In becoming the owner of an orchid, you have now joined the ranks of such orchid lovers as movie actor Boris Karloff, the original Frankenstein’s Monster, who grew them in his apartment on the top floor of The Dakota in New York.
Also the CIA's Counter-Intelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton along with English author Roald Dahl. Orchids are everywhere these days.
The most popular are the Moth Orchids of which there is a plethora available. Botanically, phalaenopsis, they acquired their popular name from the fancied resemblance to a flight of Lepidoptera flitting across a clearing in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. In fact, the scientific name derives from this: phalaina in Greek for moth.
There some 50 or so species exist as epiphytes – plants that grow on trees without being parasitic. This offers clues as to how to care for these easiest of all orchids.
Lightly shaded in the rainforest, in the home they will flourish in an east window, and unimpeded north one, or a few feet either side of windows exposed to south and west sun. While phalaenopsis orchids hate overwatering, the growing medium must never be allowed to dry out. Plunging the pot into tepid water every week will often suffice, taking great care not to wet the centre of the leaves, a sure way to cause rot.
Once a month, add specially formulated orchid fertilizer to the water. Temperatures that are comfortable for you suit moth orchids perfectly: 30ºC days, half that at night. Like many another houseplant they thoroughly dislike stale, stagnant air – smoking of any substance is definitely verboten. An overhead fan kept moving at low speed will make a vast improvement to growing conditions.
Most moth orchids sold today are hybrids bearing a single flower spike with multiple blossoms once a year.
The long-lasting blooms come in white, pink and yellows, some spectacularly striped. A secret to encouraging flowering is slightly lower night temperatures, down to 12ºC. Move outside at the beginning of September onto a shaded table, returning the pots inside by early October.
Do not place directly on deck or patio as this can result in slug infestation. The Bonfire of Vanities (1990), an outstanding movie flop, had the McCoy Park Avenue apartment re-creation costing almost a million dollars, including purple phalaenopsis in the study and white phalaenopsis in the living room.
A word of warning from those who have become afflicted with orchiditis, a disease or passion for collecting orchids: First you acquire one orchid, then a second one. Then you purchase a new home.
