8/12/2019 PDF Growing Orchids
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GROWINGORCHIDSINFLORIDAbyBJJarvis,PascoCountyHorticultureAgent
andSandyVanno,PascoCountyMasterGardenerOrchidsareverypopular
plants. Onceonlyavailableto
thewealthy,through
technologychanges
and
the
adventofnewpropagation
methods,orchidsarenow
withinreachformostgardeners. Propagatedforretail
trade,orchidsarealmostentirelybytissueculture.
Thefollowingsixorchidspeciesandhybridsare
recommendedtoFloridaresidentsbecauseoftheir
adaptability,easeofgrowingandbeautifulflowers:Cattleyaisthemostpopularand
widelygrownprobablybecause
oftheir
attractive
showy
flowers
andlonglife.Oftencalledthe
corsageorchid,flowercolors
includeallofthebasiccolors
(exceptblue),eithersinglyorinvariouscombinations,
andintensitiesrangingfromboldtopastelshades.
Somewillevenhaveapleasantfragrance,notcommon
inallorchids.Certaincultivarsproduceupto20three
inchflowers,whereasothersyieldseveninchflowersin
clustersoffourorfive. Cattleyasgenerallyfloweronce
ayear,usuallyduringthespringorfall,withflowers
lastingabout
six
weeks.
Phalaenopsisisoftenrecommended
fornoviceorchidgrowersasitcan
endurelessthanperfectgrowing
conditions,makingitanexcellent
orchidforFloridagardeners.
Producinglongarchingsprays(1020flowersfrom34
inchesindiameter)ofwhite,pink,yellow,orange,
peppermintstripedandtwotonedflowersresemble
mothsinflight. Itflowersinwinterandearlyspring,
andmaylastformorethanonemonth;nearly
continuousflowering
may
be
induced
with
good
culture
andpruningoftheoldflowerspikes.Ifyouveeverbeen
toHawaii,youmayhavefalleninlovewiththisflower
there.
Dendrobiumisalargeanddiversegenus
withmanyspeciesandhybrids,with
flowersoftenseenincorsages. Itis
popularbecauseofitseaseofculture
andprolificfloweringhabits. Itflowers
inthefallandwinter(white,lavenderandcombination
coloredflowers),whichopengradually,andmayremain
openfor34weeks.Theseusuallyflowertwiceperyear
Oncidiumsare
considered
easy
to
grow,
producingnearlyyearroundbloomson
easytocareplants. Aprofusionof
smallishyellowandbrownorwhiteand
browndancingladyflowersappearat
varioustimesoftheyear. Asageneral
rule,Oncidiumsareruggedorchidsandwillflowerevenunderadversegrowingconditions,butmoreflowers
willbeproducedwhentheyaregivenpropercare.
Vandaproducesturdybloomspikesofa
dozenormoreflowersinthewarm
months.This
Philippine
native
produces
flowersthatvaryinsizefrom24inches
acrossandincolorfrom
whitetovariegated
patternsofbrown,green,andpinktoblue
andpurple.ThereareevenblackVanda
orchids.Eachflowerspikewillproduce
between312flowersthatlastthree
weeksormore,dependinguponconditions. Shownisa
Vandaorchidlei.
Epidendrumis
among
the
easiest
and
mostprolificorchid. Delicateflowers
areproducedonlongstemsandmake
excellentoutdoorgardenplants. One
inchpastelflowersareproducedin
profusionmostoftheyear. Flower
spikesgenerallyremainontheplantevenafterthe
flowersaregone. Cutthemoffandwaitamonthor
twoforanotherburstofcolor.Sometimesthe
Epidendrumwillalsoproduceababyplantonthespike
calledaKeiki.Epidendrumorchidsarealsoseennatively
throughoutFlorida. Lookforthemgrowingontree
branches.
Paphiopedilumorchids(also
knownasslipperorchids)
aregorgeous,butatthis
timethereisnoreliableway
topropagatetheseintensely
coloredbeauties. Ifyou
needtohaveone,dontbe
surprisedtopaybetween
$100and$500perspecimen.
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RepottingCattleyas,Oncidiums,DendrobiumsandEpidendrumsinparticularneedtoberepottedevery23
yearsasthemediumdecomposesorwhennewgrowth
extendsovertheedgeofthecontainer. Phalaenopsis
andVandarequirepottinglessoftenbecauseoftheir
singlestemgrowthhabit. Repottingcanbedoneby
transplantingtoalargerpotorbydivision.
Wateringsaturateeachpotsothatmoisturedrainsfromthebottomofthepot,andthendonotwater
againuntilthesurfaceofthemediumbecomesdry.
Lightmostorchidspreferpartialshade(7080%shade)foroptimumgrowthandflowering.
Phalaenopsis,however,thrivesindeepershade;its
leavesburneasily,soshadeshouldbeprovidedatall
times. Epidendrumstoleratefullsunandcanbeplanted
inopenbedsoutdoors.
Temperatureorchidsneedtobeprotectedfromcold
temperatures;anynightbelow50requiressome
protection. Mostorchidsprefernighttemperaturesof
between6070,withwarmerdays.
Forarealtreat,visitalocalorchiddisplaytoseeallthe
wonderfulcolorsandflowertypes. MarieSelby
GardensinSarasotaisoneplaceyouwouldnotwantto
missifyouareanorchidhunter.Formoreinformation
onMarieSelby,checkouttheirwebsiteat
www.selby.org.
FormoreinformationongrowingorchidsinFlorida,a
numberofgreatresources,includingtipsonpotting
media,propagation,fertilization,insectsanddiseases,
visittheUniversityofFloridaCooperativeExtension
ServiceWebsite http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP017
