Mother's Day

Mother's day is just around the corner and nothing beats an orchid as a gift!  Well that is as long as your mom has a green thumb right.  Never fear, the orchid whisperer is here to answer all her questions about orchid selection and care.  When choosing an orchid, take into account a few things:  Easy of care, color of flowers, size of blooms and plant, water needs, light needs, and whether or not you have passed along my information to help if need be.  I will attach a link to the orchid mall which lists orchid shops by state and city, and most of the shops are pretty reasonable when it comes to shipping fees, although you want to try not to ship in August or May if you live in Houston (already in the 90's) due to heat issues.  If you have a shop locally, it would be best to go to the shop and physically view the plant you want to purchase. When inspecting the orchid, leaves can be a deceptive way to assess health, because some types have really spotted leaves, or just gnarly looking foliage.  Rather look at the color and condition of the roots if visible, and you can even smell the root ball or rhizome, if it smells foul, don't buy the orchid, it has issues.  Next, choose an orchid which has just bloomed, or has lots of buds and healthy flower spikes(stems).  This way your mother will be able to enjoy the entire blooming cycle possible.  If you don't find any orchids that are just blooming or about to bloom, ask the shop owner when the plant did bloom so that you know approximately how many weeks you can expect to have flowers.  Nothing sucks worse than finding a great orchid already in bloom, getting it home and the flowers start to fold up and die....it has even happened to me! 

If your mom is a beginner with orchids, I would suggest you select a Phalaenopsis, simply because they are  the easiest to care for, and typically have a large yield of flowers and bloom over and over.  Greatest thing about Phalaenopsis is the ease at which you can cut the flower stalk after blooming, and walla it will start growing again, and within a few months, you have flowers again.  A lot of types of orchid will only bloom on new growth, some however have the amazing ability to bloom on the same flower stem for years and years.

Next blog I will discuss orchid pruning.

Til then happy blooms to all,

The Orchid Whisperer

http://www.orchidmall.com/