Fragrant Orchids

Fragrant orchids are a pleasure to raise for their sweet perfume and exotic appearance. There are certain species of orchids that are more fragrant than others.

Fragrant Orchids - The Science of Fragrance Orchids have evolved into particular shapes, colors and smells to attract pollinators, so they may reproduce. Some orchids attract only a few very specific pollinators, so they have fragrance when these pollinators are the most active, either by day or by night.

Orchid fragrance is an oily substance found in glands called osmopheres on the outside edges of the orchid's roots, leaves and flowers. This oily fragrant substance will change into vapor form, enabling the plant to smell. Not all orchid fragrances can be sensed by humans. These specific fragrances are what primarily attract the insects that pollinate the orchid.

The orchid flower's fragrance is produced at a time daily when the pollinators are the most active, so the fragrance can have maximum effect. For instance, some orchids, namely the Phalenophilus, are fragrant only at night, and are white or other very light colors because they are pollinated by moths.

It is believed that over half of all orchids are pollinated during the day by bees and wasps. The orchid flowers have scents like narcissus, lilly of the valley and sweet peas. The colors of the flowers tend to be bright blue, yellow, purple or green.

Fragrant Orchids - The Orchids That Have Delightful Aromas What follows is a list of some of the most fragrant orchids. It is not comprehensive, but lists a few types of orchids that have noticeable aromas. Ada glumacea - strong fruity aroma
Rhyncholaelia digbyana - citrus-like scent
Brassavola cucullata - sweet smelling aroma
Angraecum Longiscott Hihimanu - sweet aroma at night
Zygopetalum B.G. White Stonehurst - intense sweet aroma
Maxillaria tenuifolia - smells like coconut
Den. Delicatum Brechts - smells like wintergreen
Epidendrums Veitchii - mild rose-like aroma
Cattleyas have a strong sweet aroma
Oncidium Sharry Baby - smells of chocolate
Oncidium ornithorynchum - very sweet smell
Rhyncholaelia glauca - strong aroma at night
Cymbidium Golden Elf Sundust - smells of sweet bath powder
Cymbidium tracyanum - peaches
Epidendrum parkinsonianumm - aroma of cloves at night
Epidendrum L. purpurata - licorice

Anna M. Hartman

About the Author

Fragrant orchids are a pleasure to raise for their sweet perfume and exotic appearance. Learn about giving the proper care to your fragrant orchids by reading the Orchid Care Expert, you will find the process greatly simplified. Please visit us at Fragrant Orchids to learn about fragrant orchids.

How to Care for Orchids

Growing orchids is a very challenging task, they usually grow in the wild and you have to copy the environment from where they usually bloom and grow. To be able to grow beautiful orchids is a very rewarding experience and like any other houseplants, you can successfully grow beautiful orchids if you know how to care for orchids.

Orchids are very beautiful flowers with thousands of different species and they need special care and set-up to grow. Here are some helpful tips on how to care for orchids.

Proper light. One very important factor in the proper care for orchids is the light requirement of this plant. Watching the leaves of your orchids will help you determine if the plant is getting too much or little light. If the leaves become reddish or yellowish it means that your plant is getting too much light and you need to move the plant to more shade. If the leaves turn into dark green, then you need to move it to more light. A correct light will produce a light grass green leaves.

Watering. Of course like other plants, knowing how to care for your orchids includes correct watering. It is best to use rainwater than chemically treated water like tap water. There are a lot of factors to be considered in watering your orchids. One factor is the climatic conditions; you need to water more in the summer or when the weather is warm and less in the winter. The size of the pot is also another consideration when watering your orchid, small pots need frequent watering since it dry out faster than large pots. Correct watering will result in good, firm and healthy roots and over watered orchids will result in unhealthy and brown dead roots. Over watering is not a proper way to care for orchids; it will drown the roots and will easily kill your orchids. Orchids can stand being dryer than being over watered or moist.

Orchids need air. Proper care for orchids includes providing the needed air for their growth. Remember that in their natural habitat, orchids usually grow anchored in a tree with little or no soil and a lot of fresh air. Orchids can be planted on containers purposely designed to allow air circulation on their roots. Hanging baskets with coconut fiber is also another option that will allow air circulation on their roots. Air is very important in growing beautiful orchids.

Growing beautiful orchids is not as difficult as you think it is if you know the proper techniques on how to care for orchids. Do you want to learn how to care for and grow amazing orchids using easy to follow step-by-step techniques? Visit Orchid Care Expert

To know more about growing orchids visit Orchid Care Guide

About the author

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including How to Care for Orchids. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

Orchids Will Bloom Again

How long does it take for an orchid plant to rebloom? The answer is: it depends. I'm not trying to avoid your question, just being truthful. The truth of the matter of when an orchid will bloom again depends upon what kind of orchid it is. Most orchids will produce blooms once a year but there are some which are capable of producing blooms several time a year if the growing conditions are just right, if not quite right they should still bloom once a year. Since your orchid was in bloom last Christmas, my guess is that it should do so at that time again.

Since it is already October, if it were to bloom at Christmas time this year, it should be showing evidence of a new flower stem growing. But, depending upon what kind of orchid you have, it can take from one month to six months for a new flower stem to be in full bloom once it begins to grow.

On most orchids, once the flowers have all died and fallen off, you may remove the stem by cutting it off down near the base of the flower stem. Prior to cutting off the stem, take a look at the top or tip of the stem to see if it has begun to dry, if it does start to dry that means the stem is dying and may be removed. If there are any bulbs on the orchid, you should leave them alone as they are a store of moisture and nutrients for the orchid.

Most dendrobiums are not that hard to grow but getting them to bloom reliably is the hard part. Moving them to Florida will make it easier. Why? The climate and sunshine it will receive all year round rather than the cold darkness in Indiana. Dendrobiums prefer warm bright weather, they will sulk and even die under cold dark conditions.

From your description of them, I take it that they are of the evergreen family of dendrobiums. If they were from the deciduous family you would have mentioned that some of the growths had lost all their leaves. The primary difference between the two families is that evergreens do not like dry conditions while deciduous ones need a pronounced dry period.

Why your evergreen dendrobiums have not rebloomed for you is in what you said "Since it is so cold and dark here in Indiana". Whether in Indiana or Florida, place them in a location with bright indirect sunlight, temperatures between 60 to 85%F, humidity above 50%, light air movement around them. A good way to tell if it is getting enough light is to look at the leaves, they will be a medium green color when it is just right.

A word of caution if you take them to Florida, move them into any new light conditions slowly over several weeks, as too sudden an exposure to brighter light may cause sunburn of the leaves. If possible, try exposing them to temperatures in the mid 50%F's for a month in the fall, that may help trigger them into the bloom cycle.

If, by chance, the leaves fall off, leave the growths on the dendrobium as they are a storage mechanism for moisture and nutrients. Only remove the growths that appear to be dying. As for those new growths, they may appear to stop growing due to the cold dark weather but should perk back up once things warm up and they receive more light.

You do not have to wait for a bloom to identify the type of orchid that it is if it is one of the more commonly available orchids. The most common is "phalaenopsis" that has large roundish to oblong leaves at the base of the plant and the flower spike grows from the apex of the leaves. Other common types are "the dendrobium, the lady slippers, and the Cattleyas". Each has a distinctive vegetative structure. If there was no tag with the plant, then I'm afraid there is no way to know the name of the hybrid since so many different hybrids have similar flower types and colors.

There are three principal types of containers for orchids. Phalaenopsis and lady slipper orchids are usually grown in a plastic pot, the heavier or more top heavy plants such as dendrobiums or cattleyas are better maintained in clay pots. Baskets are reserved for vandaceous orchids and require a very humid environment because the mix dries out very quickly. I would use a commercially prepared orchid mix that you can buy in bags at garden centers and mass marketers. I would soak this mix overnight before using it and drain it well before potting up your orchid plant in it.

Orchids that have maroon leaves generally get that way from having grown in bright sunlight. That suggests to you that either it was neglected or it likes bright light. It is not uncommon for orchids to outgrow their pots. Many feel this is the time divide and repot the plant, but that is personal preference. Many orchids do just fine hanging way out of the pot.

Since I don't know what type of orchid you have, I can only hazard a guess that they are roots emerging from the pot drainage holes. Some orchids send out bloom spikes from the base of the plant but those are potted in baskets not clay pots.

For now, if the plant looks healthy,I would leave it as is until you get a further development such as flowering, plant die back, new growth starting,etc. Orchids put on new growth once a year and usually, but not always, in the spring. Just keep an eye on it and it should be fine. Then you will be able to know what type of orchid it is by the bloom. If not just go back to where you got the orchid and see if they know what type of orchid it is.

About the author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.SendFlowersGift.info/. SendFlowersGift.info offers same day flower delivery within the US and Canada, as well as fast worldwide delivery to international destinations. Start here to search by "Occasion":

Life Secrets Of The Orchid

The grower of orchids is favored above other men. He belongs to a starry-eyed fraternity, to whom each small chore, accomplished in its turn for the better culture of his orchids, is a source of never-ending and absorbing delight. The beauty of the orchid's line and color is known to all who bask in the offerings of the florist's window.

The appearance of each new growth and root is cause for rejoicing; the slimy mark of a snail or the cottony warning of the presence of scale is cause for distress. The habits and idiosyncrasies of every species and plant are subject to absorbed study. Different methods of growing and the relative merits of hybrids and species are endlessly discussed among fellow growers. The orchid grower checks his mundane worries at the door of the greenhouse and enters a world that offers surcease even to the heart heavily burdened with sorrow and loss.

The beginnings of the orchid family are shrouded in mystery. Since most orchids are epiphytic - that is, having aerial roots through which they receive sustenance from the minerals in the moisture-laden air of the tropics - they have left no traces such as the fossilized remains of ground-growing plants.

Dr. E. Soysa, writing in Orchid Culture in Ceylon, advances the delightful and plausible, if unproved, theory that orchids antedated the fossil era, but in their love of light ascended trees to escape the advancing jungle. There they lived, died, dried up, and floated away, leaving no trace. Whatever the genesis of the orchid family, it cannot be doubted that the orchid family is very old, judging both by its great variety and its highly complex structural development, attainable only through the passage of time.

The orchid is among the largest and most highly developed of the plant families, with some fifteen to twenty thousand species. A provident nature has lavished every means to insure the perpetuation of this favorite child. She has provided the flower with all the charm and allure of a fairy princess to win insect vassals to perform the service of cross-pollination.

The insects performing the service of cross-pollination vary with the species and are as diverse as the ingenious contrivances by which the orchids utilize them. It is in every case a reciprocal arrangement, the plant receiving the benefits of fertilization, the insect the largess of food and drink. Each species usually has its particular insect, as is shown by the special means each flower uses to attract its insect.

Darwin first noted a striking example of this specialization. On a trip to South America he had an opportunity to see a plant of Angraecum sesquipedale. This starry-white flower, a rare orchid of Madagascar, has a weirdly elongated lip containing a nectary, about eleven inches long, that holds one-and-a-half ounces of the sweet fluid produced by the sugar-secreting glands.
Darwin immediately predicted that some day a moth with a proboscis at least twelve inches long would be discovered to be responsible for cross-pollination of this peculiar orchid. In time such a moth was found and was duly named Xanthopan morgani praedicta.

This specialization is reflected in the extremely varied forms of the reproductive organs. These organs lie within the lip, more scientifically known as the labellum, along a fleshy enlargement called the column.

The labellum serves in three capacities: it provides storage space for the pollen, an antechamber to the ovary, and a banquet room for the insect. On entering any orchid flower the insect must first brush the empty stigmatic cavity in his search for the nectar or other food.
Drunk with the repast, he blunders out, the narrow passage compelling him on the way to brush past the pollen masses, which become dislodged and, because of the sticky fluid, adhere to him. These masses hold firmly until he enters another flower of the same species. The feeding position is ideal for depositing the pollen.

Such are some of the secrets of the orchid. The wonders continue as the orchid grower learns more and more. Enjoy a lifetime of interest and delight with orchids!

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How to Grow Breathtaking Orchids - Even If You've Never Raised One Before. Simply Orchid Plant Care Website Reveals All The Secrets.
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