Growing orchids can be the most amazing hobby you will ever have. Once considered a pastime for only the very wealthy, growing these beautiful plants is now possible for everyone. Their popularity has made them more affordable, and information about how to care for them is readily available. People who have grown orchids for years consider these plants the kings of horticulture world.
Orchids thrive in unusual circumstances in the wild. They adapted to cling to trees, rocks or make a home in leaf litter on the forest floor. 
They receive water wherever it happens to fall - down the side of a tree, dripping from the leaves on a branch, sliding down the side of rocks.
But, unlike most plants, where they don't usually receive water in nature is from the dirt. The media they grow in is not earth, though some will bloom in very sandy soil.
Those natural conditions provide clues to the proper watering practices, which will vary somewhat depending on the species category in question. Epiphytes, for example, cling to trees, while saprophytes grow in leaf litter. But one thing is true of all orchids, overwatering is a much greater danger than underwatering.
Filed under Orchid Gardening by Gardener
Orchids are sometimes known as 'hothouse flowers' because many species thrive in warm, humid environments. 
Having a greenhouse or hothouse is one of the best ways to provide those conditions.
Greenhouses come in all shapes and sizes. Some are glass and as large as an ordinary house. Others are little more than a doghouse-sized structure covered with translucent plastic. But all serve the same purpose: to let light in so that some wavelengths of light will come back out again, while others are trapped inside.
Because of the nature of the greenhouse effect, most of what remains inside are long-wavelength infrared (and, therefore, invisible) light waves. That produces a hothouse, a house that remains hot, even while the outside may be quite cool. A greenhouse outside in 40F/4C weather can be quite warm if there's adequate sunshine. In fact, most greenhouses are ventilated because they tend to get too hot!
Filed under Orchid Gardening by Gardener
Many islands support orchid populations. One of the most well known is the big island of the Hawaiian Islands chain: Hawaii. 
Often referred to as Orchid Island, this tropical paradise is festooned with flowers of all types.
The Dendrobium orchids are a popular choice for those who enjoy this type of bloom. They come in a variety of colors, such as white or purple. But one will often also find mixed colors such as white with lavender in the same flower.
Phalaenopsis are another popular genus, owing in large part to the relative ease with which they can be grown. Since the native climate has shorter days and cooler temperatures at night, these orchids thrive in conditions that are easy to reproduce elsewhere.
Filed under Orchid Gardening by Gardener
