Orchid Care Tips Blog

This is an Orchid that likes warm temperatures with very good air movement. It is easy to get spotting on the leaves of this exptic, tropical plant. The flowers are wonderful, usually in sets of 2-10.

View more information about this Orchid from Carter and Holmes

This is a very interesting Orchid. Not because it blooms a very long time… or even is a large Orchid… in fact it is very small. What is interesting is just how compact and detailed this Orchid is. Beautiful plant.

Read about this plant from Carter and Holmes on Amazon

This Paphiopedilum flower lasts quite a long time and is very refined and delicate. This isn’t a plant for the novice grower, but with some good attention to detail, this plant can be grown well. This is a very compact Orchid that likes to be kept moist between waterings.

Read about this Paphiopedilum from Carter and Holmes Orchids

Orchid Epi. Lee Ward is unique as it is a purple Epidendrum Orchid. Most of these Orchids are red, orange, or yellow, so this is truly special. This Orchid is very easy to grow, blooms for a long time, and in some climates, such as CA, can often be grown in a pot outdoors. A very interesting plant.

Read more about this Orchid from Carter and Holmes on Amazon.com

Why are pink Phalaenopsis Orchids the most popular?

• They can bloom a very long time, on average 2-6 months depending on plant strength and care
• They are beautiful
• They are compact yet not too small for the average home grower
• There has been a lot of work put into creating hybrids to extend the “potted plant” phenomenon by Orchid growers, to get the perfect plant for the home
• The “blush” to the flower is often different from one plant to another
• They are each unique and not from meristems

When I worked for Rod McLellan Orchid Company (before they were bought so many years ago) this was a plant we grew hundreds of thousands of as they were so popular with customers.
Read more about this Orchid or you can purchase this plant at a discount at Amazon.com by clicking here

I’ve been asked where people can find some great long lasting cut Orchid flowers online to buy that look as if they are the kind from Hawaii. These are the best I’ve seen at a good price, with a nice variety.

After working for Rod McLellan Orchid Company for many years I do have favorite Orchids and can’t say I just like them all. For the company about ten years ago as the company expert and brand, for years managed a team, worked in marketing/branding/advertising/PR, took trips gathering information and plants from exotic places (favorite was Hawaii as there are so many growers there), gave over 250 talks to groups of 50-150 people on Orchid care, was featured in books/magazines/newspapers, was an Orchid judge, hybridized the most expensive plants ($50-$10,000 individual Orchids), sales work, and more.

That experience gave me incredible insight in helping drive the Orchid industry. There are a large number of hobbyist Orchid growers out there as well as new Orchid growers. People love Orchids as they are the largest plant family and often very exotic and unique.

My favorite kinds of Orchids in order of top favorites first:

1. Yellow Phalaenopsis Orchids. These are hard to find good ones and that is why. They also bloom for a very long time per flower, are very compact, and in my particular taste, are amazing. They are not hard to grow, but to me are the perfect Orchid.
2. Small novelty Phalaenopsis Orchids. These are very compact and come in such a multitude of colors and varieties it is amazing. There are so many varieties of these that are unique, that coupled with the long bloom time these are terrific. They are not number 1 on this list only because I can’t have 2 #1’s.
3. Dendrobium Nobile Orchids. These are amazing and on my first trip to Hawaii I was bowled over by these. Very floriferous.
   
4. Big pink/purple Phalaenopsis Orchids. They can bloom a long time and have a big show. Plus, the range of colors is astounding.
5. Big white Phalaenopsis Orchids. These are nice as well as in #3, but without as big a range of colors.
6. Oncidium Sharry Baby Orchid. Easy to grow, blooms a long time, and smells like chocolate.
7. Paphiopedilum Pinocchio. I love the colors on this compact long lasting flower.
8. Dendrobium spectabile species Orchid. Very unique and interesting looking. Exotic.
9. Green Dendrobium Orchids. Because they are not so common and are unique.
10. Cool Paphiopedilum Orchids. These were the first kinds of Orchids I learned to hybridize since they are fairly easy to get a “take”. The flowers last a long time and they are very compact and colorful.

By the way, we’ve had quite a lot of requests for information about various kinds of exotic Orchids so look out for some posts on these coming up.

Repotting Orchids

Now is the time to start thinking about repotting your Orchids. For any Orchids that have finished blooming, the best time to repot is within the months following blooming. If you have a Phalaenopsis Orchid, every 1-2 years is good to repot. If you have a Dendrobium Orchid, Cattleya Orchid, Miltonia Orchid, or Cymbidium Orchid, the best time to repot is when you see a new growth.

Message Board

If you have any Orchid care or selection questions, go ahead and post them to our Orchids message board!

When is the best time to repot my Orchid?

After the Orchid is done blooming. If it is an Orchid with numerous canes or Pseudobulbs (Dendrobium, Cattleya, Oncidium, Miltonia, etc.), wait until the new growth starts. If it is an Orchid without Pseudobulbs (Phalaenopsis, vanda, etc.), just wait until after blooming.

My Orchid just dropped all of the blooms after only a very short time blooming. Why?

Could be any one of these reasons:

• Got too cold or hot
• Smog problem or air not good
• Not enough humidity
• Too much sunlight

What kind of Orchid should I grow as a beginner?

Easiest Orchid for shade: Phalaenopsis
Easiest Orchid for bright light: Dendrobium

What kind or Orchid do I have? It looks like this…..

Post a photo to a site such as flikr.com for free, post to our discussion board and provide a link to see a photo of your Orchid, and we’ll answer your question on the discussion board.

Why should I grow an Orchid?

It will be with you a long time if you care for it well. Orchids are amazing plants for many reasons which you can read about here.

Hi everyone, we’ve had a lot of people joining this blog - thank you for participating. Your emails, posts to our discussion board, and guestbook comments are much appreciated. I want to make sure you know where to go for what on the Orchid Tips website - there are different places to go for different things.

As you have Orchid care questions, the best place to post them to get answers from me in the evening is here:
http://orchidcare.imagine123.com/discussion-forum/
It doesn’t take long at all to create an account.

If you have comments on the Orchid Tips website, but no Orchid care questions, please post comments about our website here:
http://www.imagine123.com/guestbook.html

If you want to read the blog entries, you’re already in the right place, and can enter comments if you like. Please, though, post comments about posts on this blog and save up your Orchid care questions to post on the discussion boards.

Enjoy!