Orchid Growing

is for everyone!

It used to be that orchid growing was a hobby reserved for the rich. Not anymore! Thanks to modern breeding techniques and newly developed orchid hybrids, orchid growing is open to everyone.

Although orchids require more care than the average houseplant, orchid growing can be a pastime that offers great rewards. Not only are the orchid flowers beautiful, orchid growing offers a glimpse into the amazing world of this unique plant.

In order to succeed at orchid growing, you need some basic knowledge about how orchids grow and the various types of orchids that are available. There are two major types of orchids - terrestrials (which grow on the ground) and epiphytes (which grow above ground and have aerial roots). Epiphytes are more commonly grown as house plants than terrestrials.

No matter which type of plant you choose for orchid growing, they both share a similar flower structure which should be learned by anyone who is interested in orchids. Each orchid flower heads three sepals which form the outer whorl and three petals which make up the inner whorl.

One of the three orchid petals is either larger or otherwise distinct from the other two. This petal is known as the labellum or lip.

At the center of the orchid flower are the reproductive structures. The anther  produces pollen and below that is the pistil which has a sticky stigma. Below the pistil it is the ovary which develops into the seed capsule after pollination. The seed capsule contains thousands of tiny seeds.

Orchid Growth

There are two classes of orchids - sympodial and monopodial. Sympodial orchids produce several new stems each of which has flowers leaves and roots. Sympodial  orchids grow laterally as opposed to monopodial orchids which grow vertically with a single upright stem.

Sympodials have pseudo bulbs which are fleshy stems made up of overlapping leaves. Pseudo bulbs are attached to the rhizome (root) and help the orchid to survive when growing conditions are bad. One pseudo bulb is produced every year and each pseudo bulb produces a flowers shoot which may take several years to bloom.

Monopodial orchids to not have pseudo bulbs, but instead have aerial roots, leaves, and flower spikes which grow along the stem.

Next: Orchid Growing Part 2 - The Secret of Orchid Growing