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National Orchid Day

Nature · April 16

Orchids are a huge, varied flower family with odd, lovely blooms. Here is what they are, how they grow and how people enjoy them at home.

National Orchid Day falls on Friday, April 16, 2027. That is 171 days away.

Orchids make up one of the largest families of flowering plants, and they grow on nearly every continent. The blooms come in a startling range of shapes. Some look like moths, some like slippers, and a few look like small insects.

Many of the orchids sold as houseplants are epiphytes. In the wild they cling to tree bark instead of rooting in soil, and their thick, silvery roots pull moisture from the air and rain. That is why a potted orchid usually sits in chunky bark rather than ordinary potting mix. Treat it like a regular houseplant and drown it, and it often fails.

The moth orchid is the one most people meet first, in grocery stores and on office desks. It likes bright, indirect light, a good soak when the potting bark is nearly dry, and a pot that drains well. Its flowers can last for weeks, and with patience the plant may bloom again on a new spike.

Orchids also give us vanilla. The flavor comes from the cured seed pods of a climbing orchid vine, which means a familiar kitchen ingredient started out as a flower.

For anyone who already has a tired orchid with no flowers, the leaves are the place to look. Firm, green leaves usually mean the plant is resting, not finished.

Ways to celebrate

• Check on a houseplant orchid and water it only if the bark is nearly dry.
• Visit a botanical garden or conservatory greenhouse to see unusual orchid species.
• Look closely at an orchid bloom and sketch its shape.
• Bake something with vanilla and remember it comes from an orchid.
• Look for a local orchid society show or meeting open to visitors.

Dates

All national days on April 16

Also on April 16

• National Eggs Benedict Day
• Save the Elephant Day
• National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day
• National Bean Counters Day
• Day of the Mushroom
• National Librarian Day

Categories: Nature days