By now, the genie has served dinner, promised stronger roots and survived a minor identity crisis over whether humus exists outside the laboratory. He might reasonably assume that the worst is behind him. But there is still the third wish: “Genie, make my orchid bloom.” And this is where the real magic begins. Not the…
Category: Growing
Practical, science-based guidance on growing Phalaenopsis at home, from watering and light to roots, substrates and plant health.
The Genie in the Bottle, or Three Wishes. Part II: Make My Orchid Stronger
The genie had barely settled back into the dark liquid when he heard the second wish: “Don’t just feed my orchid. Make it grow stronger.” This was a more serious request. Any well-formulated fertiliser can feed a plant. It supplies nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and the other essential elements, and—as we established in Part I—a root…
The Genie in the Bottle, or Three Wishes. Part I: Feed My Orchid
We walk into a garden centre and stop in front of the fertiliser shelf. On the left are the mineral fertilisers: precise, businesslike, armed with tables, percentages and chemical symbols. They look as though they have come straight from a laboratory and might ask us to sign the test report at any moment. On the…
The Cold Treatment
For years, one of the most trusted pieces of advice on getting moth orchids to flower sounded almost like a recipe: give the plant warm days, cooler nights and a difference of a few degrees between the two. A flower spike should then appear on cue, as though the orchid came with a thermometer in…
Invisible Army. Part IV. The Living Shield
The Invisible Army. Part IV. The Living Shield Over the first three parts, we met hunters, parasitoid wasps, predatory mites, ladybirds and nematodes. Each exploits a different weakness in a pest, and each belongs to a larger web of relationships. Yet the most important question remains: what can this extraordinary menagerie truly offer at home,…
Invisible Army. Part III: War Under Cover
Thrips, mealybugs and scale insects hide in flowers and crevices, beneath layers of wax and under shields of their own making. An army of predators and parasitoids can be deployed against them, but each unit has a different task, its own requirements and limits to what it can achieve. In this article The flower that…