Wednesday, January 09, 2008

orchids-for-dummies

Gotta love Trader Joe's! Not only do they sell yummy food at delicious prices but also orchids! This little gal was only $7.99 and since I've had such good luck with the white Phalaenopsis, it simply seemed logical to get another one! The hardest part was deciding on the color since there were so many to choose from. According to the plant tag, she came from Matsui Nursery, Inc in Salinas, CA.
This is her big sister. No, cousin. This one will have 4" white blooms with a touch of magenta. Being new to the orchids, I am just amazed that she only lost her last blossom about 8 weeks ago..and it had been on the plant for months! These things are incredible! I have not given her any fert in the 2 years she's been with me...not on purpose but because my Teflon brain cell can't remember to do so. And in spite of what the "directions" say, she has done quite well in temperatures much lower than suggested.
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4 comments:

grigkot said...

Oh, yes! Trader Joe's is a nice store. I often buy potted orchids for presents.

Angela Pratt said...

Looks like you're an orchid smartypants now. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Question:

About a year ago I rescued an orchid from a street corner in NYC (sounds weird, but it's true!) It had a couple of mangy-looking flowers that fell off pretty quickly, then it sat dormant for a few months. But has been going through a serious growth spurt and is sprouting it's 4th new leaf for a total of 6. It's also just started sending up a new flower spike (?). My question is, what should I do now? Should I left the spike grow as it will, or should I clip it to a bamboo support? And advice or insight would be appreciated. Not sure what kind of orchid it is, though it looks like the pink one on the opening page.

Thanks,

Caroline
cue_less@yahoo.com

weeder1 said...

I just let the new flower spikes do as they will. You could clip it if you want. enjoy!