Orchids

I'm sorry, I can't tell you the names of my orchids, but I can show you what is blooming right now.   This orchid is  re -blooming. It one of the ones I had received when my Dad passed away last July.  It is part of a big basket that holds 4 pots of orchids. It is yellow.

This one has been here for several years. This one my sister  purchased for me  when she visited 4 years ago. Each time she visited, she added another one to my collection. The color is a light green.

I just saw this morning this one was blooming.  It is one of the orchids I have purchased from Hauserman's in Villa Park.  This orange orchid has not bloomed before.

This one is just starting to bloom. It is green with red veins through it.

Christmas cactus is blooming too.  These plants will be going outside for the summer soon.

The pictures down from here were taken a couple of weeks ago.  You can see some of the stems that have blooms on them, and are blooming in the pictures above.  The flowers will last a long time, a couple of weeks or more. The orange one probably won't last that long. It also takes a long time for the blooms to open up.

All my orchids are on window sills that are facing west and north.

You can see the buds growing on this one.

This is a corner window. I have a table that sits in the corner  that holds the Christmas cactus.

You can see buds on this one too.

My table with the Christmas cactus.

After my Dad moved up by me, my sister Linda came to visit.  She purchased an orchid for each of us as a gift while she was visiting.  Dad's orchid ended up at my house.  He liked to visit Hauserman's to see all the gorgeous orchids. They have an open house  the end of February each year.  We would go and I would take pictures of the beautiful flowers.  Well that started me buying a couple of the cheaper ones to try to grow.  Some of these plants can cost up to $100. or more.  I went for cheaper $10.00 to $20.00.  So each year I have gotten a couple more.

I do not do anything special for them.  They sit in the windows all year round, so they are getting plenty of light. I water them about every 2 weeks, or when I think about it.  Now and then I will take each off the shelf, out of the outer pot and set them in a sink full of water for at least an hour.  They are not planted in dirt. Every pot has bark in it. The water soaks in and keeps them moist for a while. If one of them dies, I don't feel like I have a lot invested. I think it has become a challenge, to see if I can get them to bloom.  They are so pretty.  It is also a pleasant reminder of one of the things Dad and I liked to do.

Give orchids a try. They aren't as hard to grow.
Have a great day.

Mary