TheMondayGarden.com, Eco-gardening at its best
July 30, 2006, Issue 214
By Molly Dugger Brennan
TheMondayGarden.com is honored to have Molly Dugger Brennan of Brennan's Orchids, LLC as a guest contributor.
Molly Dugger Brennan and her husband, Patrick Brennan, are the owners of a small commercial plant nursery in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. About 20 years ago, Patrick received his first phalaenopsis orchid as a gift. One orchid has a tendency to lead to another, and another, resulting Brennan's Orchids, LLC being in business over 16 years now. It prides itself on having carefully built a reputation for selling well-grown, beautiful, vigorous plants. Their four greenhouses hold a thriving collection of orchids, African violets, streptocarpus, and other tropical house plants. The Brennans have 75,000 to 100,000 orchids in the greenhouses at any given time.
Mollys current mission in life is "to serve as orchid advisor to the nervous, the neophytes, and the negligent plant parents so all can become orchid lovers whose plants love them back".
This article gives you my perspective on the essential ingredients for successful phalaenopsis care. These observations are based on my experience as a consumer and grower of orchids. There is not one true path to orchid nirvana, but this is what has worked for me in the past and what I know best. Understand that the definition of an orchid expert is someone who has killed more plants than you have.
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PICTURES: Molly Dugger Brennan, of Brennan's Orchids, LLC speaking at the 26th New York International Orchid Show at Rockefeller Center in NY, NY, April 2006.
Somewhere in the world, phalaenopsis orchids are weeds. All you need to do to get them to grow like weeds for you is give them the conditions that made them grow like weeds in the wild. And what conditions are those? First of all, phals are epiphytes. That means that they naturally grow in bits of moss and bark that has collected in the crotches of tree branches. Their blossoms cascade from a crown of leaves. They are protected from harsh, mid-day sunlight by the high tree cover. Therefore, they are accustomed to diffused light. Their roots never sit in puddles because gravity drains water away from them. Likewise, water never collects in the center of the leaf crown because the crown is pointed downward and gravity pulls the water out of it. Even though phals are tropical they do not need very high humidity because they enjoy good air flow up in the trees.
This makes sense, doesn’t it? So why do so many people kill their phals? I killed my first three. It’s because no one mentions to you that you are buying a plant that is growing upside down in a pot compared to its natural growth habit in the wild. This method of growing is about the only commercially viable way to grow phals, but it does make the plant vulnerable in two places. One, it cannot stand to have water pool and sit in its leaf crown for any length of time. Two, it cannot stand to have its roots stay too wet. These are two situations that the orchid never had to adapt to in the wild, so it simply doesn’t have the ability to cope with either situation when it’s in your home.
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PICTURES: Faces at Brennan's Orchids, LLC include, to the left, Phalaenopsis Shenandoah Fire 'Ember' a Patrick Brennan hybrid, popular for its unusual terra cotta color. To the right is the Brennans' Phalaenopsis Perfection Is 'Chen', proud winner of both a First Class Certificate (highest award for flower quality) and a Certificate of Cultural Excellence (highest award given for cultural achievement -i.e., how well the plant has been grown) from the American Orchid Society
Most important to your success is to let the phal dry down between waterings. If your plant is growing in a long fiber moss blend, it will be very easy for you to tell when to water. Pinch the top of the potting mix. When you don’t feel any moisture at the top of the mix (no more than 1/2 inch down into the pot), then you water. If you cannot decide if the plant is dry enough yet, please wait. Plants can bounce back from a drought, they do not resurrect from being drowned. If your phal is growing in a bark blend, it’s a wee bit trickier to tell when to water. Water your plant thoroughly and lift the pot. Feel how heavy the plant is when fully wet. Wait until the plant is lighter in weight before you water again.
To water a phal properly, you want to simulate a quick, tropical thunderstorm. Take your plant to the sink and water the potting mix from the top with tepid water until it is pouring out the bottom of the pot. You want to thoroughly flush the mix. Let the plant sit in the sink and drain. Don’t let water collect in the center of the leaf crown, particularly as it gets darker and cooler in the evening. That’s when bacteria come out to play and you could easily develop crown rot, which is very often fatal.
Your phal will dry at different rates depending on several factors. In winter when it’s darker and cooler the plant will dry more slowly than in the summer. If you have your plant in the bathroom where you take showers, it may be a month or more between waterings because the room is so humid. If your environment is very dry, then the plant will dry more quickly. Do not lock into a set watering schedule for all plants even though it may be convenient for you to water all your plants every Saturday morning. Plants dry at different rates from each other and at different rates at different times of year. Let the individual plant tell you what it needs.
For lighting, you need to simulate high tree cover. That means that morning light or late afternoon light is great, the harsh skin cancer hours of sunlight are not. If you only have a southern exposure, you need to adapt by pulling the plant further into the room so that it is protected from getting fried. If all you have a direct northern exposure you probably will not have quite enough light to achieve rebloom. You know your growing environment better than anyone else. If you have southern exposure but you have a large tree shielding that window during the summer months, it may be just fine to grow on the windowsill. If your exposure is northeast or northwest, there may be enough light for your phal to be happy. If you can’t make it work with natural light, phals grow very well under the correct artificial lighting.
Phals are comfortable in the same temperature range that you are, so normal house temperatures are fine. They are happy anywhere between 60 degrees and 95 degrees. Phals are warm-growing orchids.
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PICTURES: More faces at Brennan's Orchids, LLC: Phalaenopsis Orchid World 'Joe' and (to the right) Phalaenopsis Dtps Jim 'Brennan's Orchids'. Both orchids are winners of the American Orchid Society's Award of Merit, given for flower quality.
The last point that I want you to remember is often the one that gets lost in the excitement of buying a beautiful orchid. In order to grow healthy, robust phalaenopsis in your home environment, you have to buy a healthy, robust plant in the first place. As in life, falling in love with just a pretty face will get you into trouble. Spend as much time inspecting the plant as you do admiring the blossom. Look for soft spots or odd discoloration on the leaves. Look under the leaves and on the mix for critters. Anything moving is a bad thing. You don’t need to deal with the headache of pests so don’t bring them home. Look for an overall sense of health and perkiness. Look for buds that are yet to open so you will have more bloom time in your home. You want buds that are healthy, not discolored and shriveled. It’s silly to buy a plant that is at the end of its bloom cycle, when you can get one that will bloom for several months more. And if the weather is cold, insist that the store properly wrap your orchid, preferably sleeved and bagged, so that it stands a chance of getting home safely.
I hope you’ve found some useful information in this article. Growing orchids is a wonderful and rewarding hobby. You don’t have to fret about this or have a PhD in Horticulture to grow stunningly beautiful phals. You just have to like your orchids and listen to their needs. Enjoy yourself!
CLICK HERE for more about Phalaenopsis
CLICK HERE for more about orchids generally
Photo credits: Sue Sweeney (except as indicated) © Molly Dugger Brennan 2006
