While it’s true that some types of the flowering plant require special care, others are pretty easy to tend to at home—no portable greenhouse or expensive LED grow lights required. Here, orchid lovers with a combined hundreds of plants between them share their top tips for nursing these beauties into bloom again and again. But even though there are lots of orchids out there, it doesn’t mean a beginner should try their hand at growing all of them. “Just because it has a beautiful flower doesn’t mean that it’s right for you,” says Furtado. If you’re new to orchids, the best type for you will likely be the Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid. These orchids—named for their petal shape that resembles moths wings—can flower in most household conditions, says Kelly McCracken of High Desert Orchids. You can find Phalaenopsis in most plant shops and online retailers, and they tend to be the most affordable orchids around. Their colorful and long-lasting blooms are also pet-friendly. In an at-home collection, Furtado notes that orchids can remind us to slow down and be more mindful, patient, and caring: “I always say that you don’t grow orchids; they grow you.” Most orchids are epiphytes, meaning they tend to grow on the surface of trees or rocks and get their nutrients from the air and rainwater. We need to recreate these conditions at home using breathable potting mediums like bark, lava rocks, or sphagnum moss. When deciding which one is best for you, orchid collector Terry Richardson of The Black Thumb recommends considering your habits as a plant parent. People who travel often might want to go with sphagnum moss because it holds on to water for longer, while those who are prone to overwatering would do best with a faster-drying option like lava rock. Once you choose your medium, Furtado recommends planting your orchid in a terracotta clay pot since it’s nice and porous and will deliver plenty of air to your orchid’s roots. The frequency of watering depends on your climate, but you likely won’t need to water more than once a week during spring and summer, and even less in the winter and fall. There are two watering methods you can use: Water from below by placing a tray of water underneath your orchid and allowing the plant to soak up what it wants. Or, give it a good soak in the sink and allow excess water to drain out the bottom. It’s important to let water flush through your plant to rinse out any excess salts in the pot, which orchids are very sensitive to. Whichever method you choose, use tepid, room temperature water. That old wives’ tale about placing an ice cube in your orchids? It’s a total myth, and the cold will only shock the tropical plants. When it does reward you with a bright, beautiful bloom, do your best not to stress your plant out. “While the orchid is in bloom, you really want to try to maintain the conditions that it’s in for as long as you can to maximize the bloom cycle,” he says. If you do, the plant can stay blooming for up to six months. After that, its flowers will dry and fall, leaving only a thin stem exposed. It may not be much to look at, but a plant in this state is still well worth keeping. “Those blooms will come back in due time if you put your plant in the right conditions,” Richardson says. (He’s actually had a lot of success rescuing abandoned orchids from Dumpsters and nursing them back into bloom!) Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
