The Misuderstood Orchid
No flower is as misunderstood as the orchid. Although many orchids are indisputably gorgeous, the reigning royalty of all flowers, people are afraid to try to grow them. No plant is more intimidating than the orchid, but its reputation is quite undeserved. Orchids are not difficult, they are simply different.
When it comes to orchids, most people are still in the Victorian ages, still mistakenly believing that hothouses, steamy conditions, and a fistful of dollars are necessary to grow them. Yet many orchids can be grown in any home. By and large, orchids are rugged and adaptable and don't need a jungle or a greenhouse. Many novices find to their delight that they can bloom orchids successfully even while their African violets sulk in another window. And, given a number of recent laboratory developments, particularly those that make it possible to clone thousands of plants from a small piece of one, it no longer cost a fortune to buy them, either.
Orchids are so different from other plants, and often so different from one another, that visitors to orchids shows find it hard to believe that every flower displayed is an orchid. Practically anyone can recognize a classic corsage orchid, but when confronted with flowers that resemble elbow macaroni spray-painted neon orange, or female bees, or Puck-faced laughing gnomes, few people could immediately say, "Aha, an orchid.! But yes, they are all orchids.
Orchids are the most diversified and successful flowers on Earth. Unlike the rose, for example, which is simply a single group (or genus) of about 100 natural species within a larger family of flowers, orchids make up an entire family all by themselves. That family is huge, with an estimated 25,000 wild species of orchids and 1,400 groups (or genera), more than any other family of flowers. In a world of perhaps a quarter million flowering plant species, more than out of every ten species is an orchid.
When it comes to orchids, most people are still in the Victorian ages, still mistakenly believing that hothouses, steamy conditions, and a fistful of dollars are necessary to grow them. Yet many orchids can be grown in any home. By and large, orchids are rugged and adaptable and don't need a jungle or a greenhouse. Many novices find to their delight that they can bloom orchids successfully even while their African violets sulk in another window. And, given a number of recent laboratory developments, particularly those that make it possible to clone thousands of plants from a small piece of one, it no longer cost a fortune to buy them, either.
Orchids are so different from other plants, and often so different from one another, that visitors to orchids shows find it hard to believe that every flower displayed is an orchid. Practically anyone can recognize a classic corsage orchid, but when confronted with flowers that resemble elbow macaroni spray-painted neon orange, or female bees, or Puck-faced laughing gnomes, few people could immediately say, "Aha, an orchid.! But yes, they are all orchids.
Orchids are the most diversified and successful flowers on Earth. Unlike the rose, for example, which is simply a single group (or genus) of about 100 natural species within a larger family of flowers, orchids make up an entire family all by themselves. That family is huge, with an estimated 25,000 wild species of orchids and 1,400 groups (or genera), more than any other family of flowers. In a world of perhaps a quarter million flowering plant species, more than out of every ten species is an orchid.
Some Orchids Genres: Links
- Brassavola Orchids
- Brassia Orchids
- Cattleya Orchids
- Cymbidium Orchids
- Dendrobium Orchids
- Encyclia Orchids
- Cattleya Orchid Description
- Cattleya Orchid Environment: Light
- How to Apply Air Movement to Orchids
- I Had a Cattleya Orchid, and I Killed It
- Sympodial Orchids
- The Most Popular Orchid for the Home: Cattleya Orchid
Orchid Articles: Links
