Orchid Information for Beginners

Many a home gardener has fallen in love at the first sight of a flowering orchid

. No matter where you look from the UK and the USA to outback Australia and the Middle East you'll find individuals who are infatuated with their beauty and obsessed with growing them. If you've recently fallen for a Phalaenopsis, become smitten with a Cymbidium, or just developed a fascination with orchids in general, here is a little orchid information to feed your developing obsession.

Basic Orchid Types

Orchids that grow on or in the ground are known as terrestrial orchids.

Varieties that grow on other plants and trees are called epiphytes.

Plants that live on rocks are lithophytes.

Epiphytes and terrestrial orchids grow with their root system exposed to the air so placing these varieties into pots and covering their roots with soil is usually a fatal error.

Orchid Growth

Some orchids grow outwards along their root formation, producing several new shoots as they spread horizontally. These are known as sympodial orchids. Others grow in a vertical manner with new growth appearing on the upright stems. These are referred to as monopodial.

An Orchid Myth

When orchids first began to make their way around the world as an object of trade, many growers assumed that they needed high temperatures, tropical humidity and bucket loads of water to survive. This myth persists even now and many an orchid is killed off by over-watering or being placed into an enclosed greenhouse where the heat is too high and the air flow insufficient for its needs.

Interesting Facts about Orchids

The vanilla flavoring that enhances numerous desserts and drinks around the world comes from the Vanilla Planifolia plant. You guessed it it's an orchid! Sadly, it's difficult to grow this plant at home. It's native to Mexico and natural pollination requires the assistance of a little bee who is also a Mexican local. While hand pollination methods have been created to allow for commercial production, there is more work involved in successfully growing Vanilla that most gardeners want to do.

In earlier centuries orchids were considered exotic and rare. Limited availability and a lack of knowledge about successfully growing and propagating orchids made them very expensive. There are references to orchids in Greek and Chinese literature that date back centuries "before Christ".

When trade between countries increased in the 1700s and 1800s, large numbers of orchids were stripped from their natural environments to supply a growing number of orchid lovers, making them an even rarer commodity until large scale propagation and hybridization was achieved. These processes have brought the cost of purchasing orchids within the reach of the average gardener.

Some orchids are still so rare and highly sought after that smugglers and orchid obsessed individuals go to great lengths to find them. Such obsessions have even found their way into our literature and onto our film screens with the 1998 book The Orchid Thief (non-fiction) and the 2002 film based upon it, Adaptation.

If orchids are set to become part of your life you'll need to learn more about the variety of orchid you have or hope to grow. Having the right information will help you to meet your plant's needs when it comes to light, temperature, humidity and water so the two (or more) of you can live happily ever after!

Orchid Information for Beginners

By: Lisa Jenkins

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