Orchid Culture 1 - The Proper Approach
The article provides the newcomer to orchids with some direction in his first attempts at growing - what questions to ask and where and how to find the answers... read entire article

Orchid Culture 2 - Growing Outdoors and in Windows
With some ingenuity and persistence, conditions conducive to the growing and flowering of orchids can be achieved anywhere - from below ground level to the tops of tall buildings, inside under entirely artificial light, or outdoors in a more natural setting... read entire article

Orchid Culture 3 - Growing Under Lights
It is hard to imagine sun-loving plants like orchids flowering under the relatively low light intensities of conventional fluorescent tubes. But flower they do. What fluorescent lights lack in intensity, they can compensate for in daily light duration and in numbers... read entire article

Orchid Culture 4 - Light and Temperature
Best flowering generally occurs under higher light intensities of longer duration that leads to the accumulation of food reserves needed for flowering. Cooler temperatures at night, when respiration continues while photosynthesis does not, slows down the rate of energy expenditure, keeping it apace with the production of day time energy reserves during the day... read entire article

Orchid Culture 5 - Air Pollution, Movement and Humidity
Potted orchid roots require oxygen derived from the air pockets or well-aerated water present in a porous medium, because the uptake of water and nutrients (in addition to root maintenance and growth) is a process which demands energy. The orchid hobbyist need only consider whether the air is free of toxic gases, circulating properly and adequately moist... read entire article

Orchid Culture 6 - Water
Most orchids, particularly the epiphytes, have evolved to withstand dry conditions to some extent. Unlike other more tender plants, orchids don't usually cry out that they need water by wilting in a dramatic fashion. Instead a prolonged period of almost deliberate water neglect is usually necessary to produce drought responses in a well-rooted orchid.... read entire article

Orchid Culture 9 - Growing Media
Healthy roots are essential to orchids. Without a substrate conducive to root establishment, growth and function, an orchid cannot absorb the nutrients and water it requires. A growing medium should be firm and yet well aerated. With these two characteristics, a medium can offer a foundation to which the roots can attach themselves and allow the aeration necessary... read entire article

Orchid Culture 10 - Repotting
Organic media decompose into humus, a material, by itself, unfit for orchid roots. In a decomposed medium roots rarely have adequate oxygen to survive and function. Repotting must occur before significant media decomposition takes place, in order to avoid major root loss. Healthy roots are a must for healthy orchids! ... read entire article