Blackwelder column: Give orchids a try

One of the many orchid varieties on display at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden looks almost like an iris. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post

A cattelya orchid at Stowe Botanical Garden. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post

A nun’s orchid growing in Blackwelder’s home. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post.

Nun's orchid. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post.

Splashes of color highlight this white orchid. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post

Flower shapes and shading vary in the orchid collection at the botanical garden. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post

A display of many different orchids against a stone wall at the garden. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, for the Salisbury Post.

On a whim I bought an orchid at the Southern Spring Show a couple of years ago. It was a small but beautiful phalaenopis or moth orchid with white blooms with a lavender throat that lasted for three months.

For the length of its bloom and its beauty, I felt the money was well spent, even if the plant died. After a year of rest, it bloomed again this September with exquisite blooms lasting through Christmas. Without blooms, the plants themselves are not that appealing, but the flowers are a reward for patience.

The first step in growing orchids is to choose a type suitable for indoors. A common mistake for beginners is to choose a showy orchid requiring a tropical or greenhouse atmosphere. One of the easiest types to grow is a nun's orchid, (Phaius grandifolius). The plant looks more like a dracaena or a corn plant than a typical orchid. Another interesting feature of the nun's orchid is it is a terrestrial plant that grows like regular houseplants in potting soil. Delicate flowers are borne on tall spikes within the foliage.

Another easy-to-grow orchid is Phalaenopis or moth orchids. It's the type you find most often in local garden centers and retail outlets. It has rather flat insignificant leaves with a spike laden with showy, flat flowers usually staked to piece of bamboo.

Cattleya orchids have thick fleshy stems with spikes of corsage type flowers. The flower color ranges from yellow to light blue.

Paphiopedilum or Lady Slipper Orchid is another orchid for beginners. The shape of its foliage is similar to a bromeliad.

The most common reason for an orchid's failure to bloom is inadequate light. Most of the popular orchid cultivars need bright indirect light. Since most orchids are indigenous to tropical regions, they also need high humidity. Placing plants on a tray of rocks filled with water or a humidifier increases humidity and plant health.

With the exception of the Nun's orchid, most orchids are grown in special media mixes or blends that promote drainage and aeration. Orchid media may contain blends of bark, sphagnum peat moss, charcoal and sometimes even plastic foam.

Fertilization depends on the type of plant, media and a host of other conditions. But these plants will need constant fertilization during the growing season to produce blooms.

There is tons of information on the Internet, but the site below has just enough not to be intimidating for the beginner — http://www. utextension.utk.edu/publications/ pbfiles/PB1634.pdf

I also recommend a visit to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden http://www.dsbg.org/index.php. Right now the garden is featuring an "Orchid Spectacular Show" until Feb. 15. The show also conducts classes for growing orchids indoors. Another source of information is the Southern Spring Show http://www.southernshows. com/sss/ in Charlotte, March 4-8. Growers are there with plants and beneficial tips for beginners.

Darrell Blackwelder is Extension agent in horticulture with the N.C. Cooperative Extension; call 704-216-8970.