The magnetic charm of orchids

It is the odd time of the year when we have one foot in the house and one foot in the garden. In the garden there is the pruning, and raking in a landscape that is still mostly brown. Indoors, if you are fortunate, you are witnessing an orgy of colour that can only come from orchids.

"I learn by killing them." Adrianne Mead is a young woman on a mission. She is new to orchid collecting, has just a few at home in Guelph, but is showing all the signs of full-blown orchid fever. I met her at the Royal Botanical Gardens Orchid Society show where she was buying a flask of orchids. Yes, a flask.

"There are 15 seedlings in the bottle, we guarantee 10 will grow." Mario Ferrusi, owner of Marsh Hollow Orchids hands Adrianne a tip sheet on how to "deflask" her orchids. For $32.00 it's an economical way to increase your orchid collection. But it may take from three to seven years for the orchid to grow big enough to bloom.

Mario, a General Motors worker from Fonthill has been growing orchids for 23 years, "Ever since my wife said she was tired of my cactus collection and dared me to grow orchids."

He began where most people do with a moth orchid or phalaenopsis, then he found he couldn't get enough, and now grows about 10 different species in his special greenhouses - one warm, one cool.

Paul Wilson started with one lonely orchid plunked in his front window ten years ago and now has about 200 orchids at his Niagara Falls home. He likes the way orchids cross barriers. "You'll get a doctor and a truck driver and a teacher all rubbing elbows at a show or orchid society meeting."

He agrees that the beginner should start with the moth orchid (phalaenopsis). "They grow well under the average home conditions," he says.

The phalaenopsis likes a bright window with indirect light and is tolerant of temperatures ranging from 60F at night to between 75F and 85F by day.

The common rookie mistake is to fuss with them too much, says Paul.

At this time of year, the phalaenopsis needs water only every five to seven days. Because they don't have a way to store water other than in their leaves, they should never be allowed to completely dry out. They are usually potted in fir bark which allows good aeration and fast drainage. Orchids should never be potted in soil or they will rot. Watering in the morning is good practice so that water won't collect in the crowns and the junction where the leaf attaches to the stem.

Plants can be fed twice a month with an orchid fertilizer mixed at half strength.

About 50 to 60 per cent humidity is crucial in helping the orchids to flower. At home, humidity can be increased by setting the orchids in shallow trays filled with water and gravel. Misting is beneficial and should be done in the morning so the plant has a chance to dry out by evening.

Air movement is important to orchids to regulate temperature and keep disease to a minimum. Some people will keep a fan blowing on the lowest setting if they have a collection to care for.

Phalaenopsis are popping up everywhere. You might just pick one up at the corner store for $20. But at an orchid show prices climb for the supermodels. At the RBG the upper range was $500.00. For a $20 investment, though, you have a plant that can be in bloom for one to four months.

There is no way to describe the colour range, sizes and shapes of orchids. There are luminous apricots and yellows, shy shapes and erotic shapes, orchids that look like they were varnished and others that look like butterflies.

"I think the odds are excellent I'll buy one." Susan Grant is looking at paphiopedilum, the slipper orchid. "I'm from Nova Scotia. These remind me of the lady slippers I used to see in the woods. Even as a child I saw how beautiful they were and yet I knew I shouldn't pick them."

Welcome to the world of orchids, Susan - seductive, powerful and faintly untouchable.