In this article, we review the most popular orchid and make recommendations on what to watch out for when buying one.
What kind of orchid should I look for?
The most common orchid, the easiest to care for is a member of the orchid family called phalaenopsis, also referred to as "phal". You can find this kind of orchid in flower shops and even in some supermarkets! Also called moth orchid, phalaenopsis is a very resilient plant and able to survive in a wide range of growing conditions. To get those beautiful flowers you would need to provide the plant with
17-25C ideal temperature (extremes: cannot survive freezing & tolerates warmer temperatures, 25C+ if watered frequently &/ humidity is high),
~17-18C temperature set for 3-4 weeks each year (to induce development of flower spikes),
indirect sunlight (“bright shade”) or equivalent artificial light at least during flower development and blooming season (8-12 hours bright hours are ideal),
~5-10 minutes weekly care (watering, fertilizing, checking for issues, re-potting every other year or so)
a healthy phalaenopsis can thrive in any home. In return, this beautiful plant can reward you with spectacular flowers for several months each year!
What kind of phalaenopsis should I buy?
There are countless variations available and the difference is usually the size of the plant or the family the it belongs to or the color of its flowers. To simplify things, below is the list of key dimensions I would recommend to keep in mind when deciding on the type of the plant.
Size: Mini phalaenopsis will not grow to the same size as regular phalaenopsis and has smaller flowers and leaves, it’s roots may fit into a coffee cu - buying one over the other is a personal preference, despite their size both look very much alike and available in many color variations.
Color and shape of flowers: Buy any colour of your liking but note that pure blue, red or black flowers suggest the plant was artificially colored and the effect is not permanent so its flowers will change color from one blooming cycle to the next until the artificial color is washed out of its system. Black and blue flowered phalaenopsis plants do not exist in nature and red-ish flowers are very rare, however, florists may take white or bright orchids and color their flowers to their liking. Even though it is not natural, it is perfectly safe to color the flowers with food coloring, however, the process opens a wound on the plant which may lead to bacterial infection if not sterilized properly. Examine the flower spike of the plant and look for any man made incision on it - if you find a strange, artificial "knot" on the flowerspike then the orchid was artificially colored and expect the color of flowers to change when new flowers develop. There might be very small variations in terms of shape of flowers among phalaenopsis hybrid plants.
Type: phalaenopsis variations became very popular houseplants based on their ability to adapt to home growing conditions in terms of light, temperature and humidity levels. This was no accident - cross breeding (“hybridizing”) phalenopsis plants resulted in more and more resilient plants and a huge variety of different colored flowers. Due to these very favorable properties, phalenopsis became subject of cross breeding with other, non-phalaenopsis orchids as well. Non-hybrid phalaenopsis may be more difficult to care for as those are truly native to tropical growing conditions. It is usually rare to find non-hybrid species of phalaenopsis in flower shops though so just ask for ”phalenopsis” or “phalaenopis hybrid” and the florist should know the place you can find them in the shop. Phalaenopsis is also referred to as "mothorchid".
Buy a healthy plant or rescue a sick one?
You may come across discounted phalaenopsis orchids. There are many reasons why orchids get discounted and unfortunately in most cases it is because the orchid became sick or weak. These plants might have suffered some sort of cold damage, bacterial infection, overwatering or other issues that caused a phase called set-back. Such orchids will need more attention compared to a healthy plant and their flowering may be delayed or even abundant for the following year because the plant will need time to recover from the stress. If you want to bring home such an orchid make sure you do not place it next to any of your other plant to avoid spreading any disease. On the bright side, unless the damage is severe, rescued orchids can nursed back to full health so buying at a discounted price is very favorable if you have enough time and patience to spare because it may take months or years to get flowers after set-back. On the bright side, sometime flower shops discount orchids because the flowering cycle is over or they want to change inventory so then those discounted orchids may be very healthy. How should we identify signs of sickness on phalaenopsis? Read our next article about signs of healthy phalaenopis to find out.
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