September
Cool evenings and shorter days are signs of the change of season. Many of the hybrid vandas will be at their blooming peak in September. The cooler nights are beneficial for initiating or setting flower buds for the fall-blooming cattleyas, oncidiums, dendrobiums, angraecums, and moth orchids and slipper orchids. Here are a few fall tasks:
If you’re in a cold climate, bring indoors any plants that have been summering outside. Before doing so, check them closely for pests. If spraying is called for, doing so is much easier and safer to do while the plants are outdoors.
Start cutting back on the frequency of watering deciduous orchids like catasetums (which will have yellowing foliage at this time of year).
Remove shade on the greenhouse in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Move orchids that require a lot of light from the east window back to the southern exposure.
October
Some cattleya species and their relatives and hybrids will be in bloom now. So will some moth orchid species and hybrids and oncidiums. Do the following for your orchids, no matter if they’re in a greenhouse, under lights, or on the windowsill:
As days continue to shorten and the angle of light gets lower in the sky, position the orchids in your windowsill and greenhouse so that they capture the most light.
Be sure your glass or glazing surface is clean. This can make a real difference in light transmission.
Growth will start to slow on many orchids from lower temperatures and light, so reduce watering and fertilizing accordingly.
Get ready for winter. Insulate your greenhouse. Get a standby emergency propane heater.
November and December
Flowering spikes will be showing up on some moth orchids, slippers, and oncidiums. Some of the nobile-type dendrobiums will be starting to show buds. Low light, short days, and cold temperatures of these two months bring most orchid growth to a stop or at least a crawl. You’ll see more growth on plants grown under lights than in a greenhouse or on a windowsill because of the additional light that can be provided. Here are tasks to complete:
For the Northern Hemisphere and other cold parts of the world, November is the last month to safely purchase mail-order plants before it gets so cold that there will be a higher risk chance for freeze damage in transit. Visit orchid nurseries to pick out holiday presents for your orchid-growing friends (or yourself!).
Put orchids that require more light, like vandas, in a bright window, close to the lights, or high in the greenhouse to expose them to as much light as possible.
Water in the early part of the day to ensure that no standing moisture is on the leaves overnight. In cold, damp weather, especially, such moisture can cause disease outbreaks.
DOING YOUR PART TO SAVE ORCHIDS
Many orchids are endangered in their natural habitat. Overcollection and destruction of habitats have been the primary culprits. To save orchids, some international regulations prohibit the exportation or importation of orchids collected in the wild from their native countries. Various countries are also creating preserves to protect these unique plants.
So, what can you do to help? You can do the following:
Don’t ever collect wild orchids whether it be in your own county or on a vacation. If you do, you’re contributing to the problem and could be facing severe fines (even jail time!) when you try to bring the foreign-collected orchids into your country.
Only buy your orchids from reputable dealers who grow their plants from seed or by cloning. You’ll have much more success with these nursery-grown plants than those collected from the wild because they have established root systems and they’re adapted to growing in greenhouses, on windowsills, or under lights.
The practice of selling wild collected plants, at least from tropical and semitropical lands, is exceedingly rare today. For native orchids in North America and other temperate areas this can still be a problem.
Chapter 2
Choosing the Right Orchid for You
IN THIS CHAPTER
One of the main reasons some people fail with orchids is that they simply choose the wrong ones. Considering that there are thousands of distinct kinds of orchids, you can easily see how people may not know which one to buy. To be successful, you need to pick a dependable supplier, healthy plants, and the type of orchid that fits your growing area.
Selecting an orchid that suits your growing conditions is much more practical than trying to suit your growing conditions to the orchid. In this chapter, I walk you through the important questions to ask yourself and your supplier so you end up with the orchid that will be right in your growing spot.
Figuring Out Where to Shop
Finding orchid suppliers used to be difficult, unless you were lucky enough to live in a very warm area, like Southern California or Florida. Nowadays, because orchids have skyrocketed in popularity, you can find them for sale in myriad places. In the following sections, I fill you in on your supplier options.
Specialist orchid growers or suppliers
An orchid specialist is always my first choice when I’m buying orchids. Reputable suppliers in this category have been selling orchids for many years before it was the chic thing to do. Almost all of them are orchid fanatics whose hobby grew out of control — so they were forced to either stop buying more orchids or start a business. They know everything about their plants — where they came from, their attributes, and how to grow them. They almost always have the largest selection and cater to both the beginner and sophisticated, experienced growers. They love to help other people discover the pleasure of growing orchids and are full of helpful information.
The only disadvantage of specialist growers or suppliers is that you may not have one near where you live. Of course, that doesn’t have to be a deterrent. It just means you’ll need to do some planning and search out these growers so you can take your own orchid-buying safari! I urge you to seek out these dedicated growers. Unfortunately the number of these growers seems to be dwindling because most folks now purchase their orchids through other convenient channels, but these growers are breeding and growing the less known and fascinating orchids. If orchid aficionados like you and I don’t patronize these committed folks, we risk losing the diversity of orchids that only they supply and now enjoy.
