Orchids and African Violets!

That was the name of the seminar I recently attended at Sargeant's Nursery!

It was a wonderful and informative one hour program!  Especially because I have collected 6 African violets and a few small variety orchids and wanted more information on care, etc.!  And it was fun to find a nice group of my garden club friends there also!

Yes, it was well worth my time, the instructor was wonderful, informative and inspiring!

What did I learn?  Well, African violets should be continually blooming if they are happy.  Happy means they are being watered carefully and timely when the soil gets dry and no water is allowed to get on the leaves.  Also let the water drain out the bottom of the pot and after a short  time remove the excess water that does not get reabsorbed up into the pot!  Temp. ideally is 65 to 75 degrees most of the time.  Lots of light, but no direct sun!  Fertilized every two weeks!  Propagating tips were offered, it has been awhile since I did that!  So, I need to increase my fertilizing schedule!  So, now my goal is to increase their reblooming and happiness!  

Now for orchids!  I am loving the smaller variety and would like to get into larger varieties and have them rebloom!  First step was learning how to select a healthy plant that will perform consistently!  That was great information!  Learning how to examine the root system was fabulous!  Again, like violets, no direct sun but lots of light.  Do not let set in water, so need to be sure to remove excess water in the pot soon after watering!  They love humidity, are a tropical plant, so misting is helpful during winter heating season!  Fertilizer, yes indeed being sure to use one labeled for orchids!  Water schedule is about every 10 days and add fertilizer every two weeks (March thru Sept.)!  Roots need air so the potting medium should be a special orchid mixture of bark.  Do not use moss, it holds too much moisture too long!   I did purchase an easy to use fertilizer, a spray, to use on the leaves!  How simple!

So, I ended up with some special bark potting medium, purchased a special pot with holes around the side which I used to repot a pair of small variety plants I had!  

Now to get on with my new watering and fertilizing schedule!  I so love how long orchids bloom!  My next goal is to get a full size quality  hybrid orchid to add to my collection!