Many people think growing orchids is difficult. Actually, some types are well-suited to growing indoors or outdoors during warm months. Three types I've grown and successfully bloomed indoors are: Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, and Paphiopedilums.
The orchids I've mentioned require little more than windowsill light, fertilizer, potting medium, and perhaps an orchid pot.
The way one's windows face--north, south, east or west--determines the amount of light available to the plants. South and west windows are the brightest. North windows are the least bright.
One can buy two types of orchid fertilizer, but it's not necessary to use special fertilizers. Any 20-10-20 fertilizer mixed at one-quarter strength can be used to maintain growth. I mix mine in gallon jugs and use at every watering. When it's about time for an orchid to bloom, one may wish to change to a 10-30-20 fertilizer to promote vigorous blooms.
Orchids hate wet feet! They need a loose mix of material like bark chunks or chips or long-fibered spaghum. Premixed medium is usually easily found at gardening centers.
Two types of orchid pots are commonly sold: Phalaenopsis pots and orchid pots. Phalaenopsis pots are look like azeala pots. They are short compared to regualr red clay pots and have slits up their sides. Orchid pots are often glazed and contain openings in their sides.
Though orchids hate wet feet, they enjoy humidity. I've grown and bloomed plants without giving them extra humidity, but they benefit from being placed near a humidifier or in a tray of pebbles filled halfway with water.
In the following paragraphs, I describe three of the types of orchids I've grown.
If you've visited Lowe's or Home Depot, you may have seen these in the gardening department. Hawaiian leis are made from their blooms. Their stalks, which are actually pseudobulbs, look a little like fat bamboo canes. They require light from a west or south window, preferably with a sheer curtain between them and the glass. I grow mine outdoors during the summer (I live in central Texas) on a west-facing patio that is shaded during the brightest part of the evening. Their roots like lots of air, so they are frequently grown in orchid mix--chunky pieces of bark that often includes bits of perlite and charcoal.
The types of these seen most often in stores have flowers that resemble the Dendrobium's. They are commonly called "moth orchids." Their leaves are strappy. HGTV shows often use them. They bloom for as long as six weeks at a time and need very little light. I grow mine in an east-facing window that receives morning sun and on a table about a foot below a south-facing window. I grow mine in long-fibered spaghum moss instead of orchid mix. The moss should be about as moist as a wrung-out sponge.
These bear flowers that look like a lady's dancing slippers, hence their common name--"Lady Slippers." They are easily grown in a fine-textured orchid mix and in low-light situations. Placing them near a window is usually all that is required for them to grow.
This is my second experiment in coding web pages. See my first example!