Orchids!

Orchids...the largest family of flowering plants...over 20,000 species.

I've always had an interest in growing plants, starting with gardens growing up, a middle school hydroponics science fair experiment, and now orchids. Logan first bought me a generic white Phalaenopsis hybrid a few years ago, we named it Bob the Orchid.

These hybrids are the most common type of orchids you see at the grocery store, Home Depot, etc. Phalaenopsis adapt to the home environment pretty easily and their blooms can last up to four months or so, both of which makes them pretty popular. After Bob's blooms died and fell off, our mission was to get it to rebloom. This is where orchids can get their reputation of being hard to take care of. Most of the "pretty" orchids are naturally found in tropical environments. Lots of light, lots of humidity, and a sizable temperature swing between day and night.

To achieve these needs, our guest bedroom does double duty as the orchid room.
Light: the room faces south and gets all of the afternoon sun. Check!
Humidity: found a huge tray with a grate meant for muddy boots online. Set orchids on grate, fill with water, water evaporates, humidity. Check!
Temperature swing: open window, close AC vents, keep door closed. Check!

With the three main criteria met, Bob rebloomed right on schedule the following winter. Now we were in business. Our collection has grown since then to a little over 20 orchids. Most of them have come from Carter & Holmes, an orchid nursery in South Carolina. If you are ever driving on I-26 between Greenville/Spartanburg and Columbia, make a stop. They always have orchids in bloom and it will make a nice rest stop for your road trip.

One of the orchids we bought at C&H in April has just bloomed. It is called Brassoepilaelia Fiftieth Anniversary (when you create a new orchid hybrid, you get to give it a silly name, like race horses or purebred dogs). This one is a hybrid of orchids from three different genera: Brassavola, Epidendrum, and Laelia.


Some other pictures of our orchids are here.

Andrew