Orchid hunters have long known that where resurrection ferns are found, so are orchids. Student orchid hunters are looking for the reasons why—and they’ve started with shared mycorrhizae.

South Florida’s climate is friendly to growing vanilla orchids, and if you’re willing to hand-pollinate, practice patience and carefully cure and sweat the pods, you can even have home-grown vanilla.

Did you know that the vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, is the only orchid with black seeds, and each vanilla bean (really the pod) contains thousands of seeds?

More orchids are killed by incorrect watering than by any other means. There are two separate components to proper watering: when and how.

Have you ever wondered how the names of orchid flowers originated? From “Drawings of Florida Orchids” come the etymologies of some of our orchids.  Don’t Miss Fairchild’s Orchids in Bloom Explore, learn, and revel in the splendor of orchids like never before! Tickets Available Now for March 9-10, 2024 Bletia:

For centuries, orchids have been among the most popular of plant families, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated the world over for the diversity, beauty and intricacy of their flowers. Literary and artistic references to orchids can be traced back to the time of Confucius (about 500 B.C.). The

Phalaenopsis (fail-eh-NOP-siss), the moth orchid, is perhaps the best orchid for growing in the home, and is also a favorite with greenhouse growers. Well-grown plants can flower often, sometimes with a few flowers throughout the year, though the main season is late winter into spring. Average inside home temperatures and

The Tropical Garden, Fall 2018 By Jennifer Possley

The Tropical Garden, Fall 2018

It’s baby squirrel season, and at the South Florida Wildlife Center in Fort Lauderdale, babies from one to three weeks old are being hand fed every three hours. Eyes shut, toes splayed and tiny tummies filling, the babies in the nursery are among the 13,000 animals taken to the Center every year. Each baby squirrel has a dot of toxin-free nail polish on his/her head so volunteers can keep track of who has eaten, who has burped or who has diarrhea. After being fed and stroked so…