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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.You’re about to enter the wonderful world of orchids. You’re in store for an exciting adventure! This is the largest plant family on our planet with an estimated 30,000 wild types (species) and many more man-made varieties. No other plants can compete with orchids for their power to seduce and bedazzle the most jaded plant lover with their fantastically beautiful flower colors, shapes, and textures, and heady and sensuous perfumes.
What Makes an Orchid an OrchidYou can easily tell when a rose is rose, but orchids are quite a bit more complex and varied when it comes to their flower shapes and the construction of their leaves, stems, and roots. In this section, I talk generalities. Certainly the flamboyant colors of modern orchid hybrids are a standout and are the primary reason these plants are so treasured. But there are so many different types of orchid flowers, so the question is, “Which one is typical?” There is really no correct answer to this question. Many people think of the cattleya-type orchids, while others may picture moth orchids. To get a better idea how orchid flowers are constructed, take a look at a typical cattleya flower and compare it to a more ordinary9 flower, a tulip. So what makes an orchid an orchid? The column. This fused sexual structure located in the middle of the flower is what separates the orchid from all other plants.
Flower Part Tulip OrchidPetals The most obvious part of A very prominent part of the flower the flower and what makes but comprises only half of the show. a tulip look like a tulip. Sepals Hardly noticeable in the Very striking in many orchid flowers. tulip flower, especially Can be as brightly colored as the after they open. petals. Lip or Not found in the tulip. Usually a very showy part of the labellum orchid flower. Actually a modified petal. Anther and The two sexual parts of the These separate organs are not stigma tulip. The anthers are male found in the orchid; instead, orchids reproductive organs and the have a column in which the male stigma is the female part. and female parts are fused. Column Not found in tulip. Only found in orchids.
Where Orchids Come FromAbout 80 percent of orchids are from the tropics in both the New World (Central and South America) and the Old World (Asia and Malaysia). A smattering can be found in North America and Europe. The ones that grow in your home, though, are all of tropical or semitropical origin. They mostly hail from areas of high rainfall and humidity and enjoy tropical to above-freezing temperatures during the winter. Orchids are divided into two major categories based on where they grow. Those that are commonly found clinging to branches of trees are called epiphytes; those that thrive growing on or in the ground are called semiterrestrials and terrestrials. So how can you tell the difference between the two? Many of the terrestrial roots are hairy, like those found in the slipper orchid. Epiphytes have thick roots (called aerial roots because they’re frequently suspended in the air), which are covered with a silvery material called velamen, which can absorb moisture from the air like a sponge.
Why You Should Grow OrchidsGrowing and studying orchids will provide you the ultimate horticultural experience and pleasure. Here are some key reasons to start growing orchids now:
Growing orchids is fun! That’s the most important motive.
Orchids are easy to grow.
You can start with beginner orchids that any newcomer can be wildly successful with.
Orchids cost less than they ever have, and you can easily select just the right one for you.
No group of flowering plants comes close to the delicious perfumes that orchids emit. Pay attention to the Fragrance icon used throughout this book to find the most-fragrant orchids.
Orchids are available from “box” stores, specialty growers, orchid shows, garden centers, botanical gardens, orchid societies, and mail-order suppliers. See the appendix for a list of suppliers.
Aerial roots
Because of the huge diversity of orchids, you’ll never tire of them. You’ll always find new ones to try and enjoy. Check out the chapters in Part III for some of the many possibilities.
You’ll meet new friends who are as fanatical about these plants as you are. See the appendix for lists of orchid societies to join. Their magazines are a marvelous source for information and gorgeous pictures. These are some of the best-quality plant magazines in the world.
Orchids don’t require an expensive greenhouse to grow. They’ll be happy with a windowsill or artificial lights.
They’ll beautify your home and life.
Orchids can live forever, so as they grow you can divide and multiply them to share with your friends or to trade for other orchids.
Deciding Which Orchids to Bring into Your Home
Choosing an orchid is an exciting, but sometimes confusing, decision! So many types of orchids, so little space. In this section, I make this process easy for you:
Consider starting your orchid collection with moth orchids.
They’re the most foolproof of all.
Next check out slipper orchids, another easy group.
Getting to Know Your Orchids by Name
Probably one of the most intimidating hurdles that the beginning orchid grower faces is the complex names given to orchids. When you realize what an immense group of plants this is, you’ll soon come to realize why most orchids are referred to by their Latin name rather than a common name. Actually, very few orchids even have a common name. In this book, I always use the Latin name, because that’s the universally accepted name, and I add a common name when there is one. If you struggled through high school Latin classes as I did, you may have thought (and hoped) that this language died with the Romans. Alas, it is alive and well in the natural-science world, and it’s the standard language used to name flora and fauna. You’ll start to make friends with Latin as its use become more familiar and comfortable to you. Taking the name a little at a time makes it easier to digest. In the following sections, I show you the names, one word at a time, of a species orchid and then a hybrid.
Species orchid names
Plants that are sold as they were created by nature, not hybridized
by man, are referred to as species orchids. They have two names: the
genus name, which comes first and is capitalized, and the species
name, which comes second and is lowercase. Both names are in
Latin, so they’re italicized (which is just the way foreign languages are usually treated). You may see a third part to the name, the botanical variety, after the species name. This is a name given to an orchid that varies somewhat — it could be a larger flower or one with slightly different coloration — from the standard species. It will be preceded by the letters “var.” and will be in lowercase and in Latin. The genus name is much like your last name and the species name is like your first name. In other words, orchid naming is backward to the way you say your own name. If my name were written as an orchid’s is, I would be Frowine steven. Here’s an example of the name of a species orchid: Cattleya walkeriana var. semialba.
Hybrid orchid names
Oh, it would be so simple if naming stopped here, but man got mixed up in all this and started developing hybrids. Hybrids result from crossing two species (taking the pollen from one orchid to use it to “mate” with another). A marvelous thing happens when two different species of orchids are crossed or mated to each other. Their progeny is usually stronger, easier to grow, and frequently produces larger flowers than either of its parents — which is why hybrids are so desirable and popular. Here’s an example of a hybrid orchid name: Brassocattleya Cynthia ‘Pink Lady’ HCC/AOS. (See the color section for a photograph of this orchid.) Orchid hybridizing can produce plants with quite complex names, especially in some of the very large groups like the cattleyas and the oncidiums. In these chapters, I deal with their names in more detail. You don’t have to be an expert in orchid names in order to enjoy and grow orchids. You’ll catch onto many other name nuances after you’re drawn further into the orchid web. For now, don’t worry about them much — they’re only names! Turn to the Cheat Sheet at the front of this book for a list of common genera names that you’re likely to run into, along with their abbreviations and pronunciations. Tear out the Cheat Sheet and take it with you when you go shopping for orchids.
Awards and Latin Names
Awarded orchids are the crème de la crème of the orchid world. They’ve been deemed this distinction by trained, discriminating orchid judges. The American Orchid Society, a nonprofit educational organization that is dedicated to the study of orchids has established the judging criteria. Similar organizations serve the same function in other parts of the world. At each accredited orchid show, a covey of judges carefully examines orchids that are exceptional. They use Internet connections to check all existing records of the orchids being judged. They look for ones of the same grex or similar parentage to see what has been awarded in the past to serve as a benchmark of excellence. These records will reveal which of their parents have been awarded, what size and number of flowers were on the awarded plants, and so on. These criteria are then used to decide if these specimens are indeed superior to others of this type and whether they’re worthy of awards. The three award categories used by the American Orchid Society that you’re most likely to encounter are (from highest to lowest):
First Class Certificate (FCC): This is the coveted highest award that only a handful of orchids (10 or 15!) receive every year.
Award of Merit (AM): Usually a few hundred orchids win this distinction every year. Highly Commended Certificate (HCC): Another few hundred orchids are given this level of award. Very few orchids make it through this gauntlet. Because of modern cloning techniques, you can now obtain these prize winners for your own collection at very reasonable prices. Some types of orchids, like the slippers, are not yet able to be cloned, so in that case, picking out those hybrids with awarded parents is a good idea. Remember: It takes the same amount of space to grow a high-quality orchid as it does a poor one, so why not grow the best? Genus name Cattleya The first name of the orchid is the genus and is like your last name. It’s always capitalized and in Latin. Species walkeriana The second name of the orchid is the name species. It’s always in lowercase, italicized, and in Latin. Botanical var. semialba Sometimes, a third name appears for a variety species orchid. This is called a botanical variety and means this form of this species has something special about it (for example, flower shape or color) that separates it from the more common form of the species. This name is in lowercase, italicized, and in Latin. Genus Brassocattleya This genus combines two different genera — Brassavola and Cattleya — to result in the man-made name of Brassocattleya. The name is capitalized, in Latin, italicized, and frequently abbreviated Bc. Species None This is a hybrid that has several different species in its parentage, so no single one is listed. When an orchid hybrid comes from just one species, the species name will also be listed, lowercase, in italics, and in Latin. Grex Cynthia All the resulting progeny from this cross are given a name that’s known as a grex. Think of this as you and all your siblings having a label. The grex is always written in a language other than Latin, is capitalized, and is not in italics. Part of Name Name Comments Cultivar ‘Pink Lady’ This is a selection from this grex that was (cultivated deemed, in some way, superior to the other variety) members of the progeny. This name is always in any language other than Latin, is capitalized, is not italicized, and is in single quotes. There are frequently several or more cultivars in a grex. Think of the cultivar as one of your parents’ children. You’re all labeled with a grex, but the cultivar is you in particular. Award HCC/AOS Highly Commended Certificate from the Designation American Orchid Society. (See the nearby sidebar, “Why do I care that an orchid was awarded?” for more information on these designations.)
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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.