Orchid
It's my first one ever, wish me luck.If you have any tips on how to care for it
I'd really appreciate you leave me a comment.
I drew this one in 2007with acrylic ink on watercolor paper.
posted by Geninne at 2:43 PM
About Me
- Name: Geninne
Is a passionately curious artist/crafter, living with her husband Manolo, two teenage sons and a cute border collie named Turbo.
www.flickr.com
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You don't know me, but I follow your blog on reader! We have an orchid that we have to keep in the bathroom so that it gets plenty of humidity. It's kind of sad, having to leave a gorgeous plant like that in a bathroom, but ours looks great because of it. I'd imagine just leaving it in the bathroom while you shower would work well enough.
Oh how beautiful! I have quite a few moth orchids doing really well in my bathroom where they receive bright, indirect light for most of the day and the air is very humid.
Very pretty! I bought my first orchid about five years ago. I now have six, and right now two of them are getting ready to bloom and another three are growing new stems. I keep mine usually in a north facing window, water them good once a week...or so...when I remember. Sometimes I add 20-20-20 fertilizer. The secret is not too much light and I think to having them re-bloom is too have them in a room that cools down at night. I don't worry too much about humidity, but if they look sad mist them once a day. Good luck and love your art and your blog!!
We give our "baby" a bath every week in luke warm water for about 20 minutes. Seems to make "her" happy :)
My mum knows what she's doing with orchids, but I certainly don't! I have some growing in the garden up on tree trunks - big purple ones - but they seem to do best when they're just ignored.
I love your orchid drawing. I drew one too recently - thought you might like a peek:
http://lexy.typepad.com/lexy_art/2008/10/now-were-rollin.html
While I'm definitely not an expert, here's what's helped me with watering.
Once a week I leave mine under running water for a couple of minutes to ensure the moss is soaked real good. Then I make sure there's no standing water before putting the container back in the pot.
Also, when watering be careful not to get the very center of the leaf bundle wet. Any water that collects there will cause the plant to rot.
I've heard that putting the orchid near the window as the days start to get shorter helps it to promote bloom growth. Something about less light for leaf growth...
But enjoy! I've got several orchids through-out the house.
Like Rachel, mine receive indirect light and fresh air from outside.
hi geninne - i love orchids, but never had much luck with them until a friend gave me one when we moved into our new place. I basically just leave it alone and it seems to be doing fine! It is in our kitchen window, north facing, and every so often - maybe twice a month or something - i will dribble a tablespoon or two of water in i, avoiding the leaves and the center. This room gets quite cool at night as well. It seems to like this very much, it is now about 1 1/2 years old and is about to bloom for the 3rd time! I may just buy myself another :) XOX sharilyn
Uhm, here's my brilliant addition to the commentary:
1) Receive orchid as house plant, enjoy flowers. Don't bother to repot as you know it'll die soon.
2) Whenever you remember to water the other plants (about every couple of weeks or so) let a couple of drops dribble into the bark or whatever they've got down there (of course you don't look, because it'll die soon).
3) When the cat (who got hepatitis and almost died from eating your other tropical plant) starts nosing around the leaves, move it to the top of the fireplace.
4) About 7 months later, when it starts to get cold and you have your first fire, look up, and OMG there are FLOWERS ON THAT THING!!
5) Do the happy dance that is customary in your own household.
Voilà, all my secrets revealed. *grins*
Beauties, aren't they. I have two and they are in full bloom right now. My advice is to leave them alone as much as possible. Water them very sparely (always with stale water and once in a week is quite enough, especially if the humidity in a room is high) and never leave water in the bottom of the pot. I fertilize them once in about two months month but with only half of the quantity of a fertilizer I use for other plants. I keep them in my living room in which the temperature is constant and they are never in full sun. Good luck!
Hi Geninne!
I have several orchids and amongst them one that I've had for 3 years or so, and it is now making a new stem, I guess it will have new flowers in a few months?
I just water it a little bit every 10 days or so, I don't move it when I see it feels good where it is, I don't put it in rich soil and... I don't expect anything, I am patient... :)
I have had an orchid (the same as yours) for 2 years, it's placed just next to a big window, so it gets sometimes direct sunshine (which is forbidden), I water it when I remember (once a month) with plain water from the sink (and not mineral water as adviced) and it has flourished already twice and is going to flourish again. And I left it in the same pot it was in when I received it.
I had one at work. It lasted for a few weeks and then all the flowers fell of. One of my co-workers saved it from the garbage can and with her magic green fingers she made it flower again. Lot’s of light and some fertilizer she told me.
/Hanna
Es preciosa! eres una gran artista, me encanta toda tu obra, hasta tengo guardadas algunas de tus miniaturas para poder mirarlas y recrearme :)
Un besito
Hi Geninne-
My Mom loved her three bird print (and now I want it!!!!!)
I recently attended an orchid workshop at Smith and Hawkin and this is what I learned:
1. Orchids need lots of in direct sunlight
2. Water once a week for 5 minutes (put regular tap water in a bowl- get to room temperature and soak orchid for 5 minutes- the plant should be in a pot that allows water to get thru)
3. repot once every two years- if that.
4. fertilize when there is no bloom.
The main point is I leanred that aren't as scary as I thought they were......good luck!
Lynda
what a beutiful drawing.
Don´t give the orchid much water. Less is more. And I always put them in a window to the north. Not to sunny and hot. I have a bunch of orchids and they keeps getting new flowers 2-3 times a year.
I'm so surprised to learn that I'm not the only person who keeps orchids in the bathroom (especially in winter when it's dry indoors).
Once a week (or so) I plunk all 5 of my orchids in a plastic tub and fill it up with water. I let them soak for an hour and then pull them out. I've had them for years.
Just remember, orchids are non-terrestrial! They must be kept in bark and moss. Also, don't try to hide the roots, make sure they get plenty of air flow!
I've re-discovered your blog again, what a thrill to see your wonderful work. I love the way you are now creating the birds on the postcards, so fresh and very inspiring.
omg! love orchids! i will soon be moving to a new home......i m planning to buy orchids coz i just love them! yours looks great...
Regards,
Veda
hi geninne,
here's a tip from Lisbon, Portugal:
in order to water the orchid, please make sure that the vase you've placed it on has small holes in the bottom, so that you can place it together with the vase inside a big ball with warm water (not too hot, not too cold), hold it for a few moments and then take it out. wait till most of the water gets out through the holes, and that's it. it do this every one or two weeks. also: talk to it :)
hope my english is clear enough :) love your blog!* i stop once in a while and just looking at the images you post makes me feel that some simple things can, indeed, be full of beauty.
have a nice week! *
Joana
Hi! I love orchids but right now I have only one. It doesn´t receive direct light and once a week in the summer or once every two weeks in the winter I put it under running water for 3 minutes and then let the water drain out completely. I´m expecting it to bloom anyday now.
Love you beautiful paintings!
What a beautiful orchid. Your drawing is also wonderful! So... accurate!
Gorgeous orchids, Gennine, both your illustration and the one in your photo. I adore orchids and keep several, both inside and out, - of course the climate here in Malaysia helps! Anyway, here are my tips for caring for the housebound ones:
1. ensure plant has plenty of light.
2. water once a week from the bottom (i.e. fill the sink with water and plunge pot for up to 30 mins.
3. When blooming is over, cut the stalk bearing flowers down to about 1 cm. Be patient - new growth will follow!
Hope you have succss!
Hey, I just saw you on etsy's front page today! Twyla
I've had orchids for years and they bloom often. They sit in a south facing window so lots of light. I water once a week with a very weak solution of fertilizer...it takes lots of energy for those beautiful blooms. When I water I really flush the bark or moss that they're planted in with room temperature water and drain completely. A friend told me "orchids don't like cold feet and they don't like wet feet". My house is very dry...Minnesota...and they do fine as long as I water properly! Good luck!!!
wow, what a beautiful drawing of your orchid! the real one is nice too :)
hi geninne! here's the blog of a friend of mine who is kind of an expert on orchids!
http://orchideology.blogspot.com/
good luck with your orchid!!!
Hi Geninne :)
(sorry about my english)
I don`t have an orchid, but I know that much of them grow in places full of humidity, maybe because they are not good conserving water. could be a good idea to spray water over the plant, specially in the dry seasons, while you water it normally.
...recién me acordé de que sabes castellano :(, me había esforzado...
me encanta tu arte
Dios te Bendiga
So delicate and graceful. Exactly the orchid's character!
I enjoy reading your blog. This awesome. I do love flowers, orchids are amazing. They are fun to decorate in a wedding reception.
Love your blog, and especially your handmade stamps. So inspiring!
You have already received a ton of good advice, but I have a serious black thumb, and have managed to keep several orchids alive in my apartment, so I thought I'd pipe in.
Here's what I do:
1) Put them in a room that gets sunlight for at least a few hours a day.
2) Run lukewarm water over the roots (and let completely drain) every couple weeks or whenever you remember.
3) When the flowers fall off (which they always do, eventually) don't give up on them- put them in a damp, shady corner of your garden and they will come back like a miracle. Easy peasy.
Heather T - ha ha ha! That's me! And then my fiance took over & oh, look at all these lovely reblooming orchids in my home! :) Anyway, I still love orchids - or as fiance calls them, the spoiled children of the plant world. Even so, ditto on Jennifer - we (ha ha) water them 1x week with lukewarm water, drain completely. (In our old apt, we had a very happy orchid living in one of those weird nooks in our shower.)
Wow! this so lovely i like it,is it easy to grow?
ford
Thanks for all your lovely photos. I grew up in the mountains, and like to check your blog! It's a breath of fresh air when i saw those flowers so beautiful. Keep posting! :)
zaijan
Lovely flowers! Wish I can also arrange beautiful flowers like that. I want to learn how to arrange flowers cause it so interesting. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing!
Nice flower but I love the painting more.
I like the drawing of that lovely orchid. :)
Hey, nice blog with good info. I really like coming back here often. And wish you would create more such interesting blogs.