Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
MORE ORCHIDS TO CHOOSE FROM
Dancing Ladies (Oncidium sp)
The arching sprays of these dense gatherings of flowers have been compared to a flu er of bu erflies. They like a warm, humid but shady spot with just a couple of hours of sun a day. Grow in a pot of orchid mix or wrap around a tree. If indoors, let light come from the north or east. Water weekly or when roots are dry, but don’t overwater. Feed every 2-3 weeks with orchid fertiliser, as they are quick growers and get hungry.
Lady slipper (Paphiopedilum Sp)
These are enchanting in your garden or home – and you can probably get a slipper with colours and pa erns to suit your interior decor, coming in freckles and stripes and a spectacularly wide range of colours. Most are terrestrial, so put in a pot of orchid mix. They thrive in subtropical and temperate regions in a sheltered, shady, humid spot. Inside, give them a well-lit spot. Water once a week. Feed monthly in spring and summer with orchid fertiliser.
Cockleshell (encyclia sp)
Establish the right conditions and this fascinating orchid with its purple, clam-shaped flowers will bloom all year. These epiphytes are best grown in temperate climates, in bright, indirect light. If you can’t get it quite right you’ll still have these fragrant flowers from late spring to early summer. Grow in orchid mix or mount on a board to a ach to a tree trunk or a tree fern. Water once a week. Feed with orchid fertiliser monthly.