Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be invited to the Royal Horticultural Society’s flower show at the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s home in Chatsworth House Derbyshire. The stately home and 105 acre sculpted gardens attract thousands of visitors every year. Last year the RHS held one of its world famous flower shows in Chatsworth for the first time – unfortunately there were some teething problems and the show had to close early due to terrible weather conditions. This year couldn’t have been more different – Thousands of visitors enjoyed five days of beautiful sunshine where they were able to shop at over three hundred stalls selling a host of gardening and craft products. The show gardens built by various professional landscapers were there to inspire all levels of gardener and the show garden Hay Time in the Dales by was the “Peoples Choice” for best garden.
The Great Conservatory wowed crowds with its most spectacular display of moth orchids. There were close to five thousand of the UK’s most popular orchid – the Phalaenopsis (moth orchid) orchid were arranged in a special conservatory style marquee inspired by award-winning floral designer Jonathan Moseley, known for his innovative and creative floral designs. Over one hundred different colour varieties of phalaenopsis were used in breathtaking cascades, imposing walls and gorgeous mounds of orchids.
The orchids were supplied by Double H Nurseries from Hampshire who grow and supply over two million orchids to super markets and other retailers through out the UK every year. Interestingly they have developed a new fragranced orchid which will be available to buy this year. When speaking to Dan Pass the main man at Double H Nurseries he explained that domestic orchids had primarily been bred for colour and appearance leaving their wonderful fragrance in the wild – now we can experience the smell of wild orchids at home.
Although the price of orchids has dropped significantly over the years to become almost a disposable flower arrangement rather than a house plant, there is still a huge thrill to be had by getting your phalaenopsis orchid to flower again once the original blooms have faded.
To get your orchid to re-flower I suggest the following:
- Cut off any dead stem. You can trim the stem to your desired height but don’t trim it too short and make sure to cut it just above one of the traingular nodes
- Place your orchid in a cooler place than usual
- Water your orchid one a week with half a cup of water (do not over water!!)
- Fertilise your orchid every two weeks with a specialist orchid fertiliser
