May 3, 2012 by brooklynorchids
A few of my orchids in bloom
Like all living things, orchids need nutrition. Feeding (fertilizing) your orchid is an important part of caring for it and making sure that it lives a long and healthy life. This post about how to fertilize an orchid is waaaaayyy overdue…but better late than never, right? I’m going to talk specifically about fertilizing Phalaenopsis (moth) orchids because Phals are the most common orchids for beginners, available everywhere from corner delis to Home Depot, Ikea, and Trader Joe’s. Continue Reading »
Posted in How-To, Orchid Beginner Tips, orchids | Tagged caring for orchids, feeding orchids, how to feed orchids, how to fertilize orchids, how to fertlize phalaenopsis orchids, indoor orchid care, orchid care, orchid fertilizer, orchid food | 8 Comments »
April 6, 2012 by brooklynorchids
Phals at NYBG Orchid Show 2012
So you have a beautiful Phalaenopsis orchid, but its blooms are starting to wilt and fall off. What do you do now?! First of all, don’t freak out and throw your plant in the garbage; fading flowers are totally normal and they do NOT mean that your orchid is dying! Orchids can live for years and years and years with the proper care. Part of this proper care is knowing when and where to cut the flower spike. This is one of the most common questions I get in the comments section of my blog posts, so I thought it would be helpful to write about how to proceed once your Phal (the most widely available type of orchid) has finished blooming.
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Posted in How-To, Orchid Beginner Tips, orchids | Tagged caring for orchid, growing orchids, how to cut an orchid spike, moth orchid, moth orchid spike, orchid care, orchid how to, orchid stem, phalaenopsis, phalaenopsis orchid, when to cut an orchid spike, where to cut an orchid spike | 2 Comments »
April 5, 2012 by brooklynorchids
I’ve tried growing three different Paphiopedilums (lady slippers) and have killed two out of those three. The third, however, has been chugging along happily and put up a spike a little while ago. And now, I’m so proud to say that it is currently in bloom, with one fully opened flower and two developing buds!
NOID Paph in bloom!
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Posted in My Orchid Collection, orchids | Tagged dendrobium, lady slipper, lady slipper orchid, orchid, orchids, paph, paphiopedilum, paphiopedilum orchid, phalaenopsis, phalaenopsis orchid | 8 Comments »
April 4, 2012 by brooklynorchids
Centerpiece in the Haupt Conservatory atrium
I finally made the trek up to the NYBG yesterday for my fourth annual visit to the Orchid Show. This year marks the show’s 10th anniversary, with the theme being vertical gardens. Botanist, provacateur, and vertical gardening artist Patrick Blanc, aka “The Green Man,” created this year’s stunning displays. Orchids really are the perfect plant for constructing breathtaking vertical gardens, with their long, arching flower spikes and their ability to produce massive sprays of blooms. These plants sometimes grow on vertical surfaces in nature—tree trunks, branches, rocks, etc—so a vertical garden is a very logical way to show them off!
My mom was in town and we made the trip together. We both took about a million photos, and of course I want to share some of my favorites with you. Get ready for a hefty dose of orchid porn, starting…NOW. Continue Reading »
Posted in NYBG, Orchid Shows | Tagged orchid show, Orchid Shows, Orchids Show 2012, Patrick Blanc vertical gardens, The Patrick Blanc, vertical garden, vertical gardens | 4 Comments »
March 8, 2012 by brooklynorchids
The New York Botanical Garden‘s tenth annual Orchid Show opened this past Saturday! I haven’t had a chance to go yet, but my friend and her mom went the day before the show opened to the public, on “member day.” My friend texted me from there and said that I was going to freak out over how amazing it is!! She sent me a few photos from her visit…and the displays certainly do look stunning:
Vertical Garden - Photo by Monique Hartl
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Posted in NYBG, Orchid Shows | Tagged living wall, NYBG, orchid, orchid show, orchids, Patrick Blanc, Patrick Blanc vertical gardens, vertical gardens | 6 Comments »
February 16, 2012 by brooklynorchids
The folks at Brooklyn Botanic Garden were so super kind to comp me a ticket to their “LUSH” party this past Friday, February 10. I was thrilled to be able to go, especially considering I can’t really afford to drop $65 for a night out. My boyfriend (who did purchase his ticket) and I had a great time!
I’d never been to an event at BBG before. This party was held in their event room, called the Palm House, and it’s really gorgeous when all lit up at night:
Palm House twinkling in the night
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Posted in BBG, Events | Tagged BBG, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Events, Lush at Brooklyn Botanic garden, special events, Tiger Orchid | 6 Comments »
February 9, 2012 by brooklynorchids
Winter is the season in which many Phals display their full potential. While it actually doesn’t feel so wintery in NYC these days, my Phals are responding to the season as they should. I have a few orchids in bloom that I want to share with you! One of them is the Phal that opened up in mid January; a few more buds have opened and there are still more to come:
So many pretty flowers!
The second is a beautiful, colorful bloom on a side shoot of the Phal that my parents sent me for my 33rd birthday last summer:
Birthday orchid
And possibly the most exciting of the three, my Tolumnia from Lowe’s is finally beginning to bloom again!
Tolumnia bloom opening up
Another one of my Phals and two of my Phal keikis (one potted on its own, one still attached to its mother) are in spike too, so there will be blooms aplenty in the house soon. 
Posted in My Orchid Collection | Tagged orchid, orchid in bloom, orchids, phal, phalaenopsis, tolumnia | 10 Comments »
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