Cattleya Orchids from Santa Claus

Holly, Poinsettias, pine and cedar, gold and silver glitter are usually the rule at Yuletide. But what could grace the home more beautifully than an exciting gift of orchids blooming on the plant? A long lasting gift, that returns its blooms year after year and a plant actually easier to care for and flower in the home than many long time favorites?

Previously, flowering an orchid plant was considered by amateur indoor gardeners a feat – or treat – reserved for the greenhouse owner. Surprise your “green thumb” friends this Christmas with the unusual gift, a lovely Cattleya species or hybrid orchid plant with three, four or seven lovely flowers. Imagine the joy of the family that can use such a gift as a table decoration, a centerpiece or an arrangement on Christmas Day; a gift that will be just as fresh for that New Year’s open house, and even after the Twelfth Night has seen the last of tinsel, holly and drooping Christmas tree. An orchid on the plant, available at big box garden centers, florists and growers, is long lasting, blooming in stately splendor for two or three weeks – Phalaenopsis even longer blooms.

The rather widespread impression that orchids are hard to flower in the house has been disproved by this writer. They have been found to take far less care than African violets, poinsettias or certain begonias and gardenias. A bay window with a southern exposure, a bright sunroom, or a fluorescent lighted nook in the basement will be a desirable location for the plant.

Light, some humidity and a little nutrient solution are all that is required. For those who are fortunate to dwell in the climes free of frost or chill nights, a lath house or the shade of a tree will prove a welcome location to the plant. Why not challenge your indoor gardening friends to bloom an orchid next year and years to follow by making a gift of it this Christmas?

Orchid Plant Selection

In selecting a plant, it is well to determine that the orchids have just recently opened, and that it is the type that adapts well to home culture. Cattleyas, the big showy orchids, are perhaps the easiest to grow and the most satisfying to the novice. Later, if the “bug bites,” the indoor gardener will want to try his hand with the Cypripedium, or greenish brown Lady Slipper varieties; the Oncidium, or Dancing Girl orchid; the large, flat white “Moth Orchid,” or Phalaenopsis.

In most cities there are to be found local orchid societies where amateur “slaves” to this fascinating hobby gather to learn, compare and show their plants, hoping to win special awards. Usually a willingly helpful group, they are glad to offer advice and encouragement to the beginner. And in these groups we have found the orchid to be a “man’s flower,” with wives often trailing behind in interest and the know-how of this culture.

The recipient of an orchid plant can quickly give it a desirable environment in any room away from direct sunlight to prolong the flowering period. During this time, a half cup of water poured over the potting mixture about twice a week should be adequate. More than this amount may cause the flowers to become waterlogged and wilt. For about two weeks after the blooming period the plant may be set aside in any light location to rest, but still away from direct sunlight, receiving water no more than once a week. A fine mist spray to the leaves daily prevents loss of stored moisture from the fleshy foliage and pseudobulbs which bear the flowers.

But now comes the challenge. A suitable spot must be found for the development of the new leads soon to appear at the base of the plant which will bear next year’s gorgeous blooms. We used a dining-room bay window as a home for our first orchid. Its cast, south, west exposures permitted the sun’s rays to find the foliage of the plant throughout the short wintery days. Daily misting, a thorough soaking of the potting fiber in the kitchen sink or in the shower once a week and one lesser watering in between promoted new growth. For humidity the pot was placed on a cake rack spanning a bowl of wet gravel, no direct contact permitted between pot and gravel. Then in the summer the pot was hung in the shade of a large maple tree where early morning and late afternoon sun gave it vigor and “set” the buds in the new leads.

A Wardian case, a glass-enclosed compartment with moisture provided by a pan of water beneath the wire or lath shelf, is preferred by some amateurs. Others have “window greenhouses” extending outward from a window in the house, while others, as is the case with us, expanded the orchid collection to a room in the basement, the ceiling carrying 12, 40-watt fluorescent tubes. The light, regulated by an electric timer, sheds rays on the plants 16 hours a day and brings out healthy root growth and new leads bearing one to four flowers each. In the summer the plants are placed under the maple tree where filtered sunlight, showers and morning dew supplement the winter conditions and approach to a limited extent the native, tropical surroundings.

Give an orchid plant this year, and better still, ask Santa to give you one.

by A Hofsommer

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