Why orchids?

[Paph]

I talked to my friend recently, who's also in orchids, about orchids of course. He asked me what makes an orchid - an orchid and not just another plant?
I started to think, but I do not have quite right answer....Why orchids then? Why you're in orchids?

[Kmac]

I take it you are not looking for the botanical reason orchids are different from other plants, but the reason why they have us all hooked?

I think for me there are multiple reasons...the beauty, for sure. The challenge to grow and flower them well. I find it fascinating that there are so many different kinds, with so many different and unusual variations. I could learn something every day about orchids and never learn it all. I guess learning about them is really another type of challenge.

And, they also have a fascinating history.

If you were to equate flowers with fabric, orchids would be a very dense, rich tapestry, with layers and details hidden in so you were always seeing something new in it.

Kathi

[orchidsal]

For me its the challenge of getting something to grow and bloom in a enviroment that I created, to a great extent. The ideal to me is to make us both (orchids and me) happy.

[Cjcorner]

For me it was most certainly the fact that orchids are one of the only types of plants (in a pot) that don't die when I take them home with me. lol I'm also the kind of person that loves something to "study". I still do not understand some of my orchid buddies locally that don't know what they are growing..don't try to learn and then bug me as to why their plants keep dying. I love to study them; I find where they are from and their growing conditions as interesting as the plant itself. When people ask me why I grow orchids I tell them it is the most satisfying, relaxing hobby i've found so far. And when they still look puzzled I explain "...it's better than buying designer purses and shoes and jewelry and alot less expensive". lol

[ManilaByNight]

Orchids for me are a fascination - I grew them first and foremost because most of them are soil-less plants. I don't like the idea of having to deal with soil messing up my grow area specially when I am watering. Another is that most of them are epiphytes and to see them grow those aerial roots and at the same time adding to the humidity and coolness around my home specially during hot weather is a big plus for me.

Also the fact and challenge of being able to grow such plants which are not native/endemic to my area or country.

And yes of course - the flowers! The beautiful and the bizarre! Those wondrous and striking colors, fantastic shapes and sizes including the perfumed aromas! Who can NOT notice these beauties specially the large, showy types .... and for the hobbyist, the small, dainty and often intricate flowers of the miniatures.

[kiwiorchids]

for me, i love how different they are, how insects trick the flowers, yet the orchid double tricks the insect, polination methods, beauty and their simplicity, and i just like growing challengeing stuff.

[Molly Taco]

The thrill of a rebloom !!! and besides they are way less trouble than roses

[Hieroglyphica]

Uh well, at first I just stumbled across orchids - it simply happened to be a phal that I bought two years ago when I wanted to add some green to our living area. But then I was fascinated by their beauty and because they are so different from other flowers that grow around here.
For me it's also the fact that they are so slow in growing. So you don't buy a small seedling and see it bloom within a few weeks and that's it. You first have to care for it for maybe a year or two. Teaches you patience.

[Joysze]

For me, they remind me of my dad. When I was growing up, we had orchids everywhere in the front porch and I remember all the different size pots he would keep to pot the orchids at various stages. My parents will be visiting from Malaysia next year, and I've been planning trips to various orchids shows while they are here, AND I also have a few orchids that are waiting for him to repot.

[Ron-NY]

are you asking what makes an orchid an orchid botanically?

Orchids are easily distinguished from other plants, as they share some very evident apomorphies. Among these: zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetric) many resupinate, one petal (labellum) is always highly modified, stamens and carpels are fused.