Well. What do they get in nature? Sometimes an orchid is situated so mist reaches them at every angle. Sometimes not. An older orchid that has grown into a comfy nest of branches and twigs may do better than a new one straight out of a two inch pot. Bottom line is I try but I can’t reach every ...

The experts say certain orchids need a winter rest. Rest is supposed to equal no water and no fertilizer. Or maybe a little bit of water and no fertilizer or....maybe just a tiny bit of fertilizer?There are no tried and true rules for the orchids it seems. Common sense would suggest that we look carefully and act accordingly. Does ...

I don’t know why certain roots behave the way they do. And I don’t know whether the roots that act a certain way are different from other roots on the same plant. If I were still doing botanical research I could set out to find the secrets behind root behavior. But what could be more boring than an academic ...

Nature tells us. Dying things take their time. Dead things hang on. A yellowing leaf is sending nutrients back into the plant. A dead leaf or stem may channel water to the living plant body. It may be a hiding place for beneficial bugs and microbes. What looks dead may even have a bank of meristem cells waiting to ...

We teach in biology that there’s no such thing as a “life force.” But working day by day in the garden I start to wonder. Seeing these wonderful plants as they bud, branch, twist and thicken. Seeing the dew in their leaves, the curve of a stem or root, the way they seem to climb and cover their woody ...

I seem to be focusing on roots a lot. Maybe that’s because most people pot their plants or put the in slatted baskets so the roots are out of sight. Mine are as much a spectacle as the green part of the plant. I read that the velamen, the spongy, porous outer coating of orchid roots, provides an environment ...

A hundred years ago when I used to teach general biology I tried to spend as much time as I could talking about plants. I can’t tell you how much this was a source of dismay for my students. Especially when I started to talk about the strange habits of plants like thigmotrophy, the way plants grow along surfaces.Of ...

I started a new fertilizer regime and I’m not sure where I’ll be going with it. For the first several months I didn’t even think of fertilizing my orchids. The reclaimed water that I use for of them is supposedly high in trace elements as well as more common substances like nitrogen and calcium.I did finally break down and ...

Species and hybrids. Hybrids and species. As a botanist I knew there were tens of thousands of species of orchids. But I never thought about hybrids! My first dozen or so orchids were all species. They stood still and persisted all through the hot summer months as I misted faithfully several times a day. They stood by me when ...

Is there a right side up with orchids? I asked the question for a couple of reasons. First when I moved to this house there were some Phalaenopsis clinging to their baskets. The leaves are hanging down to one side and the roots were tightly packed in the baskets kind of like a ponytail. Also, when I put my ...

OK. Guilty as charged. I have a PhD in botany from Harvard. I am, or I was an expert in a particular genus of lichens. I do a lot of other things well for example I was great teacher, but I’m not an expert. Lucky thing there are so many other people who are.When I first moved to Florida ...

Have you ever noticed the way there are ants running around all over the garden? They are everywhere. Sometimes I dig something up or water a plant and there are ants teeming all over the place carrying eggs. I think it’s a sign of garden health. There is plenty of organic matter around here that they can use and ...

I guess they’re like baby teeth and grown up teeth. But a little different. Here’s my experience so far. When you get an orchid from a grower, it’s been nurtured in a certain environment. The green part of the plant functions primarily to photosynthesize and produce flowers, and to a lesser extent to absorb nutrients. It is also a ...

Oh the noise out there! The places to go! The errands. They are endless. Even the many corners of the garden, each with its appeal, tear us from the inner landscape. My inner landscape, the landscape of my focus is each orchid I plant. I watch them in the trees and twigs I feel their leaves thicken. I sense ...

So many people post pictures of their orchid flowers. They are a study in perfection. Incredible colors, beautiful graceful shapes, a true abundance of luxury. These are orchids ready to be “judged” like purebred dogs. “Best in show.” That’s not where I’m going with my plants.I celebrate when my orchids bloom. About a dozen of them have so far, ...

It’s coming down in sheets today and I couldn’t be happier. Winter is supposed to be “rest” time for a lot of the orchids but when you’re stuck up in a tree with your roots exposed to sun and drought, even in winter, water never hurts. This is a much different situation from people who are potting their orchids, ...

I started to learn that we can’t replicate the conditions orchids experience in nature. But if they are planted as epiphytes you can’t mist them too often. Most of them evolved in rainforests or cloud forests.The hand mister that I stole from Janet’s kitchen supplies really gave me a fine lovely mist. It was a romantic scene. Me stretching ...

My first forays into epiphytic plants were at the local nurseries, which were sadly understocked. They were so uninspiring I actually left empty handed. I still hadn’t heard of the amazing Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota. Nor was I aware of the extensive nurseries just north of there near Bradenton, with their acres and acres of orchids, succulents, and ...

When I told people I was moving down here in July they looked at me like I was crazy. “you are coming for the worst of the heat,” was their universal quip. But it’s what I came here for. And really at least this first summer, it didn’t seem so bad.We are on a quarter acre lot. Not huge ...

I put down my morning paper for lots of reasons. But the biggest reason is that more exciting things are going on in my garden. It’s the middle of winter here in St. Petersburg, Florida. The dew lies like a heavy blanket on orchids that I have hanging on branches and in baskets. I imagine they are pretty happy ...