Tips on Growing Orchids
The better way to grow orchids is also simple when you know how.
One of the best ways to get great orchid bulbs or just ready to use flowers is to get in touch with a grower in your community. They will likely have better prices and better information on these wonderful flowers than will your local home improvement store or even gardening center, but how do you find an orchid grower in your community? There are a couple of good ways to locate a local orchid grower.
One option just simply goes with the times. The Internet is a great way to find a grower in your community. Log on to your computer, go to your favorite search site, and look for “orchid grower” along with the name of your community. You should be able to find someone, but if not there are certainly other options.
Another option is to check out community boards in your local home stores and garden centers. Often growers will post their information on these boards in hopes of not just getting business, but also in hopes of finding other people who love orchids. Either way, you are still getting in touch with a wealth of information on orchids that can help you.
Finally, if all else fails, you can get in touch with an orchid grower that is not in your community. Bulbs actually ship well and you can get a great deal of information through the phone and email. You will be able to build a relationship and possibly save yourself some money along the way.
If you want to plant orchids or simply learn more about them, an orchid grower is a much more personal and often more affordable way of going about that. They can provide you with bulbs, information, and even a camaraderie that you will likely not find in your local home store or gardening center.
Like all delicate flowers, orchids should be looked after with extreme care. The best place to place them is in a non draughty window box or sill where they should get sunlight through the morning and into the afternoon. Note they should not be placed in direct line of the sun.
Orchids should be re-potted every two years. The soil should be moist and able to retain this moisture. Water your orchids at least once per week, more in warmer weather and especially if you notice that the plant is drying out. This is common sense, really.
Finding an orchid grower is one of the smarter ways to learn about this great little plant. Why not learn from someone who has been there and done it.
Jake Kennedy
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/tips-on-growing-orchids-113366.html
Does anyone know any tips for growing orchids….?
I live In Illinois and id like to plant some orchids….When should they be planted…Do they grow outdoors or indoors id like to do both if possible….How much sunlight & water do they need…what kind of soil do i need….and what would be the best kind of orchid to grow in IL since it does get really cold…any tips would be great TY
In your growing zone, orchids can only be frown indoors. You will need special soil, warm location, special lighting and moist climate almost continually. While growing orchids used to be quite difficult, with the new varieties now on the market, it is becoming easier. However, your best bet is to go to the library and get a good book on the subject. they you have maximized you chances of growing them/.
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Orchids for the most part come from tropical climates, warm humid, with much light, not sun. Any descent garden center will have the basic extract.
You might be better off just buying a plant grown by a pro and ask lots of questions. You will get better answers if you do lots of research beforehand. Catleias are some of the most commonly found.
There are wild orchids that grow in Iowa and other cold climates but they are much rarer and hard to find. they do not produce the exuberant smells or the exotic and sensous looks.
All orchids you buy here want the tropic. Nothing bellow 50 F. Any thing lower then that is instant demise.
I hope this helps.
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I have bout 30 different kinds in my farm in Brasil
Very few out door types Lady slippers are the only ones I know of for our climate, but I grow several Moth (phalinopsis (sp)) orchids that bloom year after year on my south window sill. they are the ones that I have found do best, just water and mist them, the other types (thousands) require different conditions and I have yet to get to the point I can grow them (I do have a Vanilla orchid that is growing well but has never flowered) Read up on them and give it a try, they are wonderful. Just scored 4 plants at Lowes for three bucks apiece because they had lost the flowers…I can wait a year for the blooms at that price, retail they were in excess of $60.00!!! I won! and my plants always show out this time of year!
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You’ve got some good suggestions in other answers, there are also orchid clubs and societies, you could probably find one not far from you by doing general web searches. A local orchid club might be the best place to get recommendations for growing in your area.
Orchids like the same sorts of temperatures that humans do, with more humidity. I have mini phaelenopsis that grow in my north windows (my south windows get too hot and too much sun) and bloom every year, in fact, they are all blooming now.
If you really want something for outdoors, I suggest going to your local garden center, find someone knowledgable and ask what will give you the ‘look’ of orchids but will survive outside in your climate.
Good luck!
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A LOT of very good answers, references and advice her! I have one other suggestion: A mini greenhouse in your basement or garage could be a great project and you’d learn an awful lot! Then, when the temps. in your area are above 60 degrees, you could take your orchids out and hang them from trees that will shade them, but allow them to absorb sunlight and moisture from te air. They will only require misting, unless it’s blooming time….
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Pot them in course river sand mixed with fine pine bark.
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15 years in retail landscape supplies.
There’s tons of great advice for you here, wow! I know my aunt, who lives in Ottawa, Canada (cold? Yeah) put ground orchids in last summer- they’re supposed to be cold tolerant. I know that here in Florida, Ground Orchids are sold as the genus Spathoglottis, so maybe you could look into that for "planting" orchids outside. But also check out Orchidweb.com- you’ll learn a lot, along with your local orchid clubs and even the county co-op, they’ll have orchid shows too.
Good luck; once you’re bitten by the orchid bug you’ll never look back!!
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