CROSSING the road recently, a man beside me was carrying a potted orchid to a very ill friend in hospital.

“Everybody takes a bunch of flowers, which in the air conditioning in the hospital barely lasts a few days,” he told me.

“Whereas, the orchid will flower for weeks and can be taken home when my friend leaves hospital.”  

It is easy to become addicted to orchids, often starting with that first gift. And the range is staggering with more than 30,000 species and more than 100,000 registered hybrids from the bold Cymbidiums to the dainty, miniature Phalaenopsis.  

Orchids are so easy to look after, almost surviving on neglect.  

Phalaenopsis orchids, also known as moth orchids, have round flowers of white, pink or purple with a pronounced lip that grows on a single, tall stalk from a whorl of fleshy oval leaves.

Dendrobiums, or cane orchids, have smaller, usually white flowers in clusters that grow in rows on stalks growing on thick canes.  

While orchids are native to tropical rainforests they won’t tolerate wet feet. If you think an orchid needs watering, leave it for three days or even a week, then water.

As I advise for all indoor potted plants with a saucer, fill the saucer with pebbles and sit the container on top of the pebbles. This prevents over-watering while providing extra humidity, which is what orchids get in their natural environment.  

Don’t place orchids in drafts of heat or cold, such as near ducted heating vents. Dry air or direct heat, especially in winter, will cause the demise of the plant.

More information at canberraorchids.org.au  

THE Orchid Society of Canberra meets on the first Wednesday of every month at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, corner of Gould and MacLeay Streets, Turner.

Besides its annual show, the next best display of orchids is at the local specialists The Heritage Nursery, Yarralumla.

I don’t recommend the plastic versions as they are too flimsy, won’t carry the weight of many climbing plants and break down over time.  

Here I have illustrated an idea that highlights a brightly coloured urn with a mirror behind.

Over the arch is Rosa “Crepuscule”, a beautiful apricot rose with an abundance of flowers. This is combined with Clematis napaulensis, the winter-flowering clematis. Together they provide almost all-year flowers – the rose with leaves and flowers in summer and autumn, and the clematis with leaves and flowers in winter.  

Mirrors are great in a garden. I have three, all found in second-hand junk shops. The two pot plants on either side of the arch are Camellia sasanqua “Simone” with an abundance of pink flowers also in winter.

Another effective idea is to have a series of arches, say three in a row, a couple of metres apart. Either the same plant or a different plant on each arch can look stunning.

Jottings…

• Start pruning roses, making sure the secateurs are sharp for good clean cuts.
• Soak the roots of new, bare-rooted roses in a bucket with a seaweed solution for an hour before planting.
• Prune dormant crepe myrtles by at least a quarter to a third off.  They flower on new season’s wood.
• Spray peach, apricot or nectarines when buds appear with organic Bordeaux or Kocide to prevent leaf curl. Don’t spray once flowers appear as this will kill pollinating bees.