Brooklyn Orchids

New Orchids: To Repot or Not? That is the Question

March 2, 2010 5 Comments

Most orchid nerds will tell you that you should repot any brand new orchid almost as soon as you bring it home. This is recommended so that you can take a good look at the orchid’s root system and cut away any rotten roots (see my post on identifying healthy vs. unhealthy roots). Conversely, you may find a really nice set of roots like these:

Healthy Phalaenopsis orchid roots — Photo credit: velvetdahlia, Flickr

You may have also heard not to repot an orchid while it’s in bloom. So, what exactly are you supposed to do with these two conflicting pieces of advice when you bring home a new orchid that is in bloom, like my latest orchid purchase?

My Orchid Garden

Great Ikea Find: Lady Slipper Orchid

March 1, 2010 1 Comment

Along with the month of March came a lovely day in Brooklyn: sunny with temperatures in the 40s (as I type this my weather widget says it’s 49 degrees)! I’ve been hibernating in my apartment a lot because of all the shitty weather we’ve been having—February 2010 broke the record for snowiest month ever in NYC. Ugh, all this white stuff is not for me. So when I got up this morning and realized how nice it was outside, I decided to take a long stroll—something I haven’t done in awhile.

Orchids in the Media

To Do: Queens Botanical Garden

February 26, 2010 No Comments

I just now discovered that there is a Queens Botanical Garden. I’ve lived in New York City for more than eight years and I didn’t know this! I actually found out on Twitter; this morning I started following @NewYorkology and they had re-tweeted (re-twatted?) a post from @queensbotanicl about being closed today due to the snow.

The QBG comprises 39 acres of land in Flushing, about an eight block walk from the last stop on the 7 train. That neighborhood is quite a hike to get to if you don’t live in Queens (I just made a trek out that way earlier this week to go to Spa Castle) but if you jump on a 7 express you’ll get there a whole lot faster.

Admission is free until March 31, 2010; they’re going to start charging adults $4 on April 3. Seniors will pay $3 and students with a valid I.D. will pay $2. Four dollars is really cheap for admission to any attraction in the NYC area, so I wouldn’t mind paying a bit to check it out – especially when plants will be starting to bloom!

Greenies will be excited to hear that the garden has a composting project that offers information and education about the process. The garden doesn’t appear to have an orchid collection, but that’s not going to stop me from visiting. Once the weather warms up I’m going to check the QBG out and will report back here.

How-To, Orchid Beginner Tips

How to Identify Healthy vs. Unhealthy Roots

February 25, 2010 72 Comments

Roots are the basis of any orchid plant. It’s very important for your orchid to have a robust root system; the orchid takes in water and nutrients through its roots which in turn allows the whole plant to grow, thrive, and ultimately put out those beautiful blooms.

First I’ll take a moment to show you what roots look like on the most common orchid, the Phalaenopsis (aka moth orchid). Phal roots, when healthy and moist, are a nice green color, like so:

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, My Orchid Garden

My Recent BBG Visit and Orchid Purchases

February 24, 2010 1 Comment

One of the best parts of Funemployment is having the opportunity to take advantage of deals like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden‘s Free Winter Weekdays (which ends March 2). Once I discovered I could visit without paying a dime I knew I HAD to go see their orchid collection, which is in bloom between November and March. The orchid collection is located in the Aquatic House portion of the Steinhardt Conservatory, which I had somehow completely bypassed during my previous BBG visits.

So a couple weeks ago I made my way to the BBG, armed with my fully charged digital camera. I was the only visitor inside the Aquatic House at the time and it was so peaceful to have the whole place to myself. The house isn’t all that big, but there are a ton of orchid plants inside and it is definitely tropical in there; I had to take my puffy winter coat off immediately. There were plenty of Vandas in bloom:

My Orchid Garden

Sphag-n-Bag Abort!

February 22, 2010 2 Comments

Last week I shared what led to my first Phal rescue attempt via sphag-n-bag. This is how it looked five days after going into the bag:

Yeah, not so good, huh? One of the leaves started turning yellow which is certainly not a good sign. The sphagnum already appeared kind of dried out but I wasn’t sure if I should open the bag to moisten it. The instructions had said to “place it in a warm, shady location and walk away.”

I headed over to the Orchid Board and asked for some advice – the members over there have always been really helpful to me in the the past. I posted a couple photos and the first response that came in said to take my Phal out of the bag right away, that it didn’t look like it needed to be sphagged-n-bagged in the first place. Then Ray himself from First Ray‘s chimed in and agreed, suggesting that my orchid just looks like it’s not getting the water it needs.

With that advice in mind, I took the orchid out of the bag, removed the yellow leaf, then potted it up with sphagnum moss. I placed it in a smaller pot than before since the root system is so small. It’s probably not a good idea for me to be messing so much with this poor little plant, so I’m going to leave it alone for awhile and hope that it starts to develop some heartier roots.

More updates to come!