Success with Orchids Indoors
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 3,445 viewsThese prized plants prefer filtered light, fluctuating temperatures, and not too much water
by Alex Vasiljev
I got my first orchid plant at age 12, when I was growing up in the Ukraine. An orchid’s ability to root and grow entirely above the ground fascinated me. I soon acquired a collection of orchids that I grew indoors, and my interest eventually turned into a profession. With their unusual growth habits and enigmatic blooms, orchids have intrigued humans for thousands of years. However, most of what we know about orchid culture has been accumulated over the last 200 years or so.
Orchids, such as this Phalaenopsis hybrid, often produce abundant, long-lasting blooms.
Many of the orchids brought to Europe by plant hunters in the early 18th century were epiphytes. Also known as air plants, epiphytes grow on other plants without connecting to the ground or harming their hosts. European growers, however, kept them in hot, humid, unventilated houses, which proved devastating for the orchids. The legend that orchids were difficult to grow began in that era, and it took almost 100 years for growers to develop successful methods for tending them.
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