DIY Network

Orchids 101 DIY's 'Gardening Made Easy' expert shares tips on growing orchids in your home. From "Home Made Easy" episode DHME-130

Guest Fran Sorin joins host Stephanie Lydecker and shares tips about orchids. She demonstrates how easy they are to have in your home and a great way to display them.

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	Fran shares tips on a couple of orchids that are perfect for beautifying your home.
	Figure A
	Figure B

Materials:

Phalaenopsis orchids (potted and blooming)
Cattleyas orchids (potted and blooming)
big container
moss
tray
pebbles
water

Orchids 101

• There are some orchid myths. People think that they need greenhouse conditions to survive, that they are expensive, and that they are hard to care for—but, that is actually not true. Orchids like a comfortable temperature similar to what you have in your home. Orchids range in price. You have your choice on how much you want to spend. You can find them in grocery stores and garden centers — they are everywhere. When you buy an orchid, buy one that is already in flower.

• The orchid family consists of over 30,000 different species. They are the largest of all plant families. For over 300 years, adventurers have been collecting them. Two easy to grow orchids that are moderately priced are Phalaenopsis Orchids or The Moth Orchid and the Cattleyas Orchid also known as the corsage orchid.

• The Phalaenopsis Orchid (figure A) is the most popular orchid grown today. They have delicate flowers at the top of the stems and have a prolonged period of blooming. They need warm temperature to grow anywhere from 60-85 degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity.

• To care for this plant, you should spritz them everyday. They grow in indirect or filtered light—an eastern window is ideal. Water only when the plant is almost dried out—no more than once a week. When the plant is actively growing, fertilize two times per month with a high nitrogen fertilizer. It is a granular fertilizer that you mix with water and add to the plant. Phalaenopsis should be re-potted every year after they bloom. They bloom for a while and sometimes bloom two to three times per year.

• The Cattlyeyas Orchid (figure B) blooms during the winter months into spring. They have wonderful shades of colors like lavenders, yellows, golds, reds, salmons, and oranges with several being multi-colored. They have magnificent shapes and aromas. Give them southern or western exposure. They need to be spritzed daily. These are used a lot to make corsages.

• During the winter months you can take your orchids and place them already in their containers in a tray with pebbles and some water. Make sure to mist the plant everyday but you don't have to water everyday. One of the biggest mistakes people make is over watering. Orchids need only a small amount of water every 7-10 days.

• Orchids look beautiful on their own, but you can find a big container and place a few of them inside the container. Keep them in their pots with their soil. Then add moss in between the orchids by the soil and it will look like one beautiful stunning centerpiece.

RESOURCES :

Gardening Tools
Fiskars
Website: www.fiskars.com

Extra Gardening Supplies
Website: www.lowes.com

GUESTS :

Fran Sorin
Author, Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening
0446531669
April, 2004
Warner Books
Website: www.fransorin.com