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Upcoming Orchid Care Classes With Greenhouse Tour

By Bonnet House Blog No Comments

Summertime has arrived here in South Florida! Although it’s usually warm year-round in this region, we love to celebrate the season by highlighting some of the beautiful plant varieties that we are lucky enough to grow natively in Fort Lauderdale. Included in these plant varieties are an abundance of orchids. Not only do we allow guests to view our beautiful orchids throughout our estate property, but we also offer our visitors the unique opportunity to learn what it takes to grow stunning orchids of their own!

This August, we will be hosting our extremely popular Orchid Care Classes for both beginners and experienced growers. These interesting classes will cover both the basics of orchid care and more advanced techniques. These classes will be taught by our Orchid Curator, Jose Exposito, and his fantastic team of orchid care experts on staff at Bonnet House.

Our Orchid Care Basics class will take place on Tuesday, August 8th, 2023 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, and again from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. In this class, students will be introduced to the many types of orchids and will even learn how to select the best locations for growing. Students will also be given instructions regarding basic cultivation techniques, including those regarding watering and fertilization.

To learn about more advanced orchid care techniques, our intermediate classes will take place on Tuesday, August 15th, 2023 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, and again from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. These classes will cover all aspects of transplanting orchids, with a special emphasis on the techniques and uses of different materials including cork, driftwood, plaques, baskets, and more.

One of the most interesting and popular components of these classes includes a special tour of our greenhouse. Our greenhouse is filled with a variety of perfectly cared-for orchids, and more. During this tour, guests will learn exclusive details about our orchid care techniques and have the opportunity to ask our expert Orchid Curator questions.

Regardless of your knowledge of orchid care techniques, we hope to see you at our upcoming orchid classes this August. These classes are very popular and will fill up quickly, so be sure to reserve your spot today!

Orchid Display House

A Complete Guide to Orchid Care

By Bonnet House Blog 3 Comments

At Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, we understand the importance of caring for one’s orchids, sharing South Florida’s history, and the unique natural environment that we call home. Even in a warm, sunny environment like South Florida, orchids can be a challenge to grow and specific techniques vary based on a multitude of factors. We’ll take some time in this blog to highlight some of the basics of orchid care. The first step to basic orchid care is  understanding what type of orchid you want to grow. Each orchid is unique and requires a different balance of sunlight, water and food in order to grow.

The first step is to consider the amount of sunlight your plant will require. Essentially, orchids need just enough sun so that they have somewhat yellow-green foliage and strong, vertical growths. If your orchid is exposed to too much sunlight, the foliage will appear dark green, and will not have the typical strong upright growths.

The roots of your orchid, as well the entire plant will not survive without sufficient exposure to moving air. For this reason, most orchids do not actually grow in soil, with the exception of a few terrestrial varieties. When potting your orchid, your pot should be open with good drainage, but it should still be capable of holding enough moisture to support the plant’s needs. Typically, orchids are intolerant of an environment with little to no airflow. When considering where to keep your orchid, you should ensure that your plant is exposed to gentle air movement at all times. If you are growing your orchid in an indoor environment, you can simply use an overhead fan on a low setting, or a portable oscillating fan that is directed away from the plant.

Watering is the most common issue faced by orchid owners. In order to properly water any plant, you must consider both quantity and frequency. Due to the specific nature of your growing environment and the type of orchid itself, there isn’t an exact answer to how much and how often you should water your orchid. However, the main rule of thumb is to give the plant some water just as it dries out. The most effective way to determine whether or not your orchid has begun to dry out is to insert your finger into the soil and determine the moisture content yourself. This will not cause harm to the plant, and will let you know whether or not it is time to give your orchid some water. When your orchid is ready to be watered, it will require copious amounts. Continue watering your plant until you start to notice water running freely from the drainage holes in the pot. This will not only soak the potting medium, but it will flush away salts that naturally accumulate. At a minimum, be sure to water your orchid at least once a month.

If you care for your orchid properly, it will be able to grow and flower for long periods without the use of fertilizer. However, feeding orchids fertilizer regularly does yield better results. Typically, orchids should be fertilized once a week in the summer and every two weeks during the fall and winter times. Regardless of what brand or type of fertilizer you select for your orchid, most experienced growers recommend that you use no more than one half of the label-recommended strength after you water your plant.

Here, at Bonnet House, we have an orchid curator and orchid care volunteers who maintain the two greenhouses and display house.  The Orchid Display House is part of the house tour.  Visitors can visit the estate and enjoy a self guided tour of the house and grounds, view the beautiful orchids grown throughout the estate and on display in the Shell Museum Complex.  Click here to purchase your tickets.