282 Are Any Orchids Hardy? 283 Are Orchids Parasites? 283 Chapter 19: The Ten Most Common Reasons Why Orchids Don’t Bloom 285 Not Enough Difference between Day and Night Temperatures 285 Too Moist during the Winter 286 Too Little Light 286 Excessively High or Low Temperatures 286 Not Using a Fertilizer or Using One with Too Much Nitrogen 287 Immature Plants 287 Too Low Humidity 287 Disease, Insects, or Mice 288 Not Enough Water 288 Recently Transplanted and Divided 288 Appendix A: Additional Orchid Resources 289 Appendix B: English-Metric Conversion Tables 295 Index 297