ABOUTORCHIDS
Basic Orchid Care for Beginners
Orchids have a magical beauty and allure, with incredible colors, shapes, and scents. Maybe this contributes to the belief that they are difficult to grow and bloom. In reality, most orchids are not difficult plants. As a matter of fact, some are practically indestructible. With a few basic tips for orchid care, you can make your orchid grow, thrive, and bloom.
Over 30,000 species of orchids inhabit every corner of the planet except for the driest deserts and Antarctica. Humans have crossbred these species to create 150,000 hybrids, with more appearing all the time. Most are grown for their beautiful flowers, but the seedpods of the Vanilla orchid provide the popular flavoring. And unlike most plants, they do not grow in soil, but in the air. Their roots attach to trees or rocks where they capture moisture and nutrients that wash over them in the rainforest.
Evidence of orchids appears from the age of the dinosaurs, 120 million years ago, making them some of the first flowering plants. Orchids are one of the largest and oldest families of plants in the world. For centuries, people all over the world have fallen in love with their flowers. Their bright colors, bizarre shapes, and enchanting smells have evolved to attract pollinators. Many have a relationship with a single type of insect or bird that can pollinate their flowers.
Orchids in every part of the world face dangers from pollution, habitat destruction, and global warming. Do everything you can to stop these threats. We are already losing many of these wondrous plants forever. Reduce what you use and recycle. Take action to stop rainforests from being cut down or burned, or wetlands from being paved over. Only buy plants from legitimate vendors, and never take plants from the wild.