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Growing Windowsill Orchids
Growing Windowsill Orchids is all you need to keep these
affordable, exotic plants happy and blooming. The best plants
to buy, home-care, flowering year after year, avoiding pest
problems, the science of orchids, their conservation and
propagation, are explained in 60 sumptuously illustrated pages.
About the author
Philip Seaton has been growing orchids as an amateur for more than 30 years.
As well as having been an editor of The Orchid Review he has written
numerous popular and scientific articles for various orchid
publications on a wide range of topics. He won the American
Orchid Society Dillon/Peterson Memorial Prize for his essay
Pest Control – My Way. His first book, Growing Orchids from Seed,
written with Margaret Ramsay was published in 2005. A biology lecturer
for more than 30 years, Philip is currently Project Manager for Orchid Seed
Stores for Sustainable Use (www.osssu.org), a Darwin Initiative project.
PHILIP SEATON
www.kewbooks.com
Cert no. SGS-COC-0620
Growing Windowsill
Orchids
PHILIP SEATON
Contents
Introduction
Buying your orchid
Caring for your orchid
Phalaenopsis – moth orchids
Cymbidium
Cambria orchids
Dendrobium phalaenopsis
Paphiopedilum – slipper orchids
Pleione
Challenging orchids
Pests and diseases
The science of orchids
What is an orchid?
Micropropagation
Conservation
Introduction
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The mystery and romance of orchids make
them hard to resist. With around 25,000
species, orchids are possibly the largest plant
family in existence: around one in ten
flowering plants is an orchid. They display an
amazing variety of flower types ranging from
the flamboyant ‘chocolate box’ Cattleya to the
frankly bizarre-looking slipper orchids.
Orchids were once the exclusive preserve of
the rich, who employed their own growers
to cultivate them in large hot houses.
However, people have recently discovered
that, especially where they have central
heating, many can be grown just as easily as
other houseplants. Specialist orchid nurseries,
garden centres and supermarkets offer an
ever-increasing range of affordable exotic
blooms for your windowsill. Although they
have a lingering reputation as being difficult
to grow, in reality orchids are more robust
than many other popular houseplants. If they
are provided with the right conditions, they
will grow and bloom, and give enjoyment for
many years.
Be warned though: orchids are addictive! So
thank you to my children Richard, Anna,
Claire and Joseph, for putting up with their
father’s orchid obsession without complaint.
Philip Seaton
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Phalaenopsis –
moth orchids
Phalaenopsis originate in tropical Asia, with the Philippines
being particularly rich in species. Commonly known as
moth orchids, Phalaenopsis are possibly the easiest
orchids to grow in the home. If you have never grown an
orchid before, most orchid nursery staff would probably
recommend that you start here. The beautiful saucershaped blooms on their graceful arching spikes dance like
moths in a gentle tropical breeze. It is no wonder that
they are so popular.
A large well-grown plant can produce a breathtaking display of
elegant blooms that last, in perfection, for up to three months
or more. They may flower two or even three times a year. Due
to the efforts of hybridisers around the world, moth orchids are
available in a dazzling array of markings and colours including
whites, pinks, yellows and clarets. Phalaenopsis are closely related
to Doritis with which they are frequently hybridised to produce
the genus Doritaenopsis, which typically has dark cerise blooms
on upright spikes. Recently, crosses with the diminutive flowers
of Phalaenopsis equestris have led to the production of a range of
charming miniature moth orchids.
New growers are often puzzled by the unruly silver roots that
refuse to confine themselves to the pot, and, illustrating their
epiphyte heritage, worm their way into the atmosphere. They
often ask if the roots should be pushed down into the compost.
The answer is definitely ‘no’. Aerial roots should be left to
grow where they will. They also act as a good indication of
whether the plant is in growth or not: when the plant is
actively growing the roots have green or reddish-green tips.
Watering
As a general guide, Phalaenopsis should be watered regularly
once or twice every week during the growing period from
spring through to autumn. The compost should be allowed to
dry out in between watering but not to the extent it becomes
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bone-dry. Either pour water through the compost or immerse
the pot in a bowl of water (which is at room temperature) and
leave for a few minutes before removing the pot and allowing
the compost to drain. The roots and leaves also benefit from a
daily spray with tepid water at this time of year. Care should
be taken not to allow water to remain in the crown of the
plant, as this can rapidly lead to the rotting of the crown. Any
water that does remain should be removed promptly with
absorbent tissue. Leaving water on the leaves in bright sunlight
may also cause burning, as the water acts as a lens focusing the
heat on the leaf. A slight wrinkling of the leaves may indicate
that the plant needs more water. Watering should be reduced
in the winter to once a week or possibly less.
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Often you will be confronted with an impenetrable root ball. Using a clean
sharp knife, a large plant can be divided into two or more smaller ones.
However, it is vital that each individual plant
should retain at least three or four good size
Author’s tip
backbulbs (leafless pseudobulbs). Gently tease the
roots apart with your fingers. Dead roots should
Plant diseases can be
spread using dirty pots.
be cut away using clean sharp scissors or secateurs.
Always use either new
Live roots are generally white and if actively
pots or pots that have
growing they will have rounded cream-coloured
been thoroughly cleaned.
tips. Dead roots are generally brownish and dry
with the outer layer (the velamen) often
separating easily from the tougher
fibrous core of the root. Roots that
are too long to fit into the new
pot can also be trimmed.
This Cymbidium has been
repotted in a mixture of coarse
bark, pumice and charcoal
Author’s tip
Old pseudobulbs can be placed in
fresh compost, and will often
shoot, and can eventually be
grown on into mature plants.
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Re-potting also provides an
opportunity to remove the dead
leaf bracts surrounding the old
pseudobulbs, although this can be
done at any time. Bracts can be
split from top to bottom and
carefully peeled away. Take care
not to damage any underlying
shoots.
Select a pot of a size that allows
sufficient space for one or two
years’ new growth. Place the
rearmost bulb against the edge of
the pot. The bulbs should sit on
the surface of the compost and not
be buried. Gently fill the pot with
compost around the roots, making
sure not to compact it. Do not
feed for the first three months, or
until new roots are established.
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1
Cut off old,
dead roots and
trim new roots
if necessary
Remove plant
from pot
2
Peel back
and remove
dead leaf
bracts
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3
Carefully remove
leafless backbulbs
using a sharp knife
Place in pot
leaving space
for new
growth and
add compost
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