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Book Categories |
Introduction | 1 | ||
About This Book | 1 | ||
Conventions Used in This Book | 2 | ||
Foolish Assumptions | 2 | ||
How This Book Is Organized | 3 | ||
Icons Used in This Book | 5 | ||
Where to Go from Here | 5 | ||
Part I | Welcoming Orchids into Your Life | 7 | |
Chapter 1 | Getting the Lowdown on Orchids | 9 | |
Understanding What Makes an Orchid an Orchid | 9 | ||
Knowing Where Orchids Come From | 11 | ||
Seeing Why You Should Grow Orchids | 12 | ||
Deciding Which Orchids to Bring into Your Home | 13 | ||
Getting to Know Your Orchids by Name | 14 | ||
Species orchid names | 15 | ||
Hybrid orchid names | 16 | ||
Growing Orchids Easy As One, Two, Three | 17 | ||
January | 18 | ||
February | 18 | ||
March | 19 | ||
April | 19 | ||
May | 20 | ||
June, July, and August | 20 | ||
September | 21 | ||
October | 21 | ||
November and December | 22 | ||
Chapter 2 | Choosing the Right Orchid for You | 23 | |
Figuring Out Where to Shop | 23 | ||
Specialist orchid growers or suppliers | 23 | ||
Your local garden center | 24 | ||
Orchid shows | 24 | ||
Online orchid suppliers | 24 | ||
Home centers and discount stores | 25 | ||
Considering Your Environment | 25 | ||
Taking temperature readings | 26 | ||
Measuring your light intensity | 27 | ||
Other questions to ask yourself | 30 | ||
Knowing What to Look for in an Orchid | 30 | ||
Choosing a healthy plant | 30 | ||
Deciding between a blooming plant and a young plant | 31 | ||
Choosing seed-grown orchids or orchid clones | 32 | ||
Caring for Your New Orchid | 32 | ||
Chapter 3 | Having the Right Tools on Hand | 33 | |
Cutting and Pruning Tools | 33 | ||
Pruners | 33 | ||
Knives and blades | 34 | ||
Potting Tools and Supplies | 35 | ||
Potting tools | 35 | ||
Potting supplies | 36 | ||
Watering Accessories | 39 | ||
Water breakers | 39 | ||
Water-flow regulators | 40 | ||
Hoses | 41 | ||
Watering cans | 41 | ||
Sprayers and misters | 41 | ||
Fertilizer injectors | 42 | ||
Deionization and reverse osmosis units | 43 | ||
Humidifiers, Heaters, and Ventilation Equipment | 44 | ||
Humidifiers | 44 | ||
Ventilation | 45 | ||
Heating | 46 | ||
Thermometers and hygrometers | 46 | ||
Chapter 4 | How I Love Thy Orchid: Enjoying the Orchid's Beauty | 47 | |
Caring for Orchids in Their New Home | 47 | ||
If the plant is in bloom | 48 | ||
If the plant is not in bloom | 48 | ||
Staking and Grooming Your Blooming Orchids | 49 | ||
Figuring out how to stake | 49 | ||
Helping your orchids look their best | 51 | ||
Displaying orchid plants in your home | 52 | ||
Arranging orchid flowers | 53 | ||
Part II | The Basics of Orchid Parenthood | 57 | |
Chapter 5 | Providing the Right Growing Environment | 59 | |
Let There Be Light! | 59 | ||
The ins and outs of light | 60 | ||
Listening to your orchids | 62 | ||
No natural light? No problem! | 65 | ||
Humidity: Orchids' Favorite Condition | 68 | ||
Fresh Air, Please! | 71 | ||
Ceiling fans | 71 | ||
Oscillating fans | 71 | ||
Muffin fans | 72 | ||
Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold: Orchid Temperature Requirements | 72 | ||
Too-low temperatures | 73 | ||
Too-high temperatures | 73 | ||
Giving Your Orchids a Summer Vacation | 73 | ||
A shade house | 74 | ||
A portable greenhouse | 75 | ||
Some orchids enjoy hanging out | 76 | ||
Chapter 6 | Watering and Fertilizing Orchids | 77 | |
Water Water Everywhere: Understanding the Art of Watering Orchids | 77 | ||
The type of pot | 78 | ||
The type of potting material | 78 | ||
The age of the potting material | 78 | ||
Whether the orchid is pot-bound | 79 | ||
The growing environment | 79 | ||
The temperature | 79 | ||
The amount of ventilation | 79 | ||
Whether the orchids are growing or dormant | 79 | ||
The type of orchid | 80 | ||
Proven Watering Techniques | 80 | ||
Over- or Underwatering: Roots Tell the Story | 82 | ||
Figuring out whether watering is the problem | 82 | ||
Mission: Orchid rescue and resuscitation | 83 | ||
Fertilizers: Not Magic Potions | 85 | ||
What to look for in orchid fertilizers | 86 | ||
Types of fertilizers and how to use them | 88 | ||
Chapter 7 | The ABCs of Potting Materials, Containers, and Repotting | 91 | |
Choosing Potting Materials | 91 | ||
Knowing your potting material options | 92 | ||
Figuring out which potting materials are best | 93 | ||
Psst! Getting your hands on some not-so-secret recipes | 94 | ||
If mixing your own is not your thing | 95 | ||
Getting your potting material ready to use | 95 | ||
Giving Your Orchids a Home: Potting Containers | 96 | ||
Repotting Orchids without Fear | 97 | ||
Knowing when you should repot | 99 | ||
Orchid potting - step by step | 100 | ||
Chapter 8 | Two, Four, Six, Eight, Let Your Orchids Propagate: Multiplying Your Orchids | 103 | |
Dividing Your Orchids | 103 | ||
Giving Babies a New Home | 105 | ||
Producing New Plants from Cuttings | 107 | ||
Growing Orchids from Back Bulbs | 108 | ||
Chapter 9 | Keeping Your Orchids Pest- and Disease-Free | 111 | |
Preventing Problems Before They Start | 112 | ||
Besting the Bugs | 113 | ||
Identifying common orchid pests | 113 | ||
Finding safe pest-control measures | 117 | ||
Is There a Fungus Among Us? | 120 | ||
Part III | The Best Orchids for Rookies | 123 | |
Chapter 10 | Moth Orchids and Their Relatives: The Best Choice for Beginners | 125 | |
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Beauty of Moth Orchids | 126 | ||
Leaves | 126 | ||
Flower shapes | 127 | ||
Flower colors | 127 | ||
Scents | 131 | ||
Size | 134 | ||
Answering the call of the wild | 136 | ||
Oh, Give Me a Home ...: Cultural Requirements | 138 | ||
Relatives of Moth Orchids | 138 | ||
Africa's gift to orchid lovers: The Angraecoids | 139 | ||
Vandas and some of their close cousins | 142 | ||
Chapter 11 | The Quintessential Orchids: Cattleyas and Their Relatives | 147 | |
From the Jungles to Your Home | 148 | ||
Some selected cattleya species | 149 | ||
Some selected laelia species | 151 | ||
Other cattleya relatives | 152 | ||
The Queens of the Ball: Cattleya Hybrids | 157 | ||
Pristine whites | 158 | ||
Purples, pinks, lavenders, and blues | 158 | ||
Hot reds and oranges | 159 | ||
Sunny yellows | 160 | ||
Cool greens | 161 | ||
Bring out the clowns: Splash petals and flares | 162 | ||
Fashionable art shades | 163 | ||
Minicatts | 164 | ||
The key players | 164 | ||
Some of their prized children | 166 | ||
Chapter 12 | Slipper Orchids | 169 | |
Slipping into a Lady's Slipper | 170 | ||
Seeing what lady's slippers have to offer | 170 | ||
Giving your lady's slipper a good home | 171 | ||
Getting lady's slippers to bloom | 171 | ||
Straight from Nature: Bumps, Warts, Hairs, and All | 171 | ||
Paphiopedilum bellatulum | 172 | ||
Paphiopedilum callosum | 172 | ||
Paphiopedilum delenatii | 173 | ||
Paphiopedilum dianthum | 173 | ||
Paphiopedilum fairrieanum | 173 | ||
Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum | 176 | ||
Paphiopedilum hirsutissimum | 177 | ||
Paphiopedilum spicerianum | 177 | ||
Paphiopedilum sukhakulii | 177 | ||
Paphiopedilum venustum | 178 | ||
One Step Removed from Nature: Primary Hybrids | 179 | ||
Some superior primary hybrids | 180 | ||
Marvelous Maudiaes | 183 | ||
Huge and round: Modern hybrid lady's slippers | 186 | ||
A different kind of slipper orchid | 187 | ||
Chapter 13 | Dancing Ladies: Oncidiums and Their Relatives | 191 | |
Taking a Closer Look at the Ladies | 191 | ||
Oncidiums from the wild | 191 | ||
Hybrid oncidiums | 194 | ||
Miniature oncidiums or tolumnia | 195 | ||
Pansy Orchids: Miltonias and Miltoniopsis | 197 | ||
Miltonias | 198 | ||
Miltoniopsis | 199 | ||
Other Members of the Club: The Oncidium Alliance | 202 | ||
Orchid spiders: Brassias | 202 | ||
Butterfly orchids: Psychopsis | 202 | ||
Sigmatostalix | 204 | ||
Trichopilia | 204 | ||
Mixing It Up | 205 | ||
Chapter 14 | Significant Others | 213 | |
A Huge and Interesting Lot: Dendrobiums | 213 | ||
The most popular dendrobiums | 213 | ||
Some other Dendrobiums worth considering | 217 | ||
Weird and Wonderful Relatives: Bulbophyllum | 219 | ||
Orchid Miscellanea: All the Rest | 222 | ||
Catasetum | 222 | ||
Cochleanthes | 222 | ||
Coelogyne | 224 | ||
Cymbidiums | 224 | ||
Lycaste | 226 | ||
Zygopetalum | 226 | ||
Part IV | The Part of Tens | 227 | |
Chapter 15 | The Ten (or So) Easiest Orchids to Grow | 229 | |
Twinkle Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis Twinkle) | 229 | ||
Lady of the Night (Brassavola nodosa) | 230 | ||
Maudiae Lady's Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum Maudiae) | 230 | ||
Cockleshell Orchid (Epidendrum cochleatum) | 230 | ||
Sharry Baby Oncidium (Oncidium 'Sharry Baby') | 231 | ||
Bird-Beak Orchid (Oncidium ornithorhynchum) | 231 | ||
Mari's Song (Laeliocattleya 'Mari's Song') | 232 | ||
Fan-Shape Orchid (Cochleanthes amazonica) | 232 | ||
Pansy Orchid (Miltoniopsis santanei) | 232 | ||
Chapter 16 | The Ten Most Common Ways Orchids Are Killed | 233 | |
Overwatering | 233 | ||
Underwatering | 233 | ||
Too Much Light or Heat | 234 | ||
Leaving Orchid Foliage Wet Overnight | 234 | ||
Too Much Fertilizer | 235 | ||
Improper Use of Pesticides | 235 | ||
Insects | 235 | ||
Purchase of Sick Plants | 235 | ||
Poor Water Quality | 236 | ||
Inadequate Ventilation | 236 | ||
Chapter 17 | The Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Orchids | 237 | |
Are Orchids Difficult to Grow? | 237 | ||
Why Should I Grow Orchids? | 237 | ||
Do I Need a Greenhouse to Grow Orchids? | 238 | ||
Are Orchids Expensive? | 238 | ||
How Long and How Often Will Orchids Bloom? | 238 | ||
What Makes an Orchid an Orchid? | 239 | ||
Are Orchids Fragrant? | 239 | ||
Where Can I See the Best Collections of Orchids? | 239 | ||
Are Any Orchids Hardy? | 240 | ||
Are Orchids Parasites? | 241 | ||
Chapter 18 | The Ten Most Common Reasons Why Orchids Don't Bloom | 243 | |
Not Enough Difference between Day and Night Temperatures | 243 | ||
Too Moist during the Winter | 244 | ||
Too Little Light | 244 | ||
Excessively High or Low Temperatures | 244 | ||
Not Using a Fertilizer or Using One with Too Much Nitrogen | 245 | ||
Immature Plants | 245 | ||
Too Low Humidity | 245 | ||
Disease, Insects, or Mice | 245 | ||
Not Enough Water | 246 | ||
Recently Transplanted and Divided | 246 |
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Add Orchids For Dummies, Packed with photos, including 8 pages in full color Color your world with orchids Orchids are beautiful, fragrant, wonderfully varied, and surprisingly affordable. But aren't they hard to grow at home? No! says orchid grower extraordinaire Steve Fro, Orchids For Dummies to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Orchids For Dummies, Packed with photos, including 8 pages in full color Color your world with orchids Orchids are beautiful, fragrant, wonderfully varied, and surprisingly affordable. But aren't they hard to grow at home? No! says orchid grower extraordinaire Steve Fro, Orchids For Dummies to your collection on WonderClub |