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In Florida 
IT’S EASY 
TO GROW 
ORCHIDS 
IN YOUR 
GARDEN, 
PATIO 
OR HOME 
(By T. A. FENNELL, Jr.) 
Believe it or not this is true. The 
chances are that right in your block, or 
neighborhood at least, one of your neigh- 
bors is growing orchids not only with 
ease but with very gratifying and thrill- 
ing success. Here in the Miami region 
hundreds of people with no special train- 
ing have found that orchids are an easy 
and fascinating hobby. These amateur 
growers have found that they can grow 
orchids in their homes and in their 
gardens actually with less effort and 
work than many other commonly grown 
plants such as gardenias, roses and 
African violets—and with consistently 
greater success. These people are show- 
ing the way and the hobby is grow- 
ing by leaps and bounds, as others watch 
their success. 
For years orchids have had the false 
reputation of being very delicate and 
hard-to-grow plants. Actually the 
plants are, most of them, tough and 
hardy and will live longer under ad- 
verse conditions than most other plants. 
The false reputation stems from two 
sources. First, many people forgot or 
ignored the fact that orchids are epiphy- 
tes or air plants (as they are common- 
ly called) and tried to grow them in 
soil like other plants. Having no suc- 
cess they decided they were hard to 
giow without giving them a fair 
chance under anything like their natural 
conditions. Second: those people that 
have had success almost imvariably 
have tried to discourage other growers 
i 
Can Grow 
BLC Dorothy Fennell, the first orchid hybrid 
modern methods in Florida. 
orchids outdoors in Florida since 1924. We planted the seed for 
these plants in 1930. 
from trying with tales of their delicacy 
and the difficulties of growing them in 
order to keep a monopoly in their own 
hands. After all, anyone who can grow 
as “rare,” “delicate” and “difficult” a 
plant as an orchid gains great prestige 
whether as an amateur or a commer- 
cial grower. 
This is only one of several miscon- 
ceptions about orchids believed by many 
people. 
Another misconception held by many 
is that orchids are tropical jungle 
plants. Actually very few of the worth- 
while orchids come from hot, steaming, 
dark and damp jungles as so many peo- 
ple believe. It is true that these plants 
do come from tropical countries but they 
are usually found growing wild either in 
open forests or in isolated areas of 
light forests and almost invariably 
at altitudes of from 2,000 to 6,000 feet 
in the mountains. At such altitudes 
even in the tropics there is quite a bit 
of cool weather and even occasional 
frost while the climate in general is 
much like that here in Florida. 
When one makes a study of orchids it 
is quickly seen that they have the same 
five general requirements common to 
all plants and the only difference is a 
matter of degree. These five basic re- 
quirements are: sunlight, warmth, food, 
water and air. The relative propor- 
tions needed by orchids vary from 
those of other plants but this is the 
(Continued on Page Three) 
’e MAY? 41951 
IntheNorth 
IT’S SIMPLE 
IN YOUR 
HOME. 
NO 
ELABORATE 
EQUIPMENT 
NECESSARY. 
poy EORUADVISABIEE 
Our company has been growing 
More and more we’re learning that 
“orchid growing” particularly the grow- 
ing of Cattleyas and Dendrobiums with 
a few Oncidiums, strap-leaved Vandas 
and Coelogynes and some _ botanicals 
thrown in, can be reduced to a very 
simple regime. 
The requirements of these plants are 
few and easily met in the average home. 
They are: 
1—PLENTY OF SUNLIGHT. A 
south or east window, unshaded from 
November until March, lightly shaded, 
from 9:30 to 3:30, with a thin gauze- 
like curtain the rest of the year. (If 
the plants can be placed out in the yard 
under light shade during the months 
when no frost occurs so much the 
better) 
2—SUFFICIENT WARMTH. The 
usual house temperature of 60 - 70 de- 
gress at night and 65 - 75 degrees in 
the day is fine. No damage is done by 
occasional drops by the thermometer 
even into the thirties if only for short 
periods. 
3.—FOOD. The osmunda in which 
most of these orchids are grown pro- 
vides a small amount of food but if 
you want stronger, faster growth and 
more flowers it is desirable to feed the 
plants with a solution of one teaspoon- 
ful FENORCO PLANT FOOD to the 
gallon of water (at room temperature.) 
Feeding should be done weekly. 
4—WATER. Water plants heavily 
only once per week — lightly once or 
twice weekly. Remember, let them dry 
in between watering. 
(Continued on Page Three) 
