How do you get a wild orchid to bloom?
Three years ago, on a trip to Đà Lạt, a highland city in Lâm Đồng province in Vietnam's Central Highlands, I bought two stems of foxtail orchid (lan nghinh xuân) collected from the forest. After I brought them home and cared for them, both bloomed beautifully around Tết, the Lunar New Year. Over the past two years, however, despite careful care, the wild orchids have not flowered again. Is there a way to care for them so that they bloom in time for Tết?
(Trần Trọng Phước, Huế city)
Mr. NGUYỄN THIÊN TỊCH (general secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Orchid and Ornamental Plant Association):
- The foxtail orchid, known in Vietnamese as nghinh xuân lan ("spring-welcoming orchid"), has the scientific name Rhynchostylis gigantea (Lindl.) Ridl.; it is also called lan ngọc điểm and lan đai châu. It usually blooms right at the start of spring, hence its Vietnamese name. Because it is a monopodial orchid with large aerial roots (roots that grow out into the open air), it needs a very airy growing medium such as charcoal or coconut fiber. It does well mounted on a piece of wood tied to a tree branch, or grown in a wooden basket.
This orchid normally loves humidity (around 70-80%). If the humidity is too low after flowering, its roots and leaves will shrivel and wrinkle and will be very hard to revive. For newly potted plants, apply fertilizer No. 1 (high-nitrogen) or fertilizer No. 2 (balanced nitrogen and NPK) at a concentration of 1-2 grams per liter of water. On average, water the plant twice a day, in the early morning and in the cool of the late afternoon. If you want a wild orchid to bloom for Tết, you have to keep it healthy all year round by watering and fertilizing it properly and placing it in suitable light.
