STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

stylethread · Kenneth Cole

Orchids

RyanJ · Coach

My mom grows Orchids- she has actually won in an Orchid show. I make fun of her for that it seems like such and old lady thing to do. Like Bunny from SATC.

Anywho, the easiest type to grow are Phalaenopsis or known as the Moth Orchid.

Don't over water them- they don't like their feet wet. You should only water them when the leaves start to look a little dry and curl. Then you can start to see how often your Orchid needs water. Overwatering is more likely to kill it then underwatering it. If the roots are firm then you are underwatering and if they are mushy and dark then you are overwatering them.

Orchids also like it to be humid. My mom grows most of hers in a greenhouse, so they are in a very humid location.

The also like air movement. My mom uses special orchid pots. They have holes in the pot. She gets hers at Smith and Hawken, but other places sell them.

When Orchids grow in their natual habitat they are in trees where it is humid, but the breeze is blowing. It is hard to duplicate this, so that is why many Orchids die. They are really hard to grow and my mom even loses some once in a while and she has been growing them for about 15 years.

Good luck!

bex · Chanel

a friend of mine has her masters in horticulture... and i asked her about orchids once... she said the best ones to get are the Phalaenopsis or the PH ones as i refer to them b/c it is the only way i can remember the name. she said that these are the easiest ones to take care of and i probably wouldn't kill them (i usually kill all of my plants)

she also recommended against buying your orchids at places like lowe's or home depot and try to get them from a greenhouse where the people generally tend to them first hand and know a little more about the plants.

hth!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I keep mine on a shelf in the bathroom on the northeast side of my house, where it get indirect sunlight, and water it about once a week. I plug the hole in the bottom of the pot with my thumb, let the pot fill up, then slowly let the water out. I leave a little water on the saucer, and it has been growing and blooming over the past year.

-gd

mikacat · Coach

i finally just bought two really nice silk fake ones aboout 3 years ago that look real b/c i have killed so many in the past. i always get compliments on them.

I think they were about $100 but that is 5 orchids for me at $20 a pop so it seems worth it. my investment has paid off.

i never got an orchid to bloom again ----

Tati · Chanel

mikacat wrote:

i finally just bought two really nice silk fake ones aboout 3 years ago that look real b/c i have killed so many in the past. i always get compliments on them. I think they were about $100 but that is 5 orchids for me at $20 a pop so it seems worth it. my investment has paid off. i never got an orchid to bloom again ----

is there any way you can show us a picture of it? and how do you keep it clean?

-- Edited by Tati at 14:56, 2005-06-09

Drew · Gucci

Yeah, mikacat. I want to hear more about the fake orchid too!

Like bex, I kill every plant I have ever had.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

ok start by their home. keep them in the cheap plastic pot they come in and them buy a pretty one to set it into. fill the bottom of the pretty one with pebbles and fill that with h2o, do not set the plant into the h20, just enough to create some humidity. If your bathroom gets good light that is a great place. next mist daily. get an orchid specific fertilizer and ask how to use it. best to water the plant first then water with fertilizer. Good light is also important.

Good luck, mine are blooming now how beautiful.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

A little off topic but:

My best friend used to work at a nursery and they sold a few fake orchids in the home section. 1 plant in particular was bought and returned about 5 times by people who thought it was real. The last lady who bought it had it for about 6 mos and didn't realize it. She came in and was asking how much longer will it continue to flower, she felt so lucky and like she was doing everything right, fertilizing, watering and lighting, haha. My best friend remembered the fake and broke the news to the lady she was so embarrassed!!

Just a funny story I thought I would share. Fakes can be so beautiful and tricky.

RyanJ · Coach

Deuce wrote:

A little off topic but:
My best friend used to work at a nursery and they sold a few fake orchids in the home section. 1 plant in particular was bought and returned about 5 times by people who thought it was real. The last lady who bought it had it for about 6 mos and didn't realize it. She came in and was asking how much longer will it continue to flower, she felt so lucky and like she was doing everything right, fertilizing, watering and lighting, haha. My best friend remembered the fake and broke the news to the lady she was so embarrassed!!
Just a funny story I thought I would share. Fakes can be so beautiful and tricky.

That is so funny. I think I would feel like an idiot too knot know the plant was fake.

Drew · Gucci

Deuce wrote:

A little off topic but: My best friend used to work at a nursery and they sold a few fake orchids in the home section. 1 plant in particular was bought and returned about 5 times by people who thought it was real. The last lady who bought it had it for about 6 mos and didn't realize it. She came in and was asking how much longer will it continue to flower, she felt so lucky and like she was doing everything right, fertilizing, watering and lighting, haha. My best friend remembered the fake and broke the news to the lady she was so embarrassed!! Just a funny story I thought I would share. Fakes can be so beautiful and tricky.

That was hilarious - thanks!