From Where Does Your Orchid Come? The Answer Is Vital to Keeping It Thriving

Most people can successfully grow orchids if they take the time to learn about the differences between the major families of these marvelous plants, as well as their different needs.

Orchids come from a wide variety of environments which differ from one another in almost every respect. As a result, you will find that some species produce flowers early in spring, others in summer and yet others during the greay days of winter. Their times for beginning their seasonal growth also varies; nevertheless, for convenience, feel free to rest all of your orchids over the winter. Most of them will start pushing up shoots as soon as the days begin to lengthen and the earth begins warming.

When your orchids are in their growing periods, you should treat them differently with respect to heat, according to their native origins. The East Indian orchids tend to need the most heat. Inside, maintain the air temperature around them at 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 70 degrees at day. Outdoors they will thrive at up to 75 degrees in the early spring, and temperatures as high as 85 or even 90 are acceptable during the high summer months. Just be sure to shade the plants from the direct rays of the sun at these times.

If you are growing these East Indian-originated orchids, you should make sure that the atmosphere surrounding them is well supplied with moisture. This type of orchid must be misted frequently! Or, try pouring water over the tables, growing benches and pathways of your greenhouse. If you do this every day it will produce a nice, moist heat to rise.

Brazilian orchids actually come from a cooler climate, one in which the air is not nearly as moisture-saturated. These, natrually, need both less heat and less moisture, but they do require warmth during the peak growing time. The same may be said about most of the orchids originating in Mexico. They should be artificially heated to about 60 degrees by night and from 65 to 70 by day early in the season. As the days lengthen, temps may be allowed to increase. During approximately May through August the night heat may range between 65 and 70 and
by day from between 70 and 85.

Then we come to the so-called cool orchids, which should be grown in an area to themselves, if possible. These plants come from places such as Ecuador and Peru, where they grow high on mountainsides. These must be grown at lower temperatures. You might try a range of 45 to 55 degrees during the winter, and 50 to as high as 65 during the summer. However you grow them, you must ensure that they are shaded from the sun most of the time. You can easily kill the cool orchids with too much heat!

There are many other groups and subgroupings of these plants, too many to go over them in this short article. If you want to learn more, the best and most thorough guide to modern orchid growing, hands down, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. There are many books on the subject of orchids, but Mr. Howard's guide is a complete course in itself, suitable for beginners as well as the more experienced. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of postings on many aspects of orchids.