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:
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:
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!
Yesterday I went to a book sale at the Park Slope United Methodist Church and picked up eight books for $9 (!!!). One of my favorite finds was The Best Orchids for Indoors, part of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guides series. Retail price for this book is $9.95—though it’s currently on sale for $8.95 here – but I got it for $1.50. That’s right—one dollar and fifty cents worth of orchid-y goodness!
This BBG guide is my third book about orchids. The first one that I purchased is Reader’s Digest Orchids for Every Home by Wilma and Brian Rittershausen. I found it at a craphole bookstore at an outlet mall north of Austin, TX while I was visiting family, and if memory serves me correctly it cost me somewhere between $7-9. Price listed on the inside cover is $27.95, so I got a pretty great deal. 🙂
The second orchid book added to my collection was a holiday gift from my boyfriends’ parents: Bloom-Again Orchids by Judy White. I especially like the way this book presents information on how to care for orchids – very useful for a newbie like me.
I’ve always been a book lover so it makes sense that I’m now starting to pick up some orchid books. I guess it’s all part of the orchid addiction!
Last summer I bought a Phalaenopsis at Ikea in Red Hook that turned out to be 2 plants potted together. It took me a couple weeks to realize that there were actually 2 orchids because I didn’t immediately check the roots or repot them. I had read online that planting 2 orchids together is not recommended, so I split them up.
One of the orchids has been doing really well. Bloomed for a month or so, rested for awhile, then produced side shoots and bloomed again. Here’s how it looks today:
Are you looking for a last-minute gift for your loved one today? Consider an orchid. Sure, a dozen red roses are THE thing to get your Valentine, but roses wilt and die so quickly. Orchids can last for years if you treat them right – and they aren’t nearly as hard to care for as some people think.
Stop by your local Trader Joe’s, Home Depot, Ikea, or florist and they will likely have some phalaenopsis orchids to choose from. Phals are the easiest orchids to grow in the home. Bonus: they can be a whole lot cheaper than a bunch of roses! TJs, for example, sells many beautiful orchids for under $20. I got this pretty fuchsia phal at Ikea for $15 last spring and it has already produced side shoots and rebloomed for me:
Share the orchid love on Valentine’s Day and you’ll be rewarded for months (and maybe years) to come!