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Introduction
Believe it or not, orchids — the most glamorous and spectacular flowering plants in the world, nature’s true masterpieces — are easy to grow! You just need to give them what they need. And their requirements aren’t difficult to meet — adequate light, humidity, water, and ventilation. Sure, there are other nuances, like fertilizing, repotting, insect and disease control, but none of these are daunting. I’ve been growing and blooming orchids in my home for almost 40 years — mostly not in a greenhouse, but under lights or on the windowsill.
Helping you achieve success with these glorious plants is my pleasurable mission. If you follow the steps I lay out in this book, you can grow orchids that thrive. Everything in this book comes from many years of my own trials and errors — not from theories about what should happen or what orchids might need. Sure, I’m a professional horticulturist, but probably more importantly, I’m a hands-on, sometimes fanatical, home orchid grower. I don’t share with you anything in this book that I haven’t tried myself.
Years ago, the methods of orchid culture were well-guarded secrets, hoarded by commercial growers and private estate gardeners. That’s not the case here. This is a tell-all book where I reveal the secrets in plain English. So you can now enter this wonderful world of orchids without fear, knowing that you’re armed with the information you need to be successful and enjoy one of the most rewarding and fascinating, lifelong hobbies that you’ll ever experience — growing orchids.
About This Book
Orchids For Dummies, 2nd Edition, gives you all you need to know to grow, appreciate, and bloom orchids in your home — in a concise, easy-to-read manner. This family of plants is so humongous that you may be overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing and growing one of your own, so I show you only the groups of orchids that are the easier ones to grow. I also make a point of adding lots of illustrations and photos (most of which were taken by me) to show you what I’m talking about.
I want you to feel comfortable with these dazzling plants and get to know them on a personal basis. Then you’ll be eager to discover all their mysteries by slowing down your busy life to savor orchids’ inimitable flowers, inhale their sensuous perfumes, and observe the unique construction of their roots and leaves.
This new edition includes the following new information:
Updates to a slew of orchids’ names: They’ve undergone major changes.
More information on moth orchids: Moth orchids (the genus called Phalaenopsis) continue to be by far the most popular type of orchid with more exciting new varieties.
An expanded color insert: Orchids are such a wonderfully colorful group of plants. The color insert has gone from 8 to 32 pages of vibrant photos.
A new chapter on hardy orchids: Although most people think of orchids as being tropical delights, and most of them are, some orchids can take and actually thrive in cold climates so I include a new chapter about them.
Additional details about growing orchids under lights: You
