Get yourself an orchid: A Beginner's Guide

I just love my orchids! They are exotically beautiful, and their blooms last forever. I have always surrounded myself with plants inside and out. They really help ground me. Unfortunately, in my current home the lighting isn't the greatest so my collection has dwindled. Another factor is due to little hands digging in the dirt and eating my plants so they have to be higher too.

I am the most proud of my Lady Slipper that is reblooming!  It can be a tricky one to get to rebloom.  It is so stunning.

Here is my mini Phalaenopsis that is almost at the end of it's blooming.

Orchids can be a little intimidating at first since they seem so foreign but I have found that they are actually my easiest plants to take care of.

This is my Oncidium Orchid right now.

Here's what you need to know to take of orchids indoors:

- They prefer a morning sun window.
- They like little bits of water but never sitting in water. I have even been neglectful of watering and they are super forgiving.
- I have them in my bathroom where they love the steam from the shower. Misting them every now and then will also work though but never mist the flowers.
- Be patient with blooming. If they like their spot, it will happen.  I recommend fertilizing once a month with a low dose fertilizer like this one here.  Also, a lot of orchids that you buy at the stores have been forced to bloom so sometimes it takes a while to get them to rebloom.
- There are lots of varieties of orchids which have different requirements. Here is a table of the names & their 411.  This isn't every variety of orchid but the ones that are most notable to me.  I made this table almost 10 years ago.

Krista's Orchid Guide

Here are some pictures of some of these other varieties:

Phalaenopsis

Dendrobium

Oncidium

Brassia

Cymbidium

Masdevallia

Miltonia

Cattelya