That’s where I was about 20 years ago. I like plants and have tried growing all kinds of them. While some did just fine, others didn’t do well at all.

Orchids, I thought, were far too tricky for me. But I got my first orchid plant, anyway. It must have been its beautiful bloom that attracted me and so I bought it. I brought it home and then thought, “Now what?” How do I take care of this plant?

My first step was to figure out exactly what kind of an orchid I ended up purchasing. All my reference books, and I have quite a few, were not a great deal of help because too many orchids looked just like mine. Little did I know, at the time, that there are over 34,000 species of orchids with hundreds of thousands of hybrids and so I was astounded into shock which resulted in my giving up on research and treating this first orchid plant of mine just like any other houseplant. Well, I was lucky because my new orchid plant turned out to be a phalaenopsis, and phals are OK with receiving no special treatments.

By summertime, the bloom that had initially caught my eye was gone, so I moved the plant to a shady spot on my deck and basically forgot about it. As summer passed and fall was ending, I brought my outdoor plants into the house for the long, cold Minnesota winter. To my surprise, I soon discovered a new bloom spike emerging from my forgotten orchid plant and after several weeks it was in full bloom again.

That reeled me in and I was hooked! I began to acquire more and more orchids — lots of orchids or various types and, as a matter of fact, way too many of them. I started reading everything I could find on orchids and when someone at work discovered that I was into orchids, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Minnesota Orchid Society. Needless to say, I joined without hesitation and never missed a meeting for many years.

Growing orchids can be as simple or as complex as you wanted it to be. Advanced growers start plants from seeds in sterile environments. And many orchids today are even cloned. But all that is best left to the professionals.

As an amateur and a hobbyist who want to successful grow indoor orchid plants, suffice in acquiring the basics as you should learn …

• How to get it to thrive
• What to do when the blooms fade
• How to get more blooms
• When and if to repot
• Whether the plant can be propagated
• About pests that may cause harm
• How to avoid potential problems
• What to do when planning to be away
• Which fertilizers to use and how often
• What is the best temperature range
• Which types of water to avoid
• How to shape the next orchid bloom
• How to manage the orchid plant outdoors
• How to keeping the orchid plant healthy
• To identify a surprise baby on your orchid
• What to do about orchid roots growing outside the pot

If all that I’ve told you so far about orchid plants, orchid bloom and orchid care tends to overwhelm you, please take a deep breath and believe me that it is all doable and that the potential results will be well worth all your efforts.

Please do not give up before giving it your best and visit us right here at Orchid Care.org as often as you can.

Get the Flash Player to see this content.

Filed under: Orchid Care

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!