Orchids (scientifically speaking, Orchidacea) are a grouping of plants that includes over than 20,000 named species, quite many of which are highly valuable in a commercial sense. Many people consider them to be the most intriguing order of plants in the entire vegetable kingdom due to their astounding mode of growth and existence, their odd habits and the multitudinous shapes and forms of their flowers, which are different from those of all the other plants — delicate seeming in texture and with wonderful, glowing colors.

Orchids are also remarkable owing to their widely admired adaptability and the extent to which they will freely cross-breed or cross-fertilize. This is true in their natural habitats as well as under cultivation. This fact also accounts for the nearly endless varieties of flowers and colors that can be the outcome of the hybridizing process.

Here’s some botany: The orchid’s flower as a rule is made up of these parts: the sepals, the petals, the labellum or pouch, and the column (or crest).

On most orchids the labellum is generally the most conspicuous part as well as the most important organ of the flower. Insects go into it looking for the sweet juices contained within the spur or walls of the flower, pollinating the plant in the process and furthering cross-fertilization in the bargain. This is how such a large number of new varieties are produced in the wild, and these are termed natural hybrids.  But under cultivation this task must be performed by human caretakers using small camel’s hair brushes and with a careful eye and judgment as to the correct time for fertilization. It is in this manner that the loveliest hybrid orchids are produced, and these are called garden hybrids.

One of the the things that makes growing orchids so much fun is the possibility of producing our own hybrid orchids. This takes knowledge and a good bit of patience, but even non-professionals have created remarkable orchids through hybridizing.

If you are wishing to experiement with hybridizing orchids, you should first have some good experience in the basic cultivation of these plants.  Only when you have confidence in growing and caring for orchids should you venture on the more demanding experiment of hybridizing them. Orchids are slow growing, and slow to come to bloom, so you must be prepared to wait often years to find out if your hybridizing efforts are a success. Nevertheless, when it succeeds, it’s an incredible experience.  You can produce not only a beautiful flower by this process, but also orchid varieties never before seen in the world.

Naturally, you must amass all the how-to information that you can before trying your hand at hybridizing orchids. Fortunately, there are good books available on all aspects of orchid growing, including step-by-step instructions on hybridizing orchids.

The most accurate and clear guide to today’s orchid gardening, as increasing numbers are learning, is Orchid Care Expert by master orchid grower Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. Howard’s wonderful guide will provide a thorough immersion in the subject. In addition, check please visit here often at GoGoKitty’s Orchid Secrets website, which is publishing a growing database of entries on all topics of orchid care.

We can thank orchid and other flower cultivators, in part, for the recentpush to recycle the water that reaches our homes, particularly that which falls as rain. If you are an orchid grower orchids, this is a subject you might like to investigate.

Orchids, like other plants, have very particular likes and dislikes as to the water provided them to nourish their roots. Most of them will not thrive in hard water. Unfortunately, the water that comes out of the faucets in many areas is too hard for orchids to respond as well as we might like. For the most part, hard water won’t kill orchids. It might stunt their growth, though, or keep them from ever blooming as beautifully as they might have.

A good thing about orchid plants is the fact that they have thick, fleshy roots that can hold up to hard water better than many other types of plants. Hardwood plants, as an example, with their fine roots, are too often ruined by water that is overly hard. Nontheless, you should try to avoid putting hard water on orchid plants if you can possibly avoid it.

You can buy filters that attach to your water line to soften the water while taking out various types of impurities. Nothing, though, is better than good old rainwater when it comes to doing right by orchids! After all, this is the way nature waters plants in the wild the world over.

A number of companies make rain barrels that are perfect for catching and storing rainwater until you want to use it. Many people set up the barrels below the rainspouts coming from their roofs. With a little planning and work, you could set up several rain barrels to channel water directly to your orchids. Then the watering task, presuming you live in a fairly rainy area, becomes virtually hands free.

Whatever water you use, don’t put it on your orchids if it has a chill on it. For instance, I would not use water taken from an outdoor faucet on a cold winter’s day, without first allowing it to come to room temperature in my home or in the greenhouse. Cold water can cause spots on the plants, rot the growths and damage the roots.

Some orchids will benefit from water with some lime mixed in it. In years gone by, people noticed that imported Cypripedium orchids often were covered with chalky lime deposits due to the plants having grown in limestone rock crevices where the water trickled down on them. So if you have a Cypripedium, you could try adding lime to its water, a little at first and then more if you determine that the plant is responding well to it.

The art and science of orchid cultivation is a fascinating subject. Orchid growing is not as difficult as some people like to make it out to be, but you must arm yourself with solid information before plunging in to this rewarding pastime.

The most complete guidebook to expert orchid care, without a doubt, is Orchid Care Expert by master orchid grower Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Mr. Howard’s guide is a complete course of study, enlightening for beginners as well as the more experienced fanciers alike. In addition, be sure to visit here often at GoGoKitty’s Orchid Secrets, which features an ever-expanding library of entries on a wide range of facets of orchid care.

Orchids are some of the natural world’s most wonderful objects. For many of us, they bring joy merely by gracing our living spaces or our greenhouses. Nevertheless it must be conceded that other than their beauty, orchids possess little practicality for human beings, with the singular exception of that estimable orchid that produces our vanilla flavoring.

If you had lived eighty to a hundred years ago, though, you might have enjoyed to try a wonderful tea made from the leaves of an unusual orchid. This drink, called Faham tea, achieved some celebrity among the French populace in the early years of the 20th century. To be specific, it was brewed from the pungent leaves of the Angraecum fragrans orchid (sometimes alternately recorded as the Jumella fragrans).

The rare orchid was indigenous to the Isle de Reunion off the African coast. An epiphytal variety known  to locals as “faham,” its use as tea is credited to Reunion’s indigenous people, who are reported to have been the first to discover how tasty it could be.

An article in a horticultual magazine from 1924 stated that Faham tea had been introduced into France, where some consumers were imbibing it as a substitute for “Chinese” (i.e., regular) tea. “Every work on botany of any importance similarly places it in the foremost rank of the beneficial productions of  this favored clime (Reunion),” the writer says. “One of our most illustrious writers George Sand eulogizes it in the midst of the fine description of the Island of Bourbon.” Bourbon was an earlier name for Reunion Island, by the way.

The orchid in question was known to grow very high on the steep slopes of the island, in the middle of nearly unreachable forests. The difficulties inherent in collecting a large amount of the plant meant that Faham tea, as a commercially viable product, was practically doomed to failure. Despite general agreement as to the tea’s tastiness, it was completely forgotten by the middle of the century.

Most of us will never learn what Faham tea tasted like. But if you happen to be fortunate enough to have a specimen or two of the Reunion Island orchid, you could sacrifice a few leaves and make some yourself. To prepare the tea, you first bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Then, you put in some dried orchid leaves (about as much per cup as you would regular tea) to the water, turning off the heat and permitting it to steep for a few minutes.

A flyer from the 1920s promoting Faham tea states:

It can be used as a substitute for tea on all occasions, as it combines its tonic and digestive qualities free from the sleepless effect. It possesses an aroma of great delicacy capable of being rendered more or less pungent according to the quantity used, and it gives forth a most agreeable perfume. After being drank it leaves a lasting fragrance in the mouth and in a closed room the odor of it can be recognized long after.

This beverage has the further advantage over tea, which requires to be drank at the time of making in that it can be reserved for a future occasion if requisite, and may either be taken cold or made hot again. Milk or spirits in small quantities, especially rum, serve to develope its aroma and lending it additional delicacy or greater strength render it a delicious drink. Lastly this valuable plant is made use of to flavor custards and ices to which it communicates its delicate fragrance.

Sounds delicious. Faham tea, anyone?

Now, if you think you would like to try your hand at growing orchids, rare or elsewise, you must have accurate instructions.

Today there is lots of excellent, accurate information available for anyone who wants to grow orchids. The most complete guidebook to 21st-century orchid care, many people are finding, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. Howard’s well-written guide is a thorough education all by itself. And, it is appropriate for beginners as well as more seasoned orchid growers. Also, pleace return here often to GoGoKitty’s Orchid Secrets, which has an ever-expanding database of entries on all topics of orchid care.

Orchids are typically placed into two main groupings, epiphytal and terrestrial. The epiphytal grow upon the bark of tree trunks and tree branches. There are several different methods for growing this type of orchid in one’s home or in a greenhouse. It all begins with the potting.

In a state of nature, the epiphytals generally have roots that are much more exposed to air as compared to other plants.  Therefore, by “potting” we do not mean packing them around with dense potting soil.  Rather, we want to place them in a pot with loose, organic matter, from which they can pull necessary nutrients, along with rocks or broken pottery bits to create open spaces as well as to assist the plants to stay upright.

The typical formula for potting compost suitable to the epiphytals is one part sphagnum to 1 part peat moss. Place a layer of this mixture into the bottom of your pot, followed by a layer of rocks or pottery bits, then another layer of the compost, and so forth. When the pot is about a quarter or at most a third full, carefully place the orchid’s root system down into it. Then proceed to add more rocks and moss mix, packing all of this potting material only tight enough to support the orchid plant.

You should gradually build up the compost until it is up to and even slightly above the top of the pot. The height you should go above the top of the pot depends on the size of the pot and the depth to which you have placed the orchid. The rule of thumb is to allow the plant’s crown to rest on the top of the compost. By crown we mean that part of the orchid plant from where the roots begin.

If you happen to be repotting a plant, you must be careful about removing it from the old pot. If there are any new roots clinging to the outside of the pot, you should try to ease them off with a blade of some kind. It there is a mass of living roots — that is, roots that have sap in them — attached to the interior of the pot, then you might have to break the pot and pick away all of those roots that you can. You may need to then repot it with bits of the old pot still hanging on the roots, and this is acceptable.

It is generally not a good idea to water the plant for a day or so before or after potting.

This has been a basic introduction to potting epiphytal orchids. The subject can be more complex than this, particularly in the case of some of the more delicate or senstive species. Whole volumes have been written on how to pot the many different types of orchid!  Luckily, most of us don’t need books devoted soley to the potting art in order to have success with orchids. A recognized, step-by-step guide to all aspects of orchid growing is usually sufficient.

Nowadays, of course, we have a huge amount of solid information on the proper way to grow orchids. The most up-to-date guidebook to today’s orchid cultivation, beyond question, is Orchid Care Expert by master orchid grower Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard’s ebook is a thorough course, enlightening for novices and more experienced cultivators alike. Also, come back here often to GoGoKitty’s Orchid Secrets site, which has an ever-expanding database of entries on many facets of orchid care.

At one time, many folks assumed, with some justification, that growing orchids was an occupation only for the quite affluent. Today, most folks understand that cultivating orchids is a fascinating pastime that is available to people whatever their station in life.  Yet another unfortunate myth still persists: that it is extremely problematic to care for orchids. But this is certainly not so.

The fact is, some of the most lovely orchid varieties are really rather easy to grow. All it requires is some foreknowledge, which may be learned easily from books, both the printed kind and the digital kind that you can download from a website. If you live in a mild or warm climate, you will be able to grow many varieties outdoors, in your yard or garden.  Even if you live in a cold climate, you can still grow lovely orchids in a greenhouse or any regular room that you can dedicate to the purpose.

Why grow orchids rather than other types of plants?If you have had any experience growing orchids, you would not need to ask the question. Orchids can seize us with a hold that never relaxes once it has us in its grips!

Regardless, here are a few answers to the question. The great advantage of growing orchids over other plants is their extreme beauty coupled with the great length of time that they will remain in bloom. Some orchids will remain in bloom for three or four months. A few will continue blooming for six months. Even if your collection of orchids is a small one, it is possible to have blooms the year around, due to the varying blooming seasons of different species.

The topic of orchids, and how to cultivate them, is both broad and deep. You should dig deep into the subject, learning as much as you possibly can before acquiring your first plant. Nontheless, there are some basics you need to know at the very start. One of those basics is that orchids are divided into two great groups based on their growing habits.

One of the two major groupings is the epiphytal orchids. These are orchids that grow on trees, or sometimes in moss or fungus on rocks. They are the air dwelling orchids, because they seemingly live on nothing but air and sunlight, though this of course is not actually true. It was these mysterious species that first grabbed the imaginations of collectors and resulted in the first great orchid mania of a more than a century ago. They remain the ones that hold the most fascination for people.

It should be noted that epiphytal orchids are not parasites. The get only a little of their sustenance from the tree bark on which they grow, and this doesn’t harm their hosts at all. They also draw nutrients from water, moss and fungi, as well as leaves that often get caught on and around them, decomposing in the process. Orchid devotees adore the epiphytals because of the enjoyment of recreating their unusual habitats in a garden or greenhouse.

The other major orchid group is the terrestrials. As you can guess, these are the kind that are rooted in the soil like “normal” plants. Growing them means pottting them, as we do with most other of our familiar houseplants. Some of the most beautiful species of orchids will be found in this group.

Many orchid cultivators begin by focusing exclusively on one or the other of these two main groups. As you might guess, though, they end up growing at least a handful of species from both groups. It’’s recommended to learn about both types of orchids if you are serious about joining the world of orchid growers.

In our day, of course, we have a huge amount of good information on the correct way to grow orchids. The most accurate and clear guide to today’s orchid cultivation, many growers agree, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded from the Internet. Howard’s wonderful guide constitutes a complete education all by itself. And, it is appropriate for beginning gardeners as well as more seasoned orchid cultivators. Also, we hope you will visit us here frequently at GoGoKitty’s Orchid Secrets, which features a growing library of postings on all facets of orchid cultivation.