"Women are like orchids,

they need to be misted and admired daily."

Today, I went to the orchid garden and it was phenomenal.  We started the visit with a lecture from a well-known orchid breeder (with a fabulous shirt) and he told us everything we needed to know about taking care of our orchids. Here's a synopsis:

• 70% humidity is ideal
• if you put the plant in a clear plastic pot (inside the clay/decorative pot) then the roots will get some light which is good.. more photosynthesis = healthier plant
• be sure that the water can evaporate from the pot, otherwise the roots will rot
• if you want your orchid to get bigger, gradually increase the pot size
• to fertilize, disolve the fertilizer in water and spray roots and both sides of leaves (daily, if you missed that from above)
• okay, about fertilizer.  you should look for a fertilizer that has nitrogen, phosphate and potassium.  for baby orchids, you should use one with a much higher amount of nitrogen.  for adolescents, a balance between the three.  when the plant is ready to flower, use a fertilizer that has a high concentration of potassium.. that will make it flower bigger, more, longer. 
• do not give your orchid any vitamins
• watch for fungus, snails and beetles.  beetles like to bore holes in the stems
• the larger the leaves, the less sun (both time and intensity) the plant needs

He then took us to the laboratory and showed us how they clone and cross orchid breeds.  It has to do with polinating the plant, then taking the resulting seeds (they are very very small.. there are approximately 5 million per flower) and keeping them in bottles to grow them for 6 months until they are ready for pots.  You can get hundreds of plants from one flower.

From here, we were left to wander the various gardens where all of the orchids were for sale.  Given that Zeric is the one with the green thumb, I took a lot of pictures in anticipation of returning for a buying trip not to long from now.  There were so many kinds and so many colors.. here are some for your viewing pleasure: