Dear Orchid Doc:

I do not have much outdoor space, so I would like to grow my orchids indoors; however, I have been told that plants rarely survive indoors. Please shed some light on the situation.

Paul

Dear Paul:

Not many people I know succeed with plants indoors, unless you have a sunroof building and lots of air circulation.

First, I would suggest you get to know the essential growth requirements for a few and see how close you can come to providing that environment in which they would be very comfortable.

Dear Orchid Doc:

When is the best time to split my Epidendrums? I am living in the flats of Kingston, where it is very hot. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

Andrea

Dear Andrea:

Epidendrums are the most forgivable orchids I know. Your dog could chew on them and you plant them after and they still forgive you and do well!

What I do is, I wait until they have finished blooming and then I split them; usually they bloom (hotter times) around December to April. So right after they are finished blooming I would go ahead and split.

Dear Orchid Doc:

Help, my orchids are ailing! Under the Dendrobium leaves are dark brown and the spot is not rubbing off. What do I do?

Maxine

Dear Maxine:

Your Dendrobiums appear to have what is known as orchid rust.

Please add two teaspoons of Topsin plus one teaspoon of Caprid to a gallon of water. Pour the solution in a spray bottle. Then use once per week, preferably when it is cool, as the sun will cause the chemical to burn, for a period of three to four weeks and then, once every two weeks for a period of two months, then back to your regular routine.

Your plants should start ‘getting better’ within four weeks. Please note, however, that the old rust will not come off the leaves unless you pick them off.