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6/22/2008
Orchids
I'm beginning to think I should stick to easy house plants like spider or aloe plants.
In May when my friend Jordan asked me if I could watch his plants for him while he was gone for the summer I said, "But, of course!" At the time I had know idea he would be dropping his orchid plant off for me to care for.
Orchids scare me a little. Just try it yourself. Google 'orchid care' and see how many sites come up. And each and every site has different and often contracting information. One page will say never let the plant's soil dry out completely ALWAYS make sure it is slightly damp. The next page will say to ALWAYS let plants dry out between waterings. Yet another page will claim that you must always have the plant living over a little tray of standing water so it can absorb the moisture.
And for as many contradicting water instructions there were there are even more other possible instructions. Several chat rooms have heated discussions about whether an orchid should always have a slight fan breeze blowing on it at all times or whether it should be protected by all means from nasty drafts. Other pages warn that the delicate flowers should ONLY be watered early in the morning at first light. It goes on and on...
Jordan said he had wonderful luck with the plant and that all he did was water it when it was dry and cut the stalk off near the soil once the blooms had finally died. When I got possesion of the posey it had recently been cut back so there were no blooms to enjoy -and it still looks exactly the same! I keep it moist in a medium West facing window. Sometimes I put a low fan on it but mostly I don't. Why hasn't it re-bloomed? I wish I knew. The leaves are green and it is definately not near death and yet, the cut stalk hasn't move - to my eye- even a centimeter.
Although I've never claimed to have a green thumb, I usually am quite good at keeping house plants happy and healthy. I definately do not want the plant that I was entrusted to care for to die on my watch. (Even if Jordan said he understood if it wasn't alive when he returned.) So, I ask our readers - Has anyone out there had luck with getting orchid to bloom. If you have please let me know ASAP. Any and all of your personal orchid knowledge would be greatly appreciated as a guest blog post this summer.
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I was given an orchid. When I got it, it had about eight flowers on it. They lasted for MONTHS. Eventually they fell off and the stem started to turn brown. I cut it down a bit. Not too long after another little shoot grew off the stem and about another eight flowers bloomed. They also lasted quite a while. After they fell off the entire stem turned brown. Since then nothing. I give it water when it dries out (soak it for a few hours and then set it back in it's pot). Sometimes I give it orchid food in it's water. I'm not really sure if I'm taking good care of it or not, but the leaves are still green so I guess it's still alive. Finicky things, those orchids.
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