World’s Most Magnificent Flowers,
Orchid Blooms

I do believe that most people can at least recognize an orchid flower when they see one, even if they cannot actually name it. That’s because orchid flowers are so uniquely beautiful that they are quite frequently used to decorate homes and offices, to enhance the beauty of bouquets and to create a stunning display in corsages and exotic leis. Orchids blooms also appear in many art forms and they are often used as adornments to elegant culinary dishes, in aroma therapy and in a variety of medicinal and therapeutic applications.

Many of the same individuals who gawk with appreciative admiration at stunning orchid blooms, fail to give a second thought to the orchid plants that produce them. Nevertheless, orchid plants deserve to be studied and understood because of their distinctive characteristics among other flowering plants.

What Makes Orchid Plants So Special?

The orchid family is known as Orchidaceae in the world of science and it is:

  • The second largest family of flower producing plants that currently consists of over 26,000 distinctly identified species but that number is continually growing as more and more species are found somewhere on planet earth.To put that into perspective, consider that there are twice as many orchid species as there are bird species and four times as many as mammal species. Being counted among the world’s seed plants, orchid plants comprise roughly 11% of all plants that produce seeds.
  • Being as popular as they are and in such high demand since they were first presented to the population at large, horticulturists have engendered a sum total of well over 100,000 hybrid orchids.
  • Orchid plants are found in just about every environment on the globe except for ice glaciers, with the largest concentration occurring in the tropics of South and Central America as well as Asia. However, several orchid plant species even thrive above the Arctic Circle and in very close proximity of Antarctica as well as in the highest peaks of the Himalayas.Orchid species are grouped in 880 genera and the largest among them are –- Bulbophyllum consisting of 2,000 orchid species
    - Epidendrum consisting of 1,500 orchid species
    - Dendrobium consisting of 1,400 orchid species
    - Pleurothallis consisting of 1,000 orchid speciesThese genera are then distributed in the following way –- 260 to 300 genera in Tropical Asia
    - 250 to 212 genera in Tropical America
    - 230 to 270 genera in Tropical Africa
    - 50 to 70 genera in Oceania
    - 40 to 60 genera in Europe
    - 20 to 26 genera in North America

Caring for Orchid Plants

Although many people mistakenly fear that the task of caring for orchids is too taxing to attempt, the truth of the matter is that growing orchids is not harder than any other plants and in some instances it is even easier.

When caring for orchid plants, one must first of all buy the orchid plant that will be most suitable to the available environment and then proceed with prudence by:

Potting.

Most orchid growers prefer using special orchid pots for growing their orchid plants and those pots need to be filled with appropriate orchid media.

Watering.

As soon as their potting media dries out, orchid plants need to be saturate with water that is allowed to thoroughly drain out to prevent rotting of roots.  Many orchid growers use watering cans, self watering devices or hoses.

Humidifying.

Orchid plants love humidity that can be administered via humidity trays, spray bottles or misters and the amount of moisture can be easily measured with moisture meters.

Feeding.

All living organisms need to be fed and orchids are not different. Feeding orchid plants with properly formulated fertilizers will ensure their healthy and longevity.

Lighting.

Different species of orchid plants need different amounts of lighting.  So, if natural lighting proves to be insufficient, growers supplement it with orchid growing lights.

Pruning.

Most people grow orchid plants for their gorgeous blooms which should be pruned off when dry, as should damaged leaves. This can be best accomplished with specialized orchid pruning shears.

Enjoy your orchids plants, treat them well by caring for them effectively and they will reward you with magnificent orchids flowers time and time again. To learn as much as you can about stunning orchid plants and how to care for orchids, browse through this Orchid Care.org site and don’t hesitate to take advantage of the valuable resources we have provided here especially for you.