HALLIE EPHRON: Last week I posted this picture on Facebook--two of my orchid plants in bloom.
So far I’ve gotten more than 700 tapbacks and nearly 100 comments, including one from my idol, Sara Paretsky, who’s an orchid fan, too.
Others commented, asking what’s the trick to getting an orchid plant to bloom. Because that’s the thing about orchids, you buy them in bloom, and if you’re lucky they keep right on blooming for a few months. Then the blossoms fall off, you cut the flower stems and, but for a few strappy leaves, the plant goes dormant.
For months and on into years sometimes, that’s the whole show.
I have no brilliant advice for getting an orchid to bloom, other than HAVE PATIENCE and DON’T OVERWATER and GIVE IT INDIRECT LIGHT.
Watch for scale … and when you find one (or several) of those pesky creatures, swab them away with alcohol or pick them off with your fingernails. And I've read that one should occasionally (though I’m not sure how often) repot in fresh soil.
And still your orchid plant may reward you by lying there looking blah for months on end.
Which is what my pink one did. For four years.
Jerry bought it for $4 at a yard sale. At the time, it was spectacularly in bloom. Two flower shafts. Looked amazing for a couple of months. Then nothing. Year in, year out, nothing but an occasional leave.
Then SHAZAM: it’s blooming and it even has a a second flower stem.
I know, this is WHAT WE’RE WRITING WEEK again on Jungle Red, and I am actually talking about writing. Because my favorite comment from my Facebook orchid picture posting came from Louise Hillery (Thanks, Louise!). Responding to the fact that it took 4 years to produce anything, she wrote:
So true. Because I am writing again. Little by little, characters are taking shape--four women. A townhouse for them to hang out in. A puzzling set of circumstances that are still knotted up in my head.
I considered putting orchids in the book, but Rex Stout set the bar too high with his orchid fancier, Nero Wolfe. (The fictional Wolfe started on orchids with a plant given to him by the wife of a man he had cleared on a murder rap. He and his gardener tend them on the roof of his brownstone.)
In Stout’s obituary in the NY Times, he’s quoted as saying: “The plots come when I’m shaving, watering the plants, puttering around.” It also says that for the most part, however, Stout's wife was in charge of watering his 300 houseplants. Gotta wonder how many of them were orchids.
I have fewer than twenty plants. Among them are three orchids. I take that deep pink orchid, spectacularly in bloom after a four-year wait, as a sign of encouragement.
I know, this is WHAT WE’RE WRITING WEEK again on Jungle Red, and I am actually talking about writing. Because my favorite comment from my Facebook orchid picture posting came from Louise Hillery (Thanks, Louise!). Responding to the fact that it took 4 years to produce anything, she wrote:
Just like a writer's Work-in-Progress!
So true. Because I am writing again. Little by little, characters are taking shape--four women. A townhouse for them to hang out in. A puzzling set of circumstances that are still knotted up in my head.
I considered putting orchids in the book, but Rex Stout set the bar too high with his orchid fancier, Nero Wolfe. (The fictional Wolfe started on orchids with a plant given to him by the wife of a man he had cleared on a murder rap. He and his gardener tend them on the roof of his brownstone.)
In Stout’s obituary in the NY Times, he’s quoted as saying: “The plots come when I’m shaving, watering the plants, puttering around.” It also says that for the most part, however, Stout's wife was in charge of watering his 300 houseplants. Gotta wonder how many of them were orchids.
I have fewer than twenty plants. Among them are three orchids. I take that deep pink orchid, spectacularly in bloom after a four-year wait, as a sign of encouragement.
Like a manuscript, it’s taken its own good time.
What about you? What are the things in your life that you've learned are worth the wait?
The orchids are beautiful . . . my orchid is in its lying there and looking blah stage.
ReplyDeleteI’ve learned that most things are worth the wait . . . they always seem to come in their own good time.
I so agree, Joan... and it makes me appreciate how wonderful it is when something really good surprises you by just... happening.
DeleteOver the years I have done a great deal of landscape and construction work alone. This has involved many large projects. Once I hired an old man with an excavator to stump a newly cleared field. There were thousands of stumps, each of which had to be dug out and piled. Over a coffee break I asked him how he avoided discouragement. He told me the trick was to focus only on the stumps right in front of the bucket. "Don't look up," he said. As I have toiled alone on giant tasks, some of which have taken years to accomplish, I have repeated his words to myself. Keep your eyes only on the discrete task at hand; don't dwell on the big goal or you'll be overwhelmed. "Don't look up." I also remember my husband's encouragement: "Incremental progress is still progress." I wonder if this doesn't also pertain to writing?
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I have killed many houseplants. Congrats on your beautiful orchid!
this is such a smart comment--we will all need to remember that man's advice!
Delete"Don't look up." Writing it down and taping it to my screen... what a wonderful story. Anonymous, who are you?
DeleteGreat advice for writing a novel! I'm going to tape this up, too!
DeleteI was just feeding my orchid its weekly six ice cubes. It’s been blooming continuously for ten months now, since Mothers’ Day.
ReplyDeleteWe have this apparatus called an aqua garden. Julie gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago. We grown herbs and veggies in it, mixed success. But it has a light that goes off and on with some sort of schedule. And it circulates water The orchid sits beside it and totally loves that spot. It just finished blooming its winter show and is full of new buds and growth. By pure accident I now seem to be able to succeed in orchid production!
Could you expound on the 6 ice cubes? Is this how you water it - in bloom or out? Mine is a small one, that rebloomed with 2 stalks and we have enjoyed it since Christmas. The last two blossoms are about to wither, so into hiatus it will go. I like the thought of ice cubes to water...
DeleteWatering with ice cubes: Here's what Better Homes and Gardens has to say: "Researchers at The Ohio State University and the University of Georgia have done studies to definitively answer the question: can I water my orchid with ice cubes? They set up an experiment comparing moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) watered with three ice cubes once a week to a control group watered with the equivalent amount of water weekly. Both groups of orchids showed similar results for the overall health of the plants, indicating that ice cubes are an effective and safe way to water orchids."
DeleteThanks for researching this Hallie. I think the advantage of ice cubes is that I don’t spill water all over hell and half of Texas.
DeleteAnd I think kitchens are a great place for orchids to live. There’s always a bit of humidity and warmth. And ice cubes
I think it is a good idea as it is more likely I won't overwater, and less likely that I will slop all over the windowsill. (good at slopping...) Thanks!
DeleteFour years - wow! Totally worth the wait. As is your writing, Hallie. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear you are getting back to a book.
ReplyDeleteI thought I had twenty houseplants but I just counted and it's about thirteen (at least one in every room, but it's a small house). I used to have a Queen of the Night, which only blooms once a year (supposedly at night), if that. It got too big and gangly and one summer I put it outside. We came back after being away and it was in bloom! So showy and fragrant. (But it was still too big and gangly and I abandoned it to the winter.)
A two-day cold rise for sourdough bread is totally worth waiting for.
Whoa, Queen of the Night! Hope it made good compost. Edith, a chive plant you gave me a few years ago is sending up gorgeous green shoots. Thanks!
DeleteSo glad to hear that about the chive plant!
DeleteThe orchids are beautiful, Hallie. It's fun to know that another 699 people commented on your post;>)
ReplyDeleteI have several African Violets that are very showy and bloom regularly. They love their window. I've had a couple of them for 20 years or more.
I do love african violets, too - Right now I have none but have had many over the years.
DeleteBeautiful, and a harbinger of good things to come. Our kids sent us an orchid in 2020, which blooms every year to eighteen months. The stem now has buds, so it will bloom in its own time. Yes, after carefully watering it and using spray fertilizer, I've learned patience. Like taking a writing project to completion. Happy Spring!
ReplyDeleteSpray fertilizer! Spray for the leaves or the soil? And is it specifically for orchids?
DeleteMiracle-Gro Ready-To-Use Orchid Plant Food Mist, 8 oz., Orchid Food Feeds Plants Instantly, 1 Pack (spray soil and leaves once a week. I put the pot in water in a pie plate once a week).
DeleteKaye George recommended the spray fertilizer.
DeleteI've seen Kaye's orchids and African violets in person. She knows her stuff when it comes to exotic houseplants.
DeleteThe Florida gardener rejoices in orchids growing outside, blooming when they wish, not dying just growing there quietly. Congrats on your mini Florida indoor environment.
ReplyDeleteThings worth waiting for -- happiness, kittens to cats, Spring, song birds, butterflies, ground after a summer rain, autumn apples, winter beach fires. equinoxes and solstices. May we all see all of these in the coming year.
and also... your next book!
DeleteYes, looking forward to all those things. I'd add meteor showers.
DeleteGood books are definitely worth waiting for! And seldom a disappointment. Whereas finding it so hard to be grown up and "do anything I want" did not turn out to be the great thing I expected. Because being grown up means having responsibilities which often prevent us from doing exactly as we please.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful orchids, Hallie! The dreaded scale! Everyone once in a while I encounter it with my (indoor) lemon trees. It took me a long time to realize what was causing all the stickiness and I even threw out a plant before I learned it could be treated. I'm much more alert now. My main problem is one of the cats who loves to eat the lemon leaves (and then throw up) so I don't want to try any other plants that I'm sure he would like to destroy.
Judi, I've always wanted to try to grow lemons indoors. Is it hard to do? And can you eat the lemons? Do you need more than one tree to get them?
DeleteAnd good to know which plants are poison to cats... We grow cat mint outside which I gather cats enjoy like catnip.
DeleteKaren, you absolutely can grow lemons inside. The most important factor is sunlight. I planned my house to have windows with southern exposure and they do very well! I take them outdoors around Memorial Day and bring them back in around Labor Day. You don't need more than one but when they are in blossom I use a cotton swab to do what the insects can't. You wil love the smell of the blossoms. I also have an orange and a lime (have never been able to get fruit from the lime but there are plenty of blossoms. The fruit of the lemon is smaller than you will find in a store but actually sweeter. Best lemon pies. One of my plants came from Walmart but the others i got mail order from Gurney's.
DeleteHallie, I tried to grow catnip outside but that was when I also had an outdoor cat. She destroyed the plant before it ever took hold. Maybe I'll try again since my 2 remaining guys are indoors only.
DeleteThank you, Judi! You've given me the courage to try one.
DeleteI think you will enjoy raising lemons!
DeleteI never been able wait four years for an orchid to bloom--I have given up on them after a few months--but then my experience with house plants in general is not good! It's a great reminder to have a little patience as many creatures and plants and ideas have their own timelines.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to visit an orchid nursery outside Cuernavaca a few years ago. What an amazing variety of beauty. Plants of every size and color!
Orchids in bloom are a spectacular sight, especially when they're massed. When I was in Key West there was an orchid exhibit at their little lovely botanical garden. Spectacular!
DeleteCongratulations on the lovely orchid, Hallie. They're so capricious, aren't they? Blooming in their own whimsical schedule. I have mine in a beautiful orchid pot that looks pretty whether it blooms or not, which is mostly... not.
ReplyDeleteI once had a croton--one of my favorite houseplants--that was given to me as what I thought was a huge plant in 1974, really only about a foot tall. It had gotten so enormous that it was really much too big for a home, so I donated it to the local Waldorf School several years ago. I've not visited it, but my Waldorf teacher friend tells me it's thriving in a sunny stairwell and even more gigantic today. That makes me so happy to know this more than 50-year old plant is continuing to delight. Two of the crotons I have now bloom like mad several times a year, as do the prayer plants, which I've been told is unusual. I keep hoping the orchid will try to compete, but so far it seems content to let the others show it up.
I've never grown a croton. Love the colors to those leaves. My major accomplishment is nurturing a norfolk pine given to me about 20 years ago when it was about 12" tall. Now it's 4' tall AND 4' wide. I try not to walk into it. No flowers, of course. But loads of personality.
DeleteThat's impressive! Don't you also have a huge jade plant? I've failed numerous times with both jades and Norfolk Island pines.
DeleteCrotons take a lot of sun, and consistent watering. They also tend to get spider mites if they get too dry. I used to swab the leaves of the big one with water and rubbing alcohol to control the mites, but now I take the smaller ones outside in the summer and let the birds clean up the plants. They do a good enough job that the mites don't usually come back over the winter.
DeleteHallie, Archie Goodwin was always finding Nero Wolfe in the potting room, so there must be some truth to repotting from time to time. Totally blackthumbed here. I’m lucky if any plant gift lives through the gift giving occasion. Happy Monday! Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI confess, I use an old fashioned paper calendar to mark when I've watered and when I should water next. About 2x a week, and I just barely water the orchid since it doesn't need nearly what my norfolk pine needs.
DeleteLovely orchids, Hallie! So glad to hear that you are writing! Waiting on a new book by favorite authors--always worth the wait. Whatever deliciousness is baking in the oven--always worth waiting, no opening the oven door to peek!
ReplyDeleteYes, baking is a great example. Love the smell. Speaking of waiting, I was waiting for the next season of THREE PINES only to find out that Amazon decided not to fund another season. Bummer. Love Alfred Molina.
DeleteMy son and DIL gave me an orchid for Mother’s Day 3 years ago and so far it is still alive and currently on its third bloom. I melted 3 ice cubes to see how much water that would be…2 ounces. I water it once a week.
ReplyDeleteLast year our daughter and other son brought us a pineapple from Hawaii. We cut off the top and planted it in a 5 gallon bucket with some holes drilled in it for drainage as per a you tube video and instructions the kids got in their plantation tour. In the summer we put it out in the deck. So far it is thriving. Supposed to take 18 months to 2 years before you get a pineapple. Fingers crossed.
A pineapple! Seriously??!! I had no idea you could actually grow the plant enough indoors enough to produce a pineapple. When we were in Costa Rica we stopped at a pineapple farm and bought one from a stand, fresh from the field. Spectacular.
DeleteHusband has given me two orchid plants over recent years. After we moved, one was moved to start blooming again, on three stalks, one after the other. I'm amazed I haven't killed it. The other plant is sitting in the kitchen, refusing to do anything. All in its own good time, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm bemoaning one I gave up on in the early days, years before I knew much about plants. Back when my windows were full of philodendron and spider plants. Nearly impossible to kill (or keep up with their repotting needs)
DeleteThe orchids are beautiful, Hallie. I have one house plant. The succulent that seems to keep going, even though it's growing at an odd angle and the lower leaves keep drying up and falling off.
ReplyDeleteSo funny, because I've managed to kill MANY succulents in my day. They're better under-watered than over-watered. Tricky little beasts.
DeleteFrom Rhys; I am hopeless with orchids but I’ve never given one four years, Hallie. That signifies such patience, loving care and hope!
ReplyDeleteI think it's more attributed to my ability to IGNORE for months on end...
DeleteFANTASTIC, Hallie, and the metaphor is spot on. I had 8 orchid plants at one point because one of my 4 orchids kept making keikis (baby orchids). Sadly, all but 2 have died. I am not going to think of this as a metaphor for my writing - LOL - but I have high hopes that these two keikis will thrive and maybe bloom in a decade or two. I'm delighted that you're writing again.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable name for a baby orchid. A new one for me, thanks, Jenn.
DeleteI had no idea orchids did that! I'll be watching for it. Keiki. (Just looked it up. Pronounced KAY-KEE and it's from the Hawaiian word for baby. Might need to name the cat in my next book Keiki.
DeleteOne of my cousins grows the most beautiful orchids. He’s posted pictures of them on Facebook from time to time. There was one that had something like seventeen blossoms! He lives in an apartment, which is apparently on the right side of the building for the sun. He says he doesn’t do anything special for them, just waters them when necessary.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I’ve killed so many plants over the years.,,
DebRo
17?!?!?! Wow.
DeleteI only do live plants outside; indoors is strictly for a few favourite silk plants that cheer up (always) the spot they're in. That said, I love to see other people's and your orchids are amazing, Hallie! Their beauty is worth waiting for. Ditto for your writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amanda!
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ReplyDeleteBeautiful essay, Hallie. Thank you! What a lesson from the orchids. I don't have house plants - none of our windows provides enough sun, big street tree in front of our house - but I do faithfully plant bulbs each fall in our tiny front garden. I am faithful to the belief they will flower even before the snow is gone And they do! Every spring. Bright crocuses, dwarf irises, early daffodils. They are there now, living hope.
ReplyDeleteMy yard is full of scilla - the first bulbs up after snow drops. It's a deep blue carpet right now. And I didn't plant a single one of 'em. All planted by the previous owner. I've tried to plant daffodils because the blue and yellow together are spectacular - but my squirrels have a special taste for daffodils but seem to ignore the scilla. 'Twas not to be.
DeleteLike Kait, I can't have orchids because of my cats. They ate the leaves of the last orchid I had. (the cats were just fine) But in terms of what is worth the wait - Yes, I agree with Hallie on being patient with my manuscript. After finally publishing my first mystery, I now know a good story will eventually emerge if you just give it time and "the right" attention.
ReplyDeleteThough, as I've learned the hard way, it will not write itself. :-(
DeleteOh, this is marvelous! I have NEVER had this happen. I just had a fabulous orchid (with four stems) lose its last gorgeous flower, and this is exactly what I needed to hear. I don't have plants, they always die, except for one, which I'll talk about someday. But yay, for the orchids, and for YOU!
ReplyDeleteAnd it will feel as if you actually DID something when it blooms again when all you really did was wait it out.
DeleteHank if you have a window over your sink, that’s a great place to put the orchid. They like indirect sun and humidity. Sux ice cubes on Monday. Don’t forget!
DeleteHallie, you've given me hope, because I have an orchid I thought was deader than dead, and only kept around for the succulent planted in the same pot. I'm going to have faith and when I repot, I'll do it to both plants. It's also so far taken three years waiting for this current manuscript-in-progress to bloom, so now I'm going to tell myself if it takes four years, it will only be MORE beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, it's a wonderful gift that Jerry gave you beautiful flowers this March, just when you need them the most.
Yes, that Jerry gave them to me has probably been a factor in my being willing to wait them out.
DeleteYou've written a wonderful analogy here for what you are writing week. :)
ReplyDeletePatience is not my strong point. It's something I definitely need to work on.
I'm usually not good with it either, Mark.
DeleteHallie, I am so thrilled that you are writing, and enjoying it!! I will wait as patiently as need be for the end result! I'm also inspired by your orchids. I always have orchids in my sunporch but I don't usually try to get them to rebloom. I've made an exception, though, for a couple of exotic orchids because I like the spikier foliage. Maybe they'll rebloom one of these days!
ReplyDeleteThe trick is to live long enough: you and the plant
DeleteI think there's probably a list that places selling plants have taped to the check-out register, a list of who not to sell plants to. I am at the top of that list. I love to look at beautiful plants, those that flower and those that don't, but I respect their right to live and flourish, so I don't sentence them to death by me buying them. When I went to my first Bouchercon in Albany, my friend planned a stop at Longwood Gardens, and it was spectacular.
ReplyDeleteHallie, I think your using the orchid blooming as a metaphor for writing is perfect. Your orchids are so beautiful, and what a treasure that Jerry brought you the orchid from a garage sale. I'm so glad that you're writing again, and I know the wait will be worth the end result.
Oh, Kathy - I feel that way about certain plants. And you're reminding me of a trip we took to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. Actually so perfectly manicured it felt almost like a plastic factory. I like a bit of chaos in my garden. Good thing, too.
DeleteGorgeous, Hallie and the metaphor is spot on!
ReplyDeleteI grew orchids when I lived in Florida - talk about easy peasy. I had a canary island date palm in my front yard and it was the perfect host. Then one morning I woke to discover someone stole all the orchids. I did call the police, not because I thought they could do anything - visual here of cops, noses to the ground peering through magnifying glasses looking for tracks - but because dang, whoever took them was awfully close to my house. The police said there was a lot of that going on in the neighborhood and the plants were probably taken to sell!
Alas, with four cats in the house, I don't indulge in houseplants. I know there are a number of safe varieties, but I also know that green things are attractive to kitties with sore tummies and they tend to recycle the greens!
When I was in Florida a few weeks ago, the complex I stayed in was full of palms, and wired to their trunks were orchids... people donate them to the building when they stop blooming and the brilliant horticulturists among the residents know how to attach them to trees so they just keep right on blooming and blooming. Of course depends on the right climate and plenty of moisture in the air.
DeleteWonderful to hear about your writing, Hallie, and to be reminded of the Nero Wolfe series! I've been trying to restore native plants on our Midwest lot, and it's taken time because of weather and invasive species, but it's rewarding to see the return of a blooming prairie.
ReplyDeleteOrchids are definitely worth the wait. I got an orchid for my birthday three years ago. Several times, I thought I had actually killed it since there was just one tiny green leaf left. Much to my surprise, It's been sitting in my office window for three years getting the occasional watering and plenty of sun. This year, it finally decided to bloom Maybe it was the California snow that shocked it into blooming. :-) Once it started, it went to town and it was worth the wait.
ReplyDeleteWhat are worth the wait? For me, wonderful books are worth the wait. Diana
ReplyDelete