Reasons To Grow Orchids
Orchids offer a captivating blend of beauty, diversity, and intrigue. It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced gardener or a beginner looking for your first flower to grow: growing orchids will be a fun and rewarding experience.
Did you know that orchids come in over 35,000 varieties and countless colors? They have been the symbols of love, luxury, beauty, and intrigue since ancient Greece.
Learn more about orchid history here.
Reasons To Grow Orchids
Both orchid enthusiasts and books have touted their beauty. Unlike many flowers, orchids can be admired for years. In fact, some have lasted more than a century, which means a gifted orchid will be admired for years instead of a few weeks.
Orchids Are Beautiful
With so many varieties, it’s impossible not to find an orchid you love.
With over 28,000 accepted species, orchids represent one of the largest families of flowering plants.
Here are the most common types of orchid:
Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) – Most popular for beginners, with long-lasting blooms, and easy to care for
Cattleya – Known as the “Queen of Orchids”, it has large, fragrant, and colorful blooms
Dendrobium – Huge variety with cane-like stems
Oncidium (Dancing Lady Orchid) – Bright yellow blooms with frilly petals
Vanda – Vibrant colors and dramatic flowers that need lots of light and humidity
Paphiopedilum (Lady Slipper Orchid) – Unique pouch-shaped blooms that grow well in lower light
Cymbidium – a cold-tolerant variety that produces many flowers
Miltoniopsis (Pansy Orchid) – Resembles a pansy flower and has a lovely fragrance
Brassia (Spider Orchid) – Long, spidery petals, fragrant and exotic-looking
Ludisia (Jewel Orchid) – This orchid is grown more for its striking foliage, but it also has small flowers
They Are Easy To Care For
If you are new to growing orchids, it is important to know that they are not particularly time consuming. That’s another one of the advantages of orchids. Like any other flower or plant, they need water, light, air, and occasionally diluted fertilizer. Their care is as easy as any other house plant or flower. Oh, some soft music and talking to them helps too.
In the past, orchid flowers had the reputation of being difficult to grow and care for. This cannot be further from the truth.
The beauty and colors you see on the pages of this site are outstanding.
Why give flowers which can last up to a few weeks? Your orchid plant can last for years. Each time your gift is seen you will be remembered. This is among the great advantages of orchids.
Many Have A Nice Fragrance
Cattleyas, for example, are fragrant. Some are so fragrant that their scent will fill a greenhouse or your living room. While some fragrances defy description, others mimic common scents like raspberry, lilac, or citrus fruits.
The scents attract insects and birds for pollination, continuing their propagation and life cycle.
Need more incentives to explore owning orchids?
- Orchids thrive in nearly every climatic zone across all continents, except Antarctica.
- Some Australian orchids grow and bloom entirely underground, showcasing their unique adaptability.
- Orchid seeds are minuscule and dust-like; yet a single pod can contain over 4 million seeds.
- Certain orchids mimic female insects to attract male pollinators, a remarkable evolutionary strategy.
- Natural vanilla extract comes from the pods and seeds of a climbing orchid vine with stems over 300 feet long.
- The world’s smallest orchid measures just 2.1mm, while the Asian giant tiger orchid can weigh over a ton and produce 18-foot flowering stems.
- North America hosts over 200 native orchid species, with over 50 species recorded in Virginia alone.
- Over 55% of approximately 1,000 assessed orchid species are critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable, highlighting the need for conservation efforts.
- In the 18th and 19th centuries, “Orchid Fever” led enthusiasts to risk their lives and fortunes to acquire these plants. Today, orchids are the world’s most popular flowering potted plant, with annual global sales totaling billions of dollars.
Want to Learn more about orchids from an Orchid Care Expert?
The real trick in orchid care is to gain some experience and education and to be preventive about problems. It really doesn’t take much time or knowledge to keep orchids healthy.
My current favorite e-book is the one I have recently completed. It is called Orchid Care for Easy Orchids: Tips for Successful Care of Orchids. It is about 37 pages long and is filled with a lot of great information on how to grow and bloom 5 kinds of “easy to grow” orchids. If you are interested, it is now available through Amazon in the Kindle Library Section. It is $3.99 and available only in Kindle format and only available at Amazon.
Do check it out! And if you like it, please do leave me a good review.
