An American Orchid Society demographic survey showed that phalaenopsis have become America’s favorite orchid. And no wonder. Perhaps no other orchid is better suited to home orchid growing. Plants with long-lasting sprays of lovely moth like blooms in a broad array of colors are inexpensive and widely available, ready to give weeks of pleasure in your home or office. Simply provide modest light and consistent moisture, and they will delight you with their relative ease of culture. The main flowering season is late winter into spring, through commercial growers today can make flowering phalaenopsis available year round.
Light
Sufficient light is important for healthy growth and flower production.
Provide
Bright light, no direct sun. In the home, an east, west or shaded south window. In a greenhouse, about 30 percent full sun. Under lights, four 40 watt fluorescent tubes and two 40 watt incandescent bulbs directly over plants. Foliage should be naturally semi erect, and of a medium olive-green color. Dark green, limp foliage indicates too little light.
Temperature
Mature plants need a 15 to 20 degree F difference between night and day.
Provide
Nights of 60 to 65 degrees F; days of 75 to 85 degrees F. Seedlings need temperatures five to ten degrees higher than mature plants.
Water
Mature plants should seldom dry out between waterings. Seedlings need more constant attention to moisture.
Humidity
Phalaenopsis need 60 to 70 percent humidity. In the home, place on trays of moistened pebbles. In greenhouse, use a humidifier if conditions are too dry.
Fertilizer
Must be provided on a regular basis because most potting media have little.
Provide
The exact fertilizer you use will depend on the mix in which your plant is growing. A good general rule is to use a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer. Fertilize every week at one quarter to one half of the recommended dilution.
Potting
Should be done every one to two years before the mix breaks down too far. Best done in late spring after main flowering season, using a well-drained but water-retentive mix. Select pot size for root mass, not top size.
Orchids In The Home
Anyone can grow orchids in the home without living in the tropics or having the luxury of a greenhouse. Today, houseplants are a regular part of home decoration. If you have ever successfully grown a houseplant, or enjoyed a flowering potted plant, you can grow orchids. The good news is there are plenty of options to give you a beautiful display of flowering orchids year round. Hint: Orchids grown in the home during the colder months will respond wonderfully well to being summered outdoors in a protected area. This will also extend the range of plant selections available to you.
Light
No flowering plant will do well without sufficient light. In the home, where most available light is incidental (that is, at an angle, and therefore less intense), plants will need to be fairly close to an east or west, or lightly shaded south window. A north window will rarely provide adequate light. If light is too intense in a southern exposure, a sheer curtain could be hung to diffuse the light. Extra hours of light will not entirely compensate for poor light quality. Indeed, extending day length artificially to more than 16 hours can be detrimental to the plant’s health and often will prevent flowering.
Temperature
The plants will be comfortable where you are comfortable. Typical home temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees F at night and 75 degrees F during the day are fine. Guard against excessively low or high temperatures immediately adjacent to glass windows. Some leeway for seasonal fluctuations is allowed.
Humidity
Rugs, drapes and some furniture act as giant wicks that absorb the home’s humidity, as do heating and air conditioning systems. Also, it is not advisable to have the home’s interior be too wet to accommodate the plants. Solutions: Group plants to take advantage of their collective transpiration (exhaled moisture) or place them on gravel-filled humidity trays to raise the humidity to 50 percent.
Watering
Care must be taken to balance the rapid surface drying that can take place in the home with the plant’s lower metabolic processes resulting from lower light. Each particular type of orchid will retain its basic water needs, whether for moisture or periodic dryness. The home grower also needs to give thought to the logistics of watering. You can carry plants to the sink or even outdoors (when weather allows), or water them in place and remove excessive water so the containers do not sit in water.
Fertilizer
Fertilize regularly at a low dosage of approximately one-quarter strength with a fertilizer appropriate to the potting mix in which your plants are grown. Fertilize less often during the winter.
A SELECTION OF PLANTS
Angraecums: Dwarf Madagascaran species, fragrant at night; bright light.
Cattleya Alliance Hybrids and Species: Choose miniature types less than 10” tall; bright light of southern exposure is best.
Dendrobiums: Dwarf phalaenopsis types, or higher-altitude miniatures; bright light at south window required.
Oncidiums: Many types available in flower, best if smaller growing; bright light.
Paphiopedilums: Lady’s slipper orchids grow well under home conditions, giving long lasting blooms; provide African-violet conditions.
Phalaenopsis: Moth orchids are absolutely the number one best orchid houseplant; provide African violet conditions.