I have a bit of a green thumb, but not with orchids. Now that they are available in grocery stores, I’ve bought a few, and they have turned out to be rather unrewarding. The blooms die and never seem to come back. I feel like I’ve killed them with my ignorance, which makes me an orchid-ocidal maniac or something.
When you can’t keep a plant alive, you do feel kind of like a jerk.
African violets are fine, along with snake plants and spider plants. Not that I’m a big fan of spiders and snakes, but if the creatures go their own way and the plant versions thrive on my windowsill, I’m okay with that.
It may not be me. The orchids may be so over-bred that they really can’t thrive. You’re supposed to feed them once a week with an ice cube, which is rather strange. Orchids don’t grow anywhere near cold temperatures. Also, mine have fought back: there is no space in the pot in which to set an ice cube without freezing the leaves.
I have another one in the office which requires a certain measurement of water every 20 days. I have it on my calendar as an appointment (“Feed orchid”), but all I have to show for it is a few leaves. It was pretty in the spring, but at least I can grow leaves. I tried following the instructions to cut back the plant to get more blooms, but I may have amputated too much. So I still have leaves.
Maybe it’s because I have the plants in the office, and they hate cubicle life. But that doesn’t explain why the violets are doing so well. But at least they’re cheap and green, and I won’t part with them unless they quit on me. So my thumb is not as green, but I’m true blue when it comes to whatever still looks alive in a pot.
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