Three years ago Michou, a friend of mine, gave me a tip for the right caring for orchids. It is simple: put them once a week for 10 minutes into a bucket full of water (and give them fertiliser as recommended) - and they will thrive.
At least mine do - two in the Bavarian kitchen (window facing North) are flowering a second time this year, and that very vigorous on the photo above, a present from the Flying Dutchman, is doing that too abundantly in my East facing study.
Do you remember the sleuth Nero Wolfe, a private detective created by Rex Stout (first appearance in 1933), all his adventures are told by his cheeky Assistant Archie Goodwin? When Wolfe had to think he went up (with an elevator because he was incredibly fat) into the large attic and spritzed a mist of water over his huge collection of orchids. They were very valuable.
Since years orchids (at least the phalaenopsis) now have become very cheap.
In Hildesheim where I lived for 20 years in my Art Deco house (still mine) on a half island I always visited with joy one of the oldest orchid nurseries of the world, Hennis Orchideen (since 1891, which always was a treat (now they also sell online too).
In 1937 a little book was published:
Interesting post Britta. Hillis was way ahead of her time.
ReplyDeleteYes Rachel, and really witty.
ReplyDeleteH.I.'s daughter has a magic touch with orchids. They always bloom and never fail for her. Nobody knows how she does it.
ReplyDeleteWonderful - so she has "green fingers"?
DeleteFirst years I drowned my orchids all to death (I love to water plants), or displayed them in full sunshine, which they didn't like. .
I also like orchids. The fact that they bloom happily for months is wonderful. Fertilizing is key as is water. I double pot my orchids and there is always water in the second pot which creates moisture. Orchids definitely like a moist environment, just like tropical forests where they grow naturally. My 2 orchids sit in a North facing window in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteYes, Susan, they bloom so long! That's why I was surprised when they started a second time. Before Michou had told me I never used fertiliser, which was a fault.
DeleteThe idea with a second pot I will snatch from you, thank you: especially good for those times when I am more than a week away.
I was never able to find a copy of Live Alone and Like It. I wonder if Virago, lovely people, reprinted it. Maybe I'll take another look. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteDear Boud, I looked it up on Amazon and found one with a slightly different cover than mine - but from Virago too. I think it a sweet little book!
DeleteI envy you your Art Deco home.. I would love to own one (as my parents did in the 1960s). Do you know if the love of a particular flower was related to the era eg like tulips in 17th century Dutch art? Where orchids associated with a particular era?
ReplyDeleteHels
Art and Architecture, mainly
Dear Helen, the house is beautiful, but there also must be done a lot for it - the whole street is under protection of historical buildings because they all were part of an architecture competition, and by chance survived in whole the bombardment on the 22.March 1945.
DeleteI do not know of any "orchid hysteria" (as with tulips in the Netherlands) - I only know that orchids were almost everywhere interpreted as Sexsymbols; in East-India only aristocrats were allowed to have orchids in their gardens and only princesses there could wear them in their hair.
In China orchids always were a national symbol
and Laotse spoke of them as symbol of integrity.
I wish I could nurture plants. They always die for me.
ReplyDeleteDear Emma, this is so sweet! "They always die for me" made me laugh!
DeleteAnd have you tried orchids? They are very tenacious!