Forest dwelling orchids bright at home
Commonly known as the Moth Orchid, Phalaenopsis is a genus of orchid with about 60 species. It is native to southern China, India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Queensland, Australia.
Most are epiphytic shade plants although a few grow on rocks. In the wild they are found below the canopies of moist and humid lowland forests in filtered light.
The mainly single stems are thick and upright to about 8 cm carrying wide, fleshy, limp, alternate leaves. Some thickish fleshy aerial roots are produced on the stem among the lower leaves and these spread over the trunk of trees or rocks in the wild, and in cultivation, over the potting mixture.
The flower stalks are produced from the leaf axils and can be up to 90 cm in length, carrying up to 20-30 pansy-like flowers. The flowers are mainly white, mauve through to pink shades, sometimes speckled or spotted. Flowering can occur at any time and the individual flowers will last up to between three weeks and a month. The flowering period can be extended by cutting the flower stalk back to just below the point where the appeared.
Moth orchids are relatively easy to cultivate providing a few basic requirements are met.
Although they need a well lit situation they do not like direct sunlight - near a window on a table is a good spot.
Watering is critical to the health of Phalaenopsis orchids. Water when the top couple of centimetres of the potting mixture begins to dry out, usually about every week or so. When watering earliest flowers try to keep beads of water off the leaves as this can cause fungus rot even if left on the leaves for only a short period. It is a good idea to stand your potted Phalaenopsis on a saucer of wet pebbles providing the humidity the plants appreciate in their native haunts.
Remember that in nature the plants are growing not in soil but with their roots attached to a tree or rock. This means that they are adapted to exceptionally perfect drainage and will definitely not tolerate having permanently ‘wet feet’. Over-watered plants eventually suffer from rotten roots and will die - in general underwatering is far less likely to kill your Phalaenopsis. The plants can be given a standard orchid fertiliser about every three weeks or so, taking care not to exceed the recommended dosage.
After blooming the old flower stalk should be cut off cleanly near the plant stem and this is the time to repot your orchid if the pot is too small for it. The plant should always be repotted in fresh orchid potting mix and the container should have sufficient holes in the base and a shallow layer of clay pot fragments in the bottom to ensure perfect drainage.
Position your flower in the middle of the pot and fill in the pot with the orchid mix.
After gently removing the old potting mixture from the roots cut away any dead roots before repotting the plant and then move the plants to a more shaded position for about three to four weeks.