{"id":285,"date":"2012-01-02T05:36:15","date_gmt":"2012-01-02T13:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=285"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:32:34","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:32:34","slug":"moths-in-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/moths-in-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Moths in Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOTHS IN FLIGHT
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\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>For years I turned my back on the seductive charms of orchids.\u00a0 Though clearly beautiful in color and form, they also seemed exotic to the point of being unnatural.\u00a0 On the practical side, I have never been sure that I could sustain the level of commitment required by orchids.\u00a0 Maybe it was my imagination, but every time I came face to face with a lush cattleya or dendrobium, I thought I saw the shadow of death passing over the plant.\u00a0 I figured that I saved a good number of orchids by restricting my indoor gardening activities to African violets and other plants that I knew I could nurture successfully or replace cheaply.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But life is full of surprises.\u00a0 Several years ago, I became the foster parent of a moth orchid or Phalaenopsis originally purchased by my daughter.\u00a0 Since then, it has rebloomed reliably every year, either because of, or more likely, in spite of my care.\u00a0 Now, the buds are swelling once again, and the plant appears set to produce at least ten of the distinctive pinkish blooms that last up to six weeks.\u00a0 I have gotten so puffed up about this triumph of benign semi-neglect that I have taken to calling my orchid a “Phal,”\u009d the way the real hobbyists do.\u00a0 I am seriously considering the purchase of a second Phalaenopsis.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Discovered in the eighteenth century, Phalaenopsis was one of the first exotic orchids to find its way into nineteenth century Victorian homes.\u00a0 In the floral language that was all the rage with Queen Victoria and her contemporaries, moth orchids symbolized gaiety and luxury.\u00a0 Though the plants preferred the warmth and humidity of newly fashionable greenhouses and conservatories, they could also be made to flourish in more ordinary indoor accommodations.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Over a century later, moth orchids are ubiquitous, thanks to the wonders of tissue culture, by which thousands of clones can be produced from small tissue samples.\u00a0 You can find Phals everywhere–from supermarkets to big box stores to the highest of high-end florists.\u00a0 Price points are determined by the size and age of the plant, flower color and the level of retailer overhead.\u00a0 The basic moth orchid stands between one and two feet tall, with arching flower stems that bear white flowers.\u00a0 Each one features three rounded top petals and a lip-like bottom petal that consists of three lobes, the center of which is cruciform with distinctive tails or spurs.\u00a0 Centuries ago, observers decided that the showy flowers resembled white moths.\u00a0 The genus name comes from the Greek word, “phalaena,”\u009d meaning “moth”\u009d and “opsis”\u009d meaning “appearance.”\u009d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Phalaenopsis leaves sprout at the base of the plant and can grow to ten inches in length.\u00a0 They are deep green, and may be mottled or marked in some varieties and species.\u00a0 Three to five of these thick, substantial leaves will appear on the average moth orchid plant.\u00a0 One or two die each year and are replaced with new foliage.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most of today’s moth orchids are descended from Phalaenopsis amabile, a native of Borneo, the Philippines, Java and northeast Australia.\u00a0 Unlike some Phalaenopsis species that are lithophytes, living on rocks; amabile is an epiphyte that lives in trees and receives much of its nourishment from rainwater.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hybridizers have been ministering to Phalaenopsis since the mid-nineteenth century, producing plants with flowers of many colors.\u00a0 In addition to pristine white blossoms, you can find specimens with pink, purple or even yellowish blooms, sometimes ornamented with dots or strips in darker or contrasting shades.\u00a0 There are also bi-colored varieties.\u00a0 Most bloom once a year in the winter, but mature moth orchids can be cajoled into blooming a second time, by cutting back the bloom stems to a node just above the one where the first flower appeared.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My orchid thrives on a weekly twenty-minute soaking in tepid water.\u00a0 This year I will also treat it to a position atop a tray filled with a layer of water and pebbles.\u00a0 This promotes the high humidity levels the plants crave..\u00a0 Since my plant’s original bark-based potting mix has begun breaking down, I will repot it in fresh mix after the blossoms fade.\u00a0 In the summer, it will go outside in a shaded, protected spot on the back porch, returning to my south-facing dining room window seat when the nights turn colder in September or October.\u00a0 I hope that with slightly more attentive care this year, my foster orchid will produce two healthy flower spikes next winter.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To find out more about orchids in general and Phalaenopsis in particular, go to the American Orchid Society’s website at <\/font><\/font>http:\/\/www.aos.org<\/font><\/a>.\u00a0 Click on “All About Orchids”\u009d and you will find links to culture sheets for moth orchids as well as other genera.\u00a0 If you prefer to learn the old fashioned way, there are many books on orchid culture.\u00a0 William Cullina’s Understanding Orchids<\/em> (2004), is a good place to start.\u00a0 It is available from bookstores and online book vendors.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of the orchid addicts that I know started with a single Phalaenopsis.\u00a0 I suspect that I have the potential to join their ranks.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOTHS IN FLIGHT \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For years I turned my back on the seductive charms of orchids.\u00a0 Though clearly beautiful in color and form, they also seemed exotic to the point of being unnatural.\u00a0 On the practical side, I have never been sure that I could sustain the level of commitment required by orchids.\u00a0 Maybe it … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1506,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/1506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}