Growing orchids in the city

Growing orchids in the city? ... impossible! Or so I was told.
Until, I just had to show them. Cattleyas with ruffled pouty lips in a five-petalled haiku.

City-grown and city-bloomed, with no greenhouse or misting system in sight.
Just plenty of good ol'-fashioned sunshine reaching past plant-laden window-boxes and beaming on even more orchids on my window-sills ...

And moist, humid coastal air. Plus, a neighbour's leaky AC unit drip-drip-dripping onto my lucky orchid plants ...

For every sceptic and nay-sayer who says it can't be done, a mammoth Cattleya orchid that blooms its heart out in a flourish of gorgeousness. Right here in the city, in an apartment window jostling against a bustling road.

Mokkaras and every Vandaceous orchid blushing a healthy happy hue. Of exuberant pinks ...

...and sun-dipped yellows.

These are the Vanda days. Of warmth and light and bounteousness all around. No skimping on anything!

Phalaenopsis are amazing! Smashing every preconceived notion of how they should grow and that too, so cheerfully.

From brightest fuchsia to palest pink, Cattleya or Dendrobium. All tropical orchids, all city-grown among the rough and tumble of traffic and noise and pollution. Thriving, blooming, thrilling... point proved! 

Orchid-alicious days

Orchid seems to be the flavour of the season in my garden! It is popping up all over; both the colour as well as the flower. Incredibly flamboyant, eye-rivetingly gorgeous, and so very luxe ... I love it! And I just had to share.
By the way, do you know what I love even more? That they are so very easy to grow and bloom in Mumbai's tropical climate! I know the days are getting hotter and the sun is blazing something fierce, but when I step out into the garden and see my orchids blooming their heads off, I beam a huge smile at my orchid-alicious days.
Mmmmhmm ... life is good!

Orchids like this Vanda (above) love the high heat, high humidity, bright sunshiny days that we grumble about. Maybe Mumbai was meant to be populated with Vandas. What a thought! Can you imagine seeing blooms like this all over the city?

Dendrobiums are some of my favourite orchids. Well, they all are, but dends (dendrobiums, as they're fondly referred to by orchidistas) are a bit more special, if you know what I mean. Because they will always make that effort to bloom and bloom with minimum care. 

This is one of my favourite dends because it is one of the first ones I bought years ago. Free-flowering and with extra-long spikes of blooms (often multiple spikes), it can always be counted on to brighten my day. And to draw a lot of gasps from the unsuspecting stroller in the garden. It fed my orchid fever until I became like one demented, buying orchids wherever I heard of any available and price be damned. 

 Did I say that Dends are my favourite orchids? I'm quite partial to my Phalaenopsis too. My apartment garden with more shade than sun, loves it. But then so does my other regular in-the-ground garden. My regular garden has several large cashew trees with wide canopies that cast a shade that the Phals love. So they've happily made their home there too.
And now the Phals are in full bloom too; those growing in my apartment garden (above) as well as those in my regular garden (below).
Eye-candy all the way to fill my days in clouds of orchid!

(And before you ask... no, my orchids are not a collection of purple shades. I just thought it would be interesting to compare the blooms of the various similar-coloured orchids ).

Orchid stars ... and some extras

My orchids are the superstars in my garden right now. Never mind that the nights have become decidedly chill ... by Mumbai standards, that is. My orchid divas are still dazzling me and showing that they still have what it takes. Oh yeah!

And the older they are, the more flamboyant they get. Like this Dendrobium orchid which has been with me for 10 years or more. Definitely long in the cane, but have you seen such long spikes of spectacular blooms on any fresh young things?

This one got dislocated from the coconut tree where it had been living when a heavy coconut leaf lopped it off. So it was hastily tied on to this cashew tree because it was bursting with buds due to bloom any day. And I definitely did not want to miss out on that!
My usual banana fibre ties were too flimsy so some coir ropes were brought in to help out. That still left something wanting. These lo-o-ong canes were too big for their own good. So, finally they had to be propped up with a slab of rock.
Oh the ignominny!
I definitely have to do something before this diva starts sulking.

Did I say something about 'fresh young things'? This would be one of them. Fresh-faced, pure as a ... well, a white orchid, and so very pretty!

I can't think of any space, no matter how ugly, that hasn't taken a step into the sublime just because of its association with an orchid. Like these iron spikes over a fence. No one notices those because they're too busy being dazzled by the orchid. Now that's called star quality!

If you thought all Dendrobiums looked alike, then take a look at this one. The colour's familiar but if it looks all twisted out of shape, then you've got an antler-type dendrobium orchid. I guess this would be a perfect match for all those wildlife buffs out there. But honestly, doesn't it look a bit like an avenging angel?
Just a bit?

If you thought the dendrobiums are the only ones out there, then you haven't seen my friend, Spathaglottis. One of the most common orchids grown in Mumbai, I think novice orchidists are comforted by its terrestrial preferences. After all, growing a plant which doesn't need soil can seem so unusual . And confusing.
The Spathaglottis, though, thrives in that medium unlike the Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya and others of that ilk.

But commonplace they are not. The Spathaglottis still knows how to spring a surprise. Its multiple hues, if not its ease of cultivation, are enticement enough to make the gardener go back to it again and again.

Yet if you're going by the variety of colours, there could be no one to beat the Phalaenopsis orchids for sheer drama. Purity of shape and theatrical in colour ...

... spotted, speckled, striped and in blocks of colour, the Phalaenopsis is the drama queen par excellence!

Yet every good show must have its villain

and the faithful friend. So too does our orchid.

And like every good Indian film, we just can't do without our glamourous Dancing Girls. Jai ho!

Orchids in winter

I was in the mood for orchids some weeks ago but my mind kept telling me, "it's off-season!"
Winter, or rather, as much Winter as coastal Mumbai gets, still had its grip on us .
It is never Winter as those outside the Tropics know it, yet those bitingly chill winds that roll off the back of the frozen Himalayas are cruel enough to kill or severly damage Dendrobium orchids and the other warm-growing orchids in my garden. I lose more than a few to them every year.
And what makes it worse is that I grow all my orchids outdoors so there is no shelter from those cutting winds. Especially for my Dendrobiums which are tied on to the trunks of various trees. Those I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

Then as I looked around my garden, I found first one and then another orchid in bloom ... good enough to satisfy my craving.
Leading the list was that absolutely gorgeous Dendrobium which had not one, but two spikes full of flowers (top photo).
Then there was this unusual yellow Phalaenopsis, speckled with hot pink.

I quite forgot that this is Phalaenopsis season in my garden! They like a temperature swing of about 10* to initiate spiking and it looks like they're quite happy with what they're getting.

This Phalaenopsis is relatively new to my garden. This is the first time that Phal 'Mini Orange' is blooming for me. I'm trying to picture it in a matte black ceramic planter .... mmmm!

Spathaglottis , one of my never-fail orchids. And a terrestrial, unlike the other epiphytic orchids. This is one of the few orchids that you can grow just like any other garden plant.

And the dwarf hybrids are just as pretty, if not more.

Then, there was this lovely Cymbidium. But I can't claim credit for this one. I must confess that I bought it in bud from a flower show that was on in Mumbai recently. Isn't it beautiful? It was way too expensive but worth every rupee for the sheer delight I feel every time I look at it.

And then, of course, I had this one stashed away in my apartment ... Phalaenopsis 'Winter Carnival' .
How apt!

Orchid welcomes and farewells

My vote for the best indoor display of orchids? The Orchid Garden and Koi Pond at Terminal 2 at Changi airport, Singapore . Just look at these photos ! Oh, and do click on them to enlarge. These orchids deserve your full-screen attention. I had to literally pick my jaw up from the floor where it was doing a great job of drooling all over the place.

For those of you haven't seen it before, the Orchid Garden seems to make everything else look like they're arranged around it. As if it were the raison d'etre of the airport itself. It probably is, for all I know... I can't think of a better welcome for an incoming passenger than to be greeted by this flamboyant display. Or, for that matter, a more memorable farewell !

Huge pieces of driftwood placed around the Koi pond are liberally smothered with the most amazing tropical orchids. Each area seemed to specialise in different orchids. The one in the photo above shows the Phalaenopsis orchids.

Here's a close-up . I didn't notice those little clips clamping the stem to a wire. No wonder they arch so gracefully.

I loved this one! Somehow the photo doesn't do it justice but believe me, it was truly beautiful.

Then there was this huge display of Oncidiums. Can you imagine a 10-foot tall drift of yellow? Or a zillion Dancing Girls (as they're also known) all nodding their heads at you?

Yellow looks great on Dendrobiums too. There was this big patch of yellow dends. which was really eye-catching. Somehow I always associate dends with purple or white so seeing this big patch of sunshine was really refreshing.

Mmm... I think I could go back to Singapore just to wander around the airport garden! They should put it up in the guidebooks as one of Singapore's best tourist attractions.

I loved the way the driftwood was arranged around the pond. This was one of my favourite spots, with a piece overhanging the pond. The Phalaenopsis look so healthy that I'm really jealous.

The photo below gives a better look at how the pond and garden harmonize. Believe me, it looks much, much more impressive in person but I just had to share this with you anyway.
Envy loves company, you know !

Phal-e-lluiah !

Praise be! and All Hail ! My Phals have lived to rule the day. Isn't she magnificent? No wonder Phalaenopsis are prized all over the world. I haven't seen many of them in Mumbai and the rare few in the nurseries seem to cost almost as much as the land it is displayed on !

Here's another look at my Phal ... one of 3 which I brought to my apartment and babied through bud to bloom stage (the light could have been better, but I think the Phal makes up for all shortcomings).
I know the Phalaenopsis is called the Butterfly or Moth Orchid but for me, I can only see the dove at the centre, with wings flapping languidly.

It's an almost impossibly long waiting period. From end-January to end-March, from nub to bud to bloom. One would expect such a beautiful flower to look beautiful in the bud-stage too. It did... very elegant on its long, arching spike...

... until one got close enough to see a definite resemblance to something out of Jurassic Park!
Close your mouth, dear, the flies will get in ... oh! and you have a milk moustache!

Take a look at my phal now. This is a peek while she's just blooming open. Nothing ridiculous about it now, right?
See the 'dove'?

Ta-dah! Isn't it amazing how a couple of ugly buds can produce so much drama!

Oh! This is the other one of the trio. I couldnt get a good enough photo of all three lined up on the ledge so here's a look at my other Phal.
Hmmm... just as goofy as the others !

Until it blooms open too just a couple of days after the others.
Yellow! Just as I thought. A lovely buttery, sunshiney yellow. It almost seems bright enough to light up the room!
Doesn't the 'dove' look like it has a bright halo around it?