Today, admiring the luxury of flowering orchids on the shelves, it is hard to believe that a few decades ago, growing these exquisite plants in indoor conditions could only be dreamed of. There are more and more hybrid plants that do great in indoor format. And even the most capricious species, if desired, can be easily found. But the choice of an orchid for the home is not at all simplified and still should not be frivolous. Orchids are special plants in everything. And in order not to be disappointed, you should try to weigh the pros and cons and find the perfect option just for you.
Which orchid to choose for the home?
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Love of convenience is the key to the absence of problems with orchids
Orchids often appear in the home as a gift, a pleasant surprise from loved ones or as a result of spontaneous purchases made under the spell of their beauty or discount percentages. But if orchids are bought deliberately, they should be chosen not only at the behest of the heart and taste. Rather, on the contrary: it is not worthwhile to succumb to the charm of these special plants and evaluate their decorative qualities before all the practical aspects (conditions, care, stages of development) have been studied and the chances of success have been soberly assessed.
First of all, it is worth analyzing and objectively assessing the conditions in the house and potential places where an orchid can be placed. Look for “a place for a plant”, and not vice versa, is only in the case of a gift. The existing conditions, especially the ability to maintain a cool content and control the humidity of the air, will already limit your choice to just a few types.
If you need a reliable option without hassle, it is better to refuse to buy a “complex” type in favor of a plant that will do well in any living room.
The unspoken rule that any orchid in the “mass market” can be perceived as quite suitable for home culture is not far from the truth. If you are not an experienced collector, it is better to look at the assortment and aesthetics of orchids in supermarkets, hypermarkets and specialty flower shops. The species that can be found on the shelves are the most unpretentious plants. It is not necessary to buy an orchid there, because you can then look for varieties and colors to your taste in other places.
Phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis)
The best types of orchids for home collection
It is not difficult to select the group of orchids that are most adapted to the indoor format. These are unpretentious, hardy, orchid hybrids that adapt well to the “apartment” light and humidity, whose names have become easily recognizable (and often protected) trademarks. They are marketed in hundreds of varieties.
Phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis) – the most popular and most “reliable” monopodial epiphytic butterfly orchid with long flowering, elegant shapes and beautiful large dark leaves. It blooms several times on one peduncle, is content with any bright warm place and minimal care, forgives mistakes. There are dwarf, medium and large varieties for every taste.
Cattleya (Cattleya)Â – large-flowered, often with single, but very spectacular fragrant flowers, single-leaved or double-leaved sympodial orchids with spectacular pseudobulbs. They are very fond of daily contrasts, bright lighting, but they are quite content with average humidity.
Paphiopedilum, or Lady’s slipper (Paphiopedilum) Is a monopodial hardy orchid with a neat two-sided rosette of fleshy, most often spotted leaves, peduncles growing right from the center and watercolor flowers with a massive sail and lip. The flowering of these epiphytes stimulates the coolness of the night, but in general, care is very simple. They perfectly tolerate dry air, but are demanding on soil moisture.
Read more about this orchid in the article “Lady’s Shoes”, or Pafiopedilum – a legend among indoor orchids.
Ludisia (Ludisia) became famous for its rising shoots and oval-pointed, often patterned leaves no less than fragrant delicate flowers in graceful straight brushes, which remind many of night violets. Ludisia blooms in winter. In cultivation, it is somewhat similar to Saintpaulia, does not like tight containers.
Celogyns (Coelogyne) – sympodial epiphytic white-yellow beauties with drooping elegant tassels. Oval double-leaved pseudobulbs and graceful flowers with ridges on the lip are a reward for a cool winter and modest care.
Dendrobiums (Dendrobium) – charming large hybrids with pseudobulbs, straight xiphoid leaves and royally luxurious brushes of graceful flowers with “eyes” and pointed petals. They have a pronounced dormant period, varieties differ in temperature requirements, but still remain “average” indoor orchids.
Other orchids adapted to indoor conditions, content with regular maintenance:
- cambria (Cambria);
- pleione (Pleione);
- cymbidium (Cymbidium);
- vanda (Vanda);
- oncidium (Oncidium);
- complex leliokattleya hybrids, brassocattleya, potinara, colmanara, miltonidium, odontocidium, vuilstekeara and etc.
Cattleya
Cymbidium. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Alex REINIG
Целогины (Coelogyne). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Mr. J
Where to buy orchids for your home?
Delivery from major flower and garden centers, popular sites, local flower shops, greenhouses, collectors and professional clubs – the options are many. Choosing a plant personally is always safer than using a photo and description. But in any case, you can buy a healthy orchid, if you are careful.
In addition to assessing the condition of the orchid, special attention should be paid to the quality of delivery and packaging, the seller’s reputation and guarantees. And the “freshness” of plants, the terms of stay in the sales areas (ideally, no more than 2 – 3 weeks after delivery).
Read also our article Orchids with Fruits and Refined Perfumes.
“Starting information” for orchids
The most important thing when buying an orchid for your home is knowledge. Orchids are special plants. Each of the more than thirty thousand orchids in culture is unique in its own way, not only in color and flower shape. Even varieties under the same trade name can be different in character and habits. And it is better not to be shy with questions and search for information, than then face unexpected surprises.
Giving your orchid proper care while remaining a stranger is almost impossible. And vice versa: if you know exactly which orchid you are dealing with, even without recommendations when buying, it will be easy to find information about all the nuances of its cultivation.
In the process of buying and choosing an orchid, it is important to know:
- the exact name of the selected beauty;
- the origin of the orchid – the conditions to which it is accustomed (warm, moderately warm, moderately cold and cold orchids require different efforts and attention);
- on the explicitness of a pronounced period of rest, cyclical development and the need to change conditions at different stages;
- terrestrial or epiphytic this is an orchid (can it be grown only in pots or also on snags, blocks);
- belonging to sympodial (easily recognizable by rhizomes and pseudobulbs, development in groups, with new seasonal growth at the base of the old one) or monopodial (with one main stem that does not give rise to shoots, growing upward due to the formation of new leaves, with peduncles and aerial roots between the leaves) ;
- whether the orchid sheds its leaves, whether its faded stem dies off, how does development take place;
- how the roots, pseudobulbs, leaves, peduncles and flowers should ideally look;
- what is the average flowering period and when the orchid “got used” to bloom;
- how the peduncle develops, on what factors flowering depends.
The most important thing when buying an orchid for home is knowing about it.
External assessment of health and condition
In orchids, everything can be guessed by external signs – both good and bad condition. Inspect an orchid before buying it carefully, from roots to flowers, not missing a single “part” of the plant. It is easier to evaluate flowering orchids, only with enough experience can you risk buying orchids without peduncles. The more skills in the “resuscitation” of orchids, the greater the risks you can afford. But in the beginning it is better to choose only strong, mature and flowering plants.
With the above-ground parts of orchids, everything is simple: strong, dense leaves and peduncles, a uniform saturated color suggest that everything is in order. Only minor defects are allowed. All the “opposite” – the presence of large dark spots, suspicious damage, wrinkling, deformation, lethargy, uneven color, and even more traces of masking trimming of leaves – reasons to refuse to purchase. As well as the suspiciously small size of young pseudobulbs compared to old ones, or too many of them, hinting that the orchid has been on sale for more than one season.
The condition of the roots is often more difficult to assess. It is better to choose orchids in transparent containers, where both the roots and the substrate are easily visible (this is how reliable flower centers sell orchids). But if the containers are different, you still need to inspect at least the upper and aerial roots, not forgetting about the soil. Healthy, strong roots are immediately visible. Whitish or yellowish, depending on the species, both young and old, orchid roots should be elastic, without traces of drying out and severe deformation, injuries, spots. It is better not to buy orchids with traces of rot and softening on the roots.
Smelling and checking the substrate by touch will help in choosing, because mold and signs of souring, rotting of the bark, salt deposits, and suspicious impurities are easy to recognize. Planting control is also needed: orchids should sit tightly, “securely”, not dangle at any touch.
Dear readers! Whatever orchid you buy for your home, remember that buying it starts a real “adventure”. And in order for even the strongest and healthiest plant to please for many years, it must be properly transported, placed in “quarantine” and conditions must be created for adaptation to a new home, ideally, several months of “greenhouse regime”. The transplant should be carried out no earlier than the real need for it.
