“Orchids seem to drive people crazy,” author Susan Orlean wrote in The Orchid Thief . “Those who love them love them madly.”

But although you can buy an orchid this does not mean you will know how to keep the plant alive at home. Orchids can be fussy — mysterious — in their demands.

Let’s reveal a few of the flowers’ secrets — here are 10 things nobody tells us about orchids.

1 The easiest orchid to grow is a Phalaenopsis.

Also known as a moth orchid, Phalaenopsis is a beginner’s best friend because they will grow in low light and do not require extreme humidity.

2 If you think it’s time to water your orchid, wait one more day.

Avoid overwatering which leads to the demise of many more orchids than under-watering. To determine if your orchid needs water, “use the pencil trick (the point of a sharpened pencil, when inserted into the medium, will darken with moisture if the plant has enough water). And, there’s always the old standby — put your finger in the mix. If it feels wet, it is wet. If you aren’t sure whether it is time to water, wait one more day,” the society recommends.

3 To get an orchid to re-bloom, trick it into thinking it’s in the tropics.

When an orchid stops blooming, cut off the flower stalk at the base of the plant. Then put your moth orchid in a room in your house where you can simulate the tropical climate conditions it likes.

4 You probably don’t need to put your orchid in a bigger pot.

Orchids like tight spaces. Don’t repot yours until its roots have grown through the holes on the pot and are dangling in air. (One exception to this rule is if you buy an orchid that is potted in moss. In that case, repot it immediately in a proper orchid potting mix.)

5 Your orchid will not be any happier in a special Swiss-cheese pot.

The Swiss-cheese pots attempt to replicate orchid-growing conditions in the wild, where the plants either grow visibly on the surface of trees (with roots attached to the bark of tree branches) or on rocks, with roots working their way into crevices. But it’s not necessary to use an open-air orchid pot if your plant’s roots have good air circulation in a pot.

6 An orchid will not grow in soil.

Orchids are epiphytes, and in their native tropical environments, they grow on trees (not in soil). Plant orchids in an orchid potting mix (which contains wood chips or bark) and they will be happy.

7 It’s not OK to use ice cubes on orchids.

Some orchid owners avoid over-watering by putting an ice cube in the pot at the base of the plant. As the ice slowly melts, it releases water for the plant’s roots to absorb. But experts warn against this practice. For one thing, orchids are tropical plants that love warmth—and ice cubes are cold.

8 An orchid’s flowers can last for many months.

9 There are more than 25,000 different species of orchids.

Popular houseplant varieties include Lady’s Slipper orchids, Oncidiums, pansy orchids, moth orchids, and Phalaenopsis crosses.

10 In the 1800s, collectors paid thousands of dollars for a single orchid plant.

Information from: www.gardenista.com