Orchids for Hobby

"What type or variety of orchid should I grow?"
When you mention the word "orchid" most people immediately think of the purple-flowered Cattleyas, and rightly so as they have long been the most popular in the trade.Hobby growers should try growing hybrids of Phalaenopsis, Oncidium,Dendrobium.



Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchids are excellent for beginners. They may produce up to 15 or more flowers per spike. The flowers measure up to four inches across. Flowers may remain open for six weeks or longer.Phalaenopsis plants are very easy to grow.


Oncidiums

These dainty yellow and brown or white and brown flowers are suitable if used alone or in combination with other orchids. Large flowered Oncidium sdhacelatum - with their yellow and brown color combination can be made into a corsage.


Dendrobium

Dendrobium hybrids are some of the better corsage type orchids. They are a prolific group in that offset plantlets are frequently produced on the cane. When each offset has produced several aerial roots, it can be cut from the parent plant and will frequently flower after one year of growth.

Watering Orchids

One of the fastest ways to kill an orchid is to let it sit in a waterlogged pot. The frequency of watering depends on the type of orchid, media, light conditions, container characteristics and temperature.When orchids are actively growing, water them once per week.


Watering Orchids

At each watering, apply enough water so that some drains from the bottom of the pot. Orchids rest after flowering; watering should be reduced at this time. Water is especially critical for phalaenopsis.Do not let phalaenopsis completely dry out.Do not allow water to remain on the leaves or in the leaf axils, as this may readily lead to disease and death.


Watering Orchids


Watering Orchids

Temperature for growing Orchids

Orchids are not as delicate and temperature sensitive plants as most people think. Most will adapt readily to conditions offered by any home or greenhouse. For growing purposes, we group orchids into three temperature classes:medium,cool,warm.


Temperature for growing Orchids

The medium temperature class is represented by many Cattleyas, Epidendrums, Oncidiums, and Laelias, and most other commercially available orchids. The ideal minimum temperature is 60 degrees F nights and high 70s during the days. An occasional deviation will have no harmful effect. This group will do very well with the air, temperature, and light facilities found in the average home.


Temperature for growing Orchids

The cool class includes Cymbidiums, Cypripediums, Odontoglossums and Miltonias, and should be grown 5 degrees to 10 degrees F cooler than the medium class. These plants also require high light, so imagine cool, sunny October mornings as an example of the light and temperature that this class needs.


Temperature for growing Orchids

Warm class orchids are represented by Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilums, Vandas, Rhynchostylus and Dendrohiums. These plants should be grown 5 degrees F warmer than those in the Medium Class. They do well in high humidity and can be grown outdoors in Georgia from late spring to early fall if shaded and protected from rain. Never expose orchids of this class to less than 45 degrees F. During cold, freezing night temperatures, all orchid plants should be moved away from the window to provide a protective airspace against freezing. Air temperature can be 15 to 20 degrees F cooler near the windows than the room temperature.




Temperature for growing Orchids


Temperature for growing Orchids

Growing Orchids

Orchid Cultural Requirements
Growing Medium
There are many different types of orchid potting medium used in orchid culture. The overall consideration is to provide structural support for the orchid roots, but also to provide lots of air spaces between medium particles. Many orchid plants are grown in osmunda fiber. This fiber comes from the roots of the Osmunda fern that is native to Australia and the Pacific. The tough, wiry fibers break down very slowly and is an ideal potting medium. Fresh pine bark is also a popular medium but is usually mixed with other amendments before use. Both materials are sometimes mixed with peat and perlite or vermiculite. Some orchids are even grown in pebbles mixed with bark. Most orchid roots are adapted to being exposed to air and harsh conditions, but cannot tolerate being wet for more than a day or two.


Growing Orchids

Orchids grow slowly compared to houseplants. However, most orchids need to be repotted about once every two years. To pot an orchid, the pot is filled about two-thirds with orchid potting medium, then the plant is set in the pot with its roots spread out. The growing tip either centered (monopodials) or placed two fingers from the pot rim (sympodial). Then additional media is packed tightly around the plant to hold it in place. You should be able to turn the pot upside down without the orchid or medium falling out. Practice will insure successful repotting. When the plant outgrows the pot by extending the new shoots over the edge, usually about every two years, it is time to repot.


Growing Orchids

Light
The ideal place in the home for growing orchids is a bright window, free from drafts, where your plants receive indirect sunlight both morning and afternoon. (A south window is best.) In winter, give orchids all the light possible. Light intensity should be between 1500 and 2000 foot candles the equivalent to a bright south-facing window. With extra large windows or especially intense sunlight, the light may be adjusted downward by moving plants 18 to 36 inches from the window. Plants in the home require a greater light intensity because they receive light from only one direction, while in a greenhouse they receive light from many sides. Many orchids can be grown in a greenhouse or outdoors. All will require partial shade. Therefore, it is best to shade the section of the greenhouse you intend using or else grow them in an area that you have already shaded for foliage plants or African violets. Dendrobium Oncidium and Vanda will grow best in 20-30% of normal outdoor light, whereas Phalaenopsis-type orchids require only 10- 15 % of normal light.


Growing Orchids

Presentation of Orchids

Orchids is the largest family of the flowering plants.Its name is derived from the genus Orchis.
There are over 880 genera, 28,000 species and well over 300,000 registered cultivars currently documented.Orchids are also one of the most adaptable plant groups on earth.Tundra, rainforest, mountain, grassy plain, desert and swamp environments contain numerous orchid species.


Presentation of Orchids

Orchids produce seed pods with literally hundreds of thousands of seed that are released and scattered by the wind. Orchid seeds must establish a symbiotic relationship with a special fungus to survive its first year of life. The fungi gathers water and minerals for itself and the seedling, and the seedling shares its sugars from photosynthesis with the fungus. Only one or two orchid seeds will ever germinate and survive on that perfect crevice or depression that is both moist and has the fungus present. Even then, its chances to survive in the wild long enough to bloom are slim.


Presentation of Orchids

To avoid this problem, greenhouse growers sow orchid seeds on moist, sugar-rich, sterile agar, or they cut out growing clumps of orchid cells and place them on the agar. These techniques allow many hundreds of orchid plants to survive to maturity. New and improved hybrids can be mass produced rapidly. This is important as orchids are very slow growing. Many orchids take five to seven years to mature to flowering. You can see why breeding three or four orchid generations could span a person's lifetime just to get one new hybrid propagated sufficiently for sale.


Presentation of Orchids


Presentation of Orchids