Orchids: You can’t live without them, and you can’t keep them alive. I’m kidding, sort of, but who among us hasn’t wished we could do better with a gifted or adopted beauty that just won’t re-bloom, or generally looks less happy now than when it arrived last year?

I asked Marc Hachadourian, author of the new book “Orchid Modern” and senior curator of the world-class orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, to let us in on some insights.

Besides curating the orchid collection, Marc is Director of Glasshouse Horticulture at NYBG, overseeing the cultivation of tens of thousands of tropical and temperate plants grown for conservatory exhibitions and permanent display there. The Orchid Show there each March and April is a must-visit. And Marc’s new book teaches us not just which ones to grow and how, but also kind of how to apply a mini-version of the signature showmanship and artistry of that big event to how we display our plants at home.  

Learn how to water properly, and the subtleties of repotting—a step most of us fear, and put off, which can really set a plant back. But which way to repot which kind of orchid, since not all want the same treatment? Most of all, get some ideas for using orchids more creatively: no more just those garden-center plastic pots lined up on a windowsill. And enter to win the new book by commenting in the box at the very bottom of the page.  

Categories: