orchids | Brooklyn Orchids

How to Make a Humidity Tray

March 23, 2010 17 Comments

Orchid Humidity Tray — Photo credit: beautifulorchids.com

Updated October 23, 2019

I went out of town for five days this past week to visit my sister and nieces in Austin, so I had to abandon my orchids for the first time in awhile. Because I’ve gotten used to checking on them daily, leaving them made me a little nervous. I wanted to make sure my orchids didn’t dry out too badly; a bunch of them have aerial roots that I mist about once a day. What many orchid growers recommend if your home is on the dry side are humidity trays [paid link]. A humidity tray is a shallow dish lined with stones or pebbles and filled with water almost to the top of the stones; the plant sits ON TOP OF the stones and reaps the benefit of the water as it evaporates. You just have to make sure that the plant is not sitting IN the water – something that can lead to root rot. More details on humidity trays can be found here.

Events, New York Botanical Garden, Orchid Shows

Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower at New York Botanical Garden

March 15, 2010 2 Comments

[WARNING: Photo-heavy post ahead!]

Two weeks after the Orchid Show opened at the New York Botanical Garden, I made my way up to the Bronx to visit with my boyfriend and friend in tow. The weather was truly hideous; we happened to go on a day that had 60 mph winds and about a metric ton of rain. But once we set foot inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory it was like tropical heaven with a beautiful display of orchids around the reflecting pool:

New York Botanical Garden, Orchid Shows

Orchid Show Visit

March 13, 2010 No Comments

Just got home from the Orchid Show at the NYBG — and it was awesome! The weather is truly FOUL out there, rainy and super windy, but luckily my friend has a car and drove us to the garden.

Will post a full update with photos, but here’s a pic of a big, gorgeous Cattleya hybrid for now. It’s labeled as a Brassolaeliocattleya Success Dream x Laeliocattleya Orglade’s Grand:

My Orchid Garden

My new orchids. Let me show you them.

March 12, 2010 2 Comments

Yay!! My Hausermann orchids arrived a couple hours ago via UPS. Of course I sat around inside all day waiting for them to show up, but it’s nasty outside so I can’t complain.

I had a mini panic attack this afternoon while waiting for the package (side note: now that I’m watching The Wire, “package” makes me think of heroin) because I suddenly wasn’t sure if the orchids would arrive in pots. I didn’t have five extra pots lying around the house and didn’t want to have to make an emergency run to Home Depot in the rain. Plus, the orchids I’d ordered were on sale so I thought maybe pots wouldn’t be included.

Fortunately all of my new plants came potted. I’ve already repotted each one so that I could check out their roots, and I took lots of pictures to post here. So I guess this is a sort of “orchid unboxing” post…how nerdy am I??

How-To, Orchid Beginner Tips

How to Water a Phalaenopsis Orchid

March 12, 2010 28 Comments

NOTE: I recommend reading my updated post about how to water orchids.

Phalaenopsis orchids are the most readily available orchids and tend to be an orchid newbie’s first; however, many of these beauties don’t come with instructions. Proper watering is key to maintaining a healthy and happy orchid plant, so I’m here to offer up some advice on how to water a Phalaenopsis orchid.

First, let me explain the issues with improper watering. When an orchid is over-watered its roots will rot, which prevents the orchid from absorbing water and nutrients; as a result, the plant will die a lot sooner than you’d like. Conversely, under-watering dehydrates the plant and slows its growth, meaning the plant won’t offer up as many of those beautiful blooms. And the blooms are why we buy orchids, right?!

My Orchid Garden

Spring Has Sprung; My Hausermann Orchids Have Shipped

March 10, 2010 1 Comment

Yes!! A sign that spring is on the horizon: I just received an email notification that my o rchids from Orchids by Hausermann have shipped!

I wrote Hausermann’s customer service a few weeks ago to find out when they might ship my orchids. With all the crappy cold weather and snow we’ve had, they said it wasn’t warm enough for them to safely ship my plants. Yet another reason to hate winter.

But now the plants are on their way and I’m excited! I’ll post all about my new orchids as soon as they arrive. I hope they make it to Brooklyn ok—this is my first experience with an online orchid order.