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 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.

As is true for all plants, orchids have particular natural enemies, mostly insects and other small creatures. Among these are red spiders, thrips, cockroaches, ants, woodlice, some beetles, and certain snails and slugs.

To grow orchids successfully, you must take measures to defeat these pests before they can damage your plants. There are specific steps you can take to deal with each sort of pest. Attention to cleanliness will do the most toward defending your plants from pests.

All efforts of agriculture controls notwithstanding, some imported plants will bring pests with them. But even orchids grown under the best conditions in a nursery can hide pests lurking in potting soil or within the plants’ root structures.

You should inspect all new plants thoroughly before allowing them to enter your home. Immediately kill all pests that you can find with the naked eye. If you don. The flowers will be destroyed by these marauders, as well — a frustrating situation after you’ve lavised much care and expense on your plant.

Newly arriving orchids should be treated with a certain measure of suspicion. This is especially true if you have other orchids around. It is a good idea to isolate it from all other plants for a short time. It should go without saying that if you find insects on it, you must do all in your power to thoroughly rid it of them.

Washing every part of a plant will practically ensure that no pests will escape destruction. The optimum procedure is to thoroughly clean the foliage and bulbs of the plant. Carefully tap the plant out of its pot, trim off any decayed roots, wash the good roots in clean water, and then re-pot using new material and a clean container.

Done efficiently, this is a pretty certain means to get rid of tiny pests that are hard to spot because of their size or coloration. Some pests might be observed in the form of little eggs. Others appear as young insects but are so minute that you need a magnifying glass to find them in the foliage. Regardless of the difficulty in spotting them, pests of all kinds will be destroyed if you follow the cleaning procedure sketched above.

A good guide to orchid growing will have many more tips and suggestions for making sure that a pest doesn’t put an end to your prized plants. The most complete guide to expert orchid growing, I have found, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded from the web. Howard’s wonderful guide will furnish a full education on the subject. Also, come back often here at our Orchid Secrets web site, which has an every-growing library of postings on all topics of orchid cultivation.

Of the incredible variety of flowering plants on our earth, orchids easily wield the greatest fascination. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they often bring a bit of wonder and mystery with them. Although widespread in distribution, many of them can only be found in isolated, nearly inaccessible places–volcanic mountainsides, dense jungles, deep swamps, etc.

Beginning most earnestly in the 19th century, orchid enthusiasts have devoted years and even careers to discovering as well as breeding new types of these flowering plants. Although most orchids are acquired these days from growers that specialize in cultivating these plants, many of them being developed through hybridizing, it is good to know a little of their origins in nature.

Orchids are herbacious plants encompassing tens of thousands of known species, with still more being discovered. They exhibit a startling range of color and form, which has contributed greatly to public interest. Master gardeners often delight in growing a wide range of orchids to demonstrate their mastery of the arts of cultivation.

Orchids grow throughout the earth, excepting the desert regions and polar zones. Some 85% of all orchid species originate in the tropics or subtropics, but this still leaves a large number that come from colder regions. In some parts of the Himalayan region, orchids make up the most abundant family of plants.

By far the greatest number of orchids occur in three large tropical belts:

• Tropical Africa (including islands to the east in the Indian Ocean). These mostly belong to the genera (families) Angnecum, Bulbophyllum and Disa. Orchids from this region are not so widely cultivated as ones coming from other tropical lands, but Africa nonetheless has many interesting species.
• Tropical Asia. This region, which covers Indonesia and other islands, along with mainland Southeast Asia, is particularly rich in orchid genera. Typical of the region are the large genera Dendrobium, Eria and Bulbophyllum and many smaller ones as well.
• Tropical America. This region embraces Mexico, Central America and the tropical parts of South America. Isolated from other parts of the world for eons, this region has an especially large number of endemic genera of orchids, many of which include hundreds of species. Among the large indigenous genera are Epidendrum, Pleurothallis and Oncidium; many smaller genera found here also contribute more than their share to orchids that have found favor among cultivators the world over.

The temperate zones of the southern hemisphere also furnish many orchids, though not nearly so abundantly as do the tropics. In southern Africa the Disa and Calanthe genera furnish a few species judged valuable to cultivation. Australia contains many genera in common with the tropical Asia. Southern South America boasts a number of temperate orchids, but by the estimation of orchid devotees, they are greatly overshadowed by those
from the much larger tropical part of thecontinent.

in the norhern hemisphere’s temperate areas, we should take note of the United States, particularly the New England/norhteastern region, as well as Canada. There you will find some 20 native genera, whose members grow particularly in swamps and other moist grounds. The most famous of these are the Cypripediuins or Lady Slippers.

Europe also has many native orchids, but undoubtedly the most famous and showy is the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). The Bee Orchid may be found thriving on dry or semi-dry turf in open areas near or within woodlands. Bee Orchids are common near the Mediterranean coast of Europe, and grows (albeit less abundantly) as far north as Germany and the UK.

Orchids vary greatly in how easily they can be grown, but generally speaking they are not the difficult plants that popular wisdom would have it. The most complete guide to modern orchid cultivation, beyond question, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded online. Howard’s guide constitutes a comprehensive education all by itself. And, it’s suitable for novices as well as more expeienced orchid growers. Of course, be sure to come back here to our Orchid Secrets web site often. We’ll be adding continually to our growing library of postings on many aspects of orchid cultivation.