Quote:
Originally Posted by lais817
No offence to the thread starter, but why hasn't a "How to care for a Phal from a grocery store" thread been created and stickied? I've been a member of this site only a few months, and every day I get on and have a look, there is another thread on "how do I save this?"
Am I the only one who'd noticed this?
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No, you're not. The majority of the questions are Phal related.
This is because not much of their natural habitat and behavior is disclosed. Also, they're the first orchids everybody buys because of how exotic they look and how readily available they are. Then there's somehow this idea floating around that they're the easiest of all orchids to grow, when they're really not. They're also unnaturally positioned in pot culture for the purposes of aesthetics (I always, always stress how Phals don't grow upwards in nature, never seen pics of one growing upright in the wild yet, horizontally and pendulously yes).
I always post links to their natural habitats so that people can see what it's like to see a real wild Phal in the swamp forests of tropical southeast Asia. It's a point of reference. And I believe it's a very good one. A picture says more than I could ever say or write (and it doesn't always speak the same to different people).
In my honest opinion, the easiest and most inexpensive orchid to grow that is very affordable and readily available to everyone is...
Bletilla striata
Everything about it is simple.
Growing the plant - simple.
Finding a suitable potting medium - simple.
Over-wintering during dormancy - simple.
Pollination - simple.
Seed sowing - relatively simple.
Blooming - simple.
Finding and purchasing the plant - very easy.
It's also the one orchid that grows much like a perrenial bulb, just like a lily or an iris, or daffodil, or gladiolus (actually closer to a bearded iris).
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