Would probably survive a nuclear war (Orchids)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Orchids
Date:	08/02/09 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to grow, beautiful flowers

Disadvantages: Not so pretty when not flowering

When one of my friends came to stay with me a couple of years ago she bought me a potted orchid as a present, much the same pinky colour as in the picture.

It was lovely to look at, but I was a bit concerned - no matter how hard I try, I seem to kill off every plant I look at - they just wither and die! I'm not sure why as my parents can grow pretty much anything without any effort...
You name it, I've done it: windswept, browning, leaves curling up, leaves going wrinkly, leaves falling off, brown skeletons, accidental freezing to death - I've done it. I could make a fortune as a foliage assassin.

So I wasn't convinced this orchid would last very long, being somewhat more high maintenance than your average spider plant or window box plant.

However....I'm amazed that two years on, it's grown enough to want a new pot and is still flowering at regular intervals (if anything, even a little more than the every 6 months or so suggested on the little information tag!).
Because of this I think my orchid would probably survive a nuclear war along with the cockroaches (and perhaps Wall-E).

It simply requires to be kept out of direct sunlight with damp soil (I usually water it about 3 times a week or so), and I give it a little liquid plant food every six months or so.

The only downside is that when it's not flowering, it looks stick like - other than the dark, rubber-y like leaves - and people always say it's dead (it's not! Don't be so horrible about my baby!!). As it's grown it's produced many more flowers, and now looks beautiful in my living room.

At the moment my friend is looking after it for me because I didn't want to confuse it by taking it to my shared house, and she thought she would kill it as well - but she assures me it's still going strong, and was amazed she hadn't killed it either, despite lack of winter sunlight in my somewhat dark house.

If you're bad with plants like me, I'd definitely try an orchid. You can even buy them at supermarkets at the right time of year, though the bigger ones will cost a lot more when flowering.

Summary: Give it a go - you never know