Phalaenopsis orchids are very suitable for city dwellers who have limited space and no gardens. Since Phalaenopsis orchid is quite easy to grow and generally likes the light and temperature condition of our homes, it is an excellent choice for the first time orchid growers, as well as indoor gardeners.

Below . . . → Read More: How to Grow and Care for Phalaenopsis Orchids]]>

Phalaenopsis orchids are very suitable for city dwellers who have limited space and no gardens. Since Phalaenopsis orchid is quite easy to grow and generally likes the light and temperature condition of our homes, it is an excellent choice for the first time orchid growers, as well as indoor gardeners.

Below are some tips of growing Phalaenopsis orchids.

Light

Phalaenopsis orchids do well near bright window, without direct sunlight. If we place our Phalaenopsis orchids indoor, an east facing window is ideal, while shaded south or west facing windows are also acceptable. I grow my Phalaenopsis orchid outside my north facing balcony and it grows very well. If we grow our Phalaenopsis orchids outdoor under direct sunlight, the growing area will need to be covered with 70-75%  shade cloth.

Let the foliage be your guide. If there is excessive dark reddish pigmentation on the leaves, the leaves probably have been burnt. In this case, we should move our orchids to an area with less sun exposure. On the other hand, if the leaves are long and floppy, the Phalaenopsis orchid may not be getting enough light.

Watering

If we grow our Phalaenopsis orchids in pots instead of by hanging, the orchid roots will not be exposed to the air as much, and hence will dry up slower. We should water our Phalaenopsis orchids only when the roots are dry (but don’t wait till bone-dry). Be aware not to overwater our orchids, the roots will rot and the orchid will not survive. In addition, water our Phalaenopsis orchids early enough in the day time so that the leaves will be dry by nightfall. It is especially important not to let water stay in the crown of the orchids for this will lead to crown rot.

Fertilizer

Phalaenopsis orchids do well with regular fertilizing, yet will suffer if over-fertilized. As a rule of thumb, fertilize our Phalaenopsis orchids every 10-14 days with a balanced formula like 20-20-20 in only half the strength as instructed on the fertilizer package.

Temperature

Phalaenopsis orchids grow well in temperature between 20-30 degree Celsius (65-85 degrees Fahrenheit), and the orchids will stop growing when the temperature is above 35 degree Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) or below 10 degree Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

Humidity and Ventilation

Phalaenopsis orchids love high humidity, around 70%. Yet, the moth orchids also need good ventilation and air circulation in order to grow well, particularly during very humid conditions when fungal and bacterial disease can be a real threat. In this case, an oscillating fan that moves air constantly at low speed will be very helpful.

Cattleya orchids are among the most beautiful and satisfying of all orchid species to grow and care for.  Since the care of Cattleya orchid is easy, gardening beginners who are interested in growing orchids but haven’t had any experience before, can start with Cattleya orchid.  With simple growing conditions, most of us . . . → Read More: How to Grow and Care for Cattleya Orchids]]>

Cattleya orchids are among the most beautiful and satisfying of all orchid species to grow and care for.  Since the care of Cattleya orchid is easy, gardening beginners who are interested in growing orchids but haven’t had any experience before, can start with Cattleya orchid.  With simple growing conditions, most of us can obtain outstanding results.

And here, let me share with you what I have learned about Cattleya orchids.

Light

The growing area of Cattleya orchids needs to be covered with 50-60% shade cloth. If the light is too strong, the leaves of the Cattleya orchids will be burned. On the other hand, if the light is too weak, the plant will be very weak, and won’t blossom.

Air Circulation

Air circulation is especially critical for Cattleya orchids that grow indoor in a greenhouse. Cattleya orchids are prompt to disease and pest when the air flow in the room is poor.

Temperature

Cattleya orchids are able to accustom to temperatures as low as 10-13 degree Celsius (50-55 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and as high as 27-33 degree Celsius (80-90 degrees Fahrenheit)in the summer. It worth noting that there should have some temperature variations of at least 5 degrees between day time and night time for the Cattleya orchids to grow strong and bloom beautifully.

Water

When an orchid is killed by a water problem, 99% of the time is due to over-watering. Water the Cattleya orchid only when the potting medium is totally dry.

Potting Mix

Cattleya orchids grow well in pumice stones. Pumice stones allow water to drain out quickly, which minimize the over-watering problem and keep the roots healthy at all time. Also, we can put a few pieces of styrofoam at the bottom of the orchid pot to improve the air circulation in the root area.

Fertilizer

Fertilizing our Cattleya orchids every 10-14 days with a balanced formula like 20-20-20 in only half the strength as instructed on the fertilizer package.

Hippeastrum (aka Barbados Lily, 朱頂蘭 in Chinese) is often been mistaken as Amaryllis.

Hippeastrum is a hardy plant.   The flowers of Hippeastrum are red and pink and often striped with various amounts of white. Some hippeastrums have yellow, white, orange or pale green flowers. The flowers only appear for 2-3 weeks . . . → Read More: Growing Hippeastrum]]>

Hippeastrum (aka Barbados Lily, 朱頂蘭 in Chinese) is often been mistaken as Amaryllis.

Hippeastrum is a hardy plant.   The flowers of Hippeastrum are red and pink and often striped with various amounts of white. Some hippeastrums have yellow, white, orange or pale green flowers. The flowers only appear for 2-3 weeks and they are unscented.  With large rewards of big and beautiful flowers for little efforts, I always enjoy growing Hippeastrums.

I potted my three Hippeastrum bulbs on January 21.  While one of them didn’t grow out any new leaf till recently, the other two are blossoming with large flowers in less than 6 weeks.

Sunlight – Indoor vs Outdoor

While many gardeners grow their Hippeastrum indoor, I put mine outdoor. Since the Hippeastrum is a semi-tropical plant that needs an extended growing season, there probably isn’t enough light in my home for the Hippeastrum to do well.  While I have heard that the leaves of the Hippeastrum may get burned if they are subjected to prolonged periods of hot afternoon sun, the leaves of my Barbadoes lilies hasn’t been burned even been put under direct sunlight all day long.  I guess the winter sun is much friendlier  than the summer one.

Water Needs & Soil Requirements

Hippeastrum should be planted in sandy, loose soil that is well drained. Indeed, this hardy plant can grow in any kind of soil as long as it is not soggy.  A hot weekend with no water will not harm the bulb, but allowing it to sit in wet soil for several weeks will probably cause the bulb and its roots to rot; this condition also makes it more vulnerable to parasites and disease.

Since we have the Narcissus particularly for Chinese New . . . → Read More: Have Our Narcissus Blossoms at the Right Time]]> Chinese love to decorate their homes with Narcissus (Chinese Sacred Lily in particular) during Chinese New Year. The beautiful white Narcissus flowers with orange cups blossom around 7-14 days, and when they bloom, they send out a very sweet fragrance.

Since we have the Narcissus particularly for Chinese New Year decoration, of course, we would want the plants blossom right on Chinese New Year’s Day. Yet, the wide swing in temperature we have nowadays makes it uneasy to ensure the Narcissus blossoms right on the few days of Chinese New Year.

We had some very warm days (>20 °C) in early February. So, in order to make sure the Narcissus we were cultivating for Chinese New Year wouldn’t blossom too early, we kept our Narcissus in the refrigerator for more than a week time, and brought them out 1-2 days before the Chinese New Year’s Day.

This is the crab pincer style.  The Narcissus flower buds were starting to bloom once they were taken out from the refrigerator.

The blossom was at its fullest on the 4th-5th day after taken out from the refrigerator, and started to get tired after 10 days or so.

Check post – Narcissus Blossom – An Important Symbol in Chinese New Year

Since Narcissus flower blooms around lunar January, it is one of the most associated flowers with the Chinese New Year. The Chinese like to decorate their homes with this beautiful white Narcissus flower and wait in anticipation of its blossom, which symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the coming year.  In addition, . . . → Read More: Narcissus Blossom – An Important Symbol in Chinese New Year]]>

Since Narcissus flower blooms around lunar January, it is one of the most associated flowers with the Chinese New Year. The Chinese like to decorate their homes with this beautiful white Narcissus flower and wait in anticipation of its blossom, which symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the coming year.  In addition, Narcissus has one of the sweetest fragrances!

Narcissus bulb carving and cultivation is an art.  Here are some Narcissus bulbs which Teacher Wong has craved.  Since they are craved differently, they will grow into different shapes and sizes.

About a month after carving, some Narcissus bulbs have grown into peacocks.  And the one between the two peacocks is called “crab pincer”.

left: flower basket (the Narcissus flowers haven’t yet blossomed); right: crab pincer

These are the Narcissus bulbs.

We, women, sometimes complain that men only care about food and sex but nothing else (okay, also football games and gadgets). While it can be quite frustrating and disappointing sometimes, we can also try to be more sympathetic, and understand that these poor guys can really do nothing but try to meet their . . . → Read More: It’s Always about Food & Sex]]>

We, women, sometimes complain that men only care about food and sex but nothing else (okay, also football games and gadgets). While it can be quite frustrating and disappointing sometimes, we can also try to be more sympathetic, and understand that these poor guys can really do nothing but try to meet their human biological needs. Food, sex, water and air are the four very basic biological needs that the survival of human race will become impossible if any one of these needs is not met.

It is just part of the nature. All animals know these biological needs, as well as all insects. And apparently, even orchids know this very well too. Indeed, the orchids understand this so well that the plants use these biological needs to lure different insects to work for them for free!

The great majority of animal pollinated plants secure the services of their pollinators by providing food rewards such as nectar or pollen. However, orchids are exceptional in that perhaps as many as one third of the 30,000 or so species achieve pollination by deception. That is, they lure their pollinators to the flowers by false promises of food, but do not provide any. Most of these species are ‘food deceptive’, falsely advertising the presence of food by bright colors and sweet scents.

In an even more intriguing group of orchids, pollination is achieved by sexual deception. In these cases, male insects are sexually attracted to the flower both by the fragrances and appearance of the female insects. The males are so deceived that they attempt to mate with the flowers (a process known as pseudo-copulation, meaning false mating) and in doing so remove or deposit pollinia.

So women, may be we can learn something from the orchids huh? LOL

If you are interested in learning more about pollination by sexual deception, you should check out this great article– Pollination by Sexual Deception in Australian Terrestrial Orchids by Dr Rod Peakall.

First Photo by Dr Rod Peakall
Second Photo by Plant Nerd

A few weeks ago, I saw a nicely packaged leaf called Miracle Leaf in the Life Division of CitySuper, an upscale supermarket in Hong Kong.  It is selling for HKD $25 (around USD $3.5).  At the back of the package, it says

Baby leaves come out from the narrow parts of . . . → Read More: Miracle Leaf – Kalanchoe Pinnata]]>

A few weeks ago, I saw a nicely packaged leaf called Miracle Leaf in the Life Division of CitySuper, an upscale supermarket in Hong Kong.  It is selling for HKD $25 (around USD $3.5).  At the back of the package, it says

Baby leaves come out from the narrow parts of the MOTHER leaf.
Put the leaf on the water or on the soil.
Treat well and small bellflowers come out. Suitable temperature is over 20 centigrade.
Place the plant in a warm well-lit place.

Even though the description on the packaging of Miracle Leaf sounded quite interesting, it failed to arouse my desire to buy this product. For $25, I could easily get myself something better than just a leaf I thought…  But last week, when I saw a display of a Miracle Leaf growing in the water while I was shopping in the supermarket, I was so attracted to it that I almost bought one home.

Well, for the same reason, I didn’t buy a Miracle Leaf at the end. But instead, I did quite a bit of research and learned more about this Miracle Leaf once I got home.

The scientific name of Miracle Leaf is Kalanchoe pinnata.  It is a succulent plant native to Africa, Madagascar, India and Indian Ocean Islands.  Maybe due to its amazing trait of miniature plantlets forming on the margins of its leaves, and its ability to grow fast and thrive beautifully in many conditions, it is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in temperate regions of Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean.  In fact, because Kalanchoe pinnata can grow so well, reproduce and spread so rapidly in Hawaii, that it is listed as one of Hawaii’s most invasive horticultural plants.

The plant’s ability to propagate itself from each and every dropped leaf is quite amazing and should be fun to watch, that I want to grow a pot of Kalanchoe pinnata and witness the process. Now I wonder if I can get a pot for $25 .