{"id":2742,"date":"2016-02-06T01:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-02-06T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=2742"},"modified":"2016-02-06T12:32:17","modified_gmt":"2016-02-06T17:32:17","slug":"growing-orchids-for-novices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2016\/02\/06\/growing-orchids-for-novices\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Orchids Is A Great Hobby"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lady<\/a>

Lady Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Phalaenopsis<\/a>

Phalaenopsis orchid at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC<\/p><\/div>\n

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At one time growing orchids was an elitist hobby for the very rich in our society. Orchids were expensive to purchase. Today, local greenhouses and garden centers sell orchids at affordable prices. Moth (Phalaenopsis<\/em>) and lady slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum<\/em>) are\u00a0the\u00a0simplest to grow. Here are some easy tips to make\u00a0home orchid growing\u00a0a rewarding year-round\u00a0hobby.<\/p>\n

Many orchid species are\u00a0 difficult to grow inside modern homes; not so for the moth and lady slipper orchids. In their natural habitat, orchids are plant epiphytes which grow on tree trunks and branches in the humid tropics. Their thick fleshy roots draw moisture from the air and various surfaces around the roots.<\/p>\n

Most important, in northern temperate regions, orchids may spend most of the spring and summer months outdoors beneath the dense leafy canopy of\u00a0a shade tree in your landscape. In early fall before cold night temperatures arrive\u00a0(below 40 \u00baF), plants come back indoors. Orchids are comfortable in home temperatures between 60 and 80 \u00b0F.<\/p>\n

Low room humidity between 10-40 % during the winter may challenge orchids. Bathrooms and the kitchen are the most humid rooms in\u00a0a typical\u00a0home.\u00a0Group several plants together and set on a tray filled with moist\u00a0pea gravel. Spray or mist plants daily in winter.<\/p>\n

Across the Northern hemisphere outdoor\u00a0light peering\u00a0through windows in the winter months is generally lacking. Sunlight intensity is weak and day length is short between November through February. Moth and ladyslipper orchids\u00a0need only\u00a0bright light\u00a0and not direct sunlight.<\/p>\n

Orchids\u00a0should be\u00a0planted in special potting mix containing coarse bark, sphagnum peat moss and perlite. Some\u00a0medias add charcoal to improve drainage and\u00a0filter out\u00a0impurities. A good orchid potting mix retains moisture\u00a0only a few days. Otherwise, the fleshy orchid roots\u00a0begin to\u00a0rot if\u00a0growing media stays too wet over many days. Never leave an orchid standing in water\u00a0over many hours. Annually, repot your orchids after flowering, usually in the spring or in late summer.<\/p>\n

Fertilize orchids \u201cweakly\u201d and \u201cweekly\u201d from spring thru fall with a high phosphorus-based soluble house plant fertilizer.\u00a0Package directions for\u00a0most house plant fertilizers are\u00a0too strong for orchids. Use only half the recommended rate and feed weekly. Orchids are fertilized once monthly from December thru February. After repotting, do not fertilize for 2-3 weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              At one time growing orchids was an elitist hobby for the very rich in our society. Orchids were expensive to purchase. Today, local greenhouses and garden centers sell orchids at affordable prices. Moth (Phalaenopsis) and lady slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum) are\u00a0the\u00a0simplest to grow. Here are some easy tips to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,357,665,637,846,843,847,601,729,849,777,630,756,1222],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2742"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8615,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions\/8615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}