Orchids For Dummies
2nd Edition
Published on 15. February 2022
336 pages
978-1-119-85496-8 (ISBN)
Description
Become a plant parent to some of the most stunning flowering plants you've ever seen
Orchids display more beautiful and exotic flowers than you'll find on other flowering plants, but they do require some love and care to grow well. With help from Orchids For Dummies, anyone can be successful in growing and flowering these gorgeous and fragrant plants in their garden or home!
This step-by-step guide shows you how to select orchids that will thrive in your own unique environment and how to water, fertilize, repot, and propagate them on your own. You'll learn to decipher complicated orchid names ("phalaenopsis," anyone?) and create spectacular displays. You'll also discover:
* New information about updated plant and orchid classification systems so you can know what to buy at your local garden center or store
* Expanded info on moth orchids, one of the most popular varieties of the plant sold in the world today
* Updated instructions on which pesticides, fertilizers, and potting materials you should be using
Perfect for amateur gardeners, orchid-lovers, and anyone interested in growing these exquisite flowers on their own, Orchids For Dummies will turn your thumb green in no time at all!
Orchids display more beautiful and exotic flowers than you'll find on other flowering plants, but they do require some love and care to grow well. With help from Orchids For Dummies, anyone can be successful in growing and flowering these gorgeous and fragrant plants in their garden or home!
This step-by-step guide shows you how to select orchids that will thrive in your own unique environment and how to water, fertilize, repot, and propagate them on your own. You'll learn to decipher complicated orchid names ("phalaenopsis," anyone?) and create spectacular displays. You'll also discover:
* New information about updated plant and orchid classification systems so you can know what to buy at your local garden center or store
* Expanded info on moth orchids, one of the most popular varieties of the plant sold in the world today
* Updated instructions on which pesticides, fertilizers, and potting materials you should be using
Perfect for amateur gardeners, orchid-lovers, and anyone interested in growing these exquisite flowers on their own, Orchids For Dummies will turn your thumb green in no time at all!
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Steven A. Frowine | National Gardening Association
Orchids For Dummies
Book
05/2022
Wiley
€24.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Steven A. Frowine is a noted professional horticulturist and a longtime avid gardener and communicator.
The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational organization in the United States. Visit https://garden.org.
The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational organization in the United States. Visit https://garden.org.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- About This Book
- Foolish Assumptions
- Icons Used in This Book
- Beyond This Book
- Where to Go from Here
- Part 1 Welcoming Orchids into Your Life
- Chapter 1 Discovering the World of Orchids
- Understanding What Makes an Orchid an Orchid
- Knowing Where Orchids Come From
- Seeing Why You Should Grow Orchids
- Deciding Which Orchids to Bring into Your Home
- Identifying Orchids by Name
- Species orchid names
- Hybrid orchid names
- Recognizing What Makes an Orchid an Award Winner
- Growing Orchids Easy As One, Two, Three
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June, July, and August
- September
- October
- November and December
- Chapter 2 Choosing the Right Orchid for You
- Figuring Out Where to Shop
- Specialist orchid growers or suppliers
- Your local garden center
- Orchid shows
- Online orchid suppliers
- Home centers and discount stores
- Considering Your Environment
- Taking temperature readings
- Measuring your light intensity
- Asking yourself these questions
- Growing Tropical Orchids Outdoors
- Knowing What to Look for in an Orchid
- Choosing a healthy plant
- Deciding between a blooming plant and a young plant
- Choosing seed-grown orchids or orchid clones
- Selecting orchids with a sweet scent
- Isolating Your New Orchid after You Bring It Home
- Chapter 3 Having the Right Tools on Hand
- Focusing on Cutting and Pruning Tools
- Pruners
- Knives and blades
- Considering Potting Tools and Supplies
- Potting tools
- Potting supplies
- Identifying Watering Accessories
- Water breakers
- Water-flow regulators
- Hoses
- Watering cans
- Sprayers and misters
- Fertilizer injectors
- Deionization and reverse osmosis units
- Looking At Humidifiers, Heaters, and Ventilation Equipment
- Humidifiers
- Ventilation
- Heating
- Thermometers and hygrometers
- Chapter 4 How I Love Thy Orchid: Enjoying the Orchid's Beauty
- Caring for Orchids in Their New Home
- If the plant is in bloom
- If the plant is not in bloom
- Staking and Grooming Your Blooming Orchids
- Figuring out how to stake
- Helping your orchids look their best
- Displaying orchid plants in your home
- Arranging orchid flowers
- Part 2 The Basics of Orchid Parenthood
- Chapter 5 Providing the Right Growing Environment
- Let There Be Light! Recognizing Natural Light Sources
- Exploring the ins and outs of light
- Listening to your orchids
- Comprehending Some Basic Light Terminology
- Considering Artificial Light Sources
- Fluorescent lights
- High-intensity-discharge lights and high-intensity commercial LED lights
- LEDs - The new kids on the block
- Figuring Out Which Type of Lights Are Your Best Option
- Knowing How Much Light Your Orchids Need
- Growing Orchids Under Lights - Tips and Tricks to Remember
- Humidity: Orchids' Favorite Condition
- Providing Ventilation - Fresh Air, Please!
- Ceiling fans
- Oscillating fans
- Muffin fans
- Looking Closer at Orchid Temperature Requirements
- Too-low temperatures
- Too-high temperatures
- Giving Your Orchids a Summer Vacation
- A shade house
- A portable greenhouse
- Some orchids enjoy hanging out
- Chapter 6 Watering and Fertilizing Orchids
- Understanding the Art of Watering Orchids - Water, Water Everywhere
- The type of pot
- The type of potting material
- The age of the potting material
- Whether the orchid is pot-bound
- The growing environment
- The temperature
- The amount of ventilation
- Whether the orchids are growing or dormant
- The type of orchid
- Knowing What Works - Watering Your Orchid
- Using the pot-weighting method
- Watering your orchids - Tips and tricks
- Over- or Underwatering: Roots Tell the Story
- Figuring out whether watering is the problem
- Rescuing and resuscitating your orchid
- Considering Fertilizers - Not Magic Potions
- Knowing what to look for in orchid fertilizers
- Identifying types of fertilizers and how to use them
- Chapter 7 The ABCs of Potting Materials, Containers, and Repotting
- Choosing Potting Materials
- Knowing your potting material options
- Figuring out which potting materials are best
- Getting your hands on some not-so-secret recipes
- If mixing your own isn't your thing
- Getting your potting material ready to use
- Giving Your Orchids a Home: Potting Containers
- Repotting Orchids without Fear
- Knowing when you should repot
- Orchid potting - step by step
- Chapter 8 Two, Four, Six, Eight, Let Your Orchids Propagate: Multiplying Your Orchids
- Dividing Your Orchids
- Giving Babies a New Home
- Producing New Plants from Cuttings
- Growing Orchids from Back Bulbs
- Chapter 9 Keeping Your Orchids Pest- and Disease-Free
- Preventing Problems Before They Start
- Besting the Bugs
- Identifying common orchid pests
- Finding safe and effective pest-control measures
- Identifying Fungal and Bacterial Infections
- Noticing when your orchid is sick
- Handling a sick plant
- Part 3 The Best Orchids for Rookies
- Chapter 10 Moth Orchids: The Best Choice for Beginners
- Examining Why People Grow Moth Orchids
- Understanding why they're so popular
- Making them even more appealing: Hybrid moth orchids
- Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Beauty of Moth Orchids
- The Leaves
- The flowers' shapes
- Flower colors
- Scents
- Size - Small is beautiful
- Answering the call of the wild
- Oh, Give Me a Home . . .: Cultural Requirements
- Chapter 11 The Quintessential Orchids: Cattleyas and Their Relatives
- From the Jungles to Your Home
- Focusing on some selected cattleya species
- Recognizing some selected species that used to be called Laelias
- Looking at other cattleya relatives
- The Queens of the Ball: Cattleya Hybrids
- Pristine whites
- Purples, pinks, lavenders, and blues
- Hot reds and oranges
- Sunny yellows
- Cool greens
- Bring out the clowns: Splash petals and flares
- Fashionable art shades
- Exploring the Miniatures: The Minicatts
- Identifying the key players
- Naming some of their prized children
- Chapter 12 Lovely from Flower to Root: Lady's Slipper Orchids
- Slipping into a Lady's Slipper
- Seeing what lady's slippers have to offer
- Giving your lady's slipper a good home
- Getting lady's slippers to bloom
- Straight from Nature: Bumps, Warts, Hairs, and All
- Paphiopedilum bellatulum
- Paphiopedilum callosum
- Paphiopedilum delenatii
- Paphiopedilum dianthum
- Paphiopedilum fairrieanum
- Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum
- Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum
- Paphiopedilum spicerianum
- Paphiopedilum sukhakulii
- Paphiopedilum venustum
- One Step Removed from Nature: Primary Hybrids
- Some superior primary hybrids
- Marvelous Maudiaes
- Huge and round: Modern hybrid lady's slippers
- A different kind of slipper orchid
- Chapter 13 Dancing Ladies: Oncidiums and Their Relatives
- Taking a Closer Look at the Ladies
- Oncidiums from the wild
- Hybrid oncidiums
- Miniature oncidiums or tolumnias
- Pansy Orchids: Miltonias and Miltoniopsis
- Growing them with success
- Miltonias
- Miltoniopsis
- Other Members of the Club: The Oncidium Alliance
- Orchid spiders: Brassias
- Butterfly orchids: Psychopsis
- Sigmatostalix
- Trichopilias
- Mixing It Up
- Trying to make sense of these orchids
- Identifying a few popular ones
- Chapter 14 Considering Some Significant Others
- A Huge and Interesting Lot: Dendrobiums
- Naming the most popular dendrobiums
- Considering some other Dendrobiums
- Listing some popular hybrids
- Weird and Wonderful Relatives: Bulbophyllum
- Orchid Miscellanea: All the Rest
- Angraecoids
- Catasetums
- Cochleanthes
- Coelogynes
- Cymbidiums
- Lycastes
- Vandas and some of their close cousins
- The small-growing vandas
- Zygopetalums
- Chapter 15 Hardy Orchids That Laugh at the Cold
- Focusing on Exotic and Easy Terrestrial Orchids
- Chinese ground orchids
- Calanthes
- Spiranthes
- Identifying Hardy Slipper Orchids - Not Easy, But So Worth It
- Easy-to-grow North American natives
- More adventuresome hardy slippers
- Dipping Your Toe In - A Few Others to Try
- Part 4 The Part of Tens
- Chapter 16 The Ten (or So) Easiest Orchids to Grow
- Moth Orchids
- Lady of the Night
- Maudiae Type Lady's Slipper Orchid
- Cockleshell Orchid
- Sharry Baby Oncidium
- Twinkles Oncidium
- Mari's Song Cattleya
- Fan-Shape Orchid
- Phalaenopsis Dendrobium
- Chapter 17 Ten Common Reasons That Orchids Die (and How to Avoid 'em)
- Overwatering
- Underwatering
- Too Much Light or Heat
- Leaving Orchid Foliage Wet Overnight
- Too Much Fertilizer
- Improper Use of Pesticides
- Insect Infestation
- Purchase of Sick Plants
- Poor Water Quality
- Inadequate Ventilation
- Chapter 18 The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Orchids
- Are Orchids Difficult to Grow?
- Why Should I Grow Orchids?
- Do I Need a Greenhouse to Grow Orchids?
- Are Orchids Expensive?
- How Long and How Often Will Orchids Bloom?
- What Makes an Orchid an Orchid?
- Are Orchids Fragrant?
- Where Can I See the Best Collections of Orchids?
- Are Any Orchids Hardy?
- Are Orchids Parasites?
- Chapter 19 The Ten Most Common Reasons Why Orchids Don't Bloom
- Not Enough Difference between Day and Night Temperatures
- Too Moist during the Winter
- Too Little Light
- Excessively High or Low Temperatures
- Not Using a Fertilizer or Using One with Too Much Nitrogen
- Immature Plants
- Too Low Humidity
- Disease, Insects, or Mice
- Not Enough Water
- Recently Transplanted and Divided
- Appendix A Additional Orchid Resources
- Appendix B English-Metric Conversion Tables
- Index
- Supplemental Images
- EULA
