Orchids

If you searched this because your cat just took a bite out of your orchid, take a breath first. The short answer is reassuring: the common household orchid, the kind you find at a grocery store or garden center, is not considered toxic to cats. But that answer leaves out everything that actually matters when you are standing there watching your cat lick a petal. The real question is not just is this plant toxic. It is why does my cat look uncomfortable anyway, and what should I do right now. ...

If you’ve ever brought an orchid home and wondered what on earth it was sitting in, you’re not alone. That mix of bark chunks, moss, and sometimes what looks like nothing but a clear plastic cup? That’s not a mistake. Orchid soil is really a drainage and airflow system, not a growing medium in the traditional sense. Orchids don’t live in soil in the wild. They cling to tree bark, and their roots expect light, air, and fast drying between waterings. ...

What to Do After Your Orchid Flowers Fall Off One day your orchid is covered in blooms. A few weeks later the last flower drops, and you are standing in front of a bare green stick wondering whether you killed it or whether it is going to be fine. The honest answer: it is almost certainly fine. But what you do in the next few months is what separates orchids that rebloom reliably from orchids that sit on a windowsill for years – looking completely healthy, never flowering again. ...